Why Is It Hard to Stick to a Routine With PCOS?

If you have PCOS and struggle to stick to your to do list, you’re not alone. Many women feel motivated on Sunday but overwhelmed by Wednesday. This isn’t a character flaw, PCOS can directly influence energy, appetite, focus and consistency. Here’s a practical breakdown...

Why do women with PCOS struggle to stick to routines?

Women with PCOS often struggle with keeping to new habits because symptoms like fatigue, fluctuating appetite, disrupted sleep, and variable energy levels make rigid plans difficult to follow. These physiological factors can impact motivation, decision-making and overall consistency, making traditional “perfect week” plans feel unsustainable.

PCOS affects multiple systems, including metabolic function, sleep, appetite regulation and mood. This means your daily capacity may differ from week to week. A routine built for your “best days” won’t hold on your average days. This is why women with PCOS often describe feeling “on track” one week and “off track” the next.

Does PCOS affect energy, motivation and focus?

Yes. Research shows PCOS can contribute to changes in energy levels, concentration, and motivation due to variations in sleep quality, blood sugar responses, and overall physical symptoms. These shifts make it harder to follow rigid routines consistently.

Women with PCOS frequently report tiredness, slower mornings, afternoon dips, difficulty concentrating, and moments of overwhelm. These patterns aren’t laziness, they’re common symptom expressions. Routines need to account for this natural fluctuation.

Why doesn’t “should based” planning work for PCOS?

“Should-based” plans are built from pressure or comparison, not personal needs. They often ignore your energy, preferences, lifestyle and symptoms, which makes them hard to stick to and easy to abandon.

And lets face it, a lot of the "shoulds" come from social media. what other people are doing. which yes can be unrealistic, and not meet you where you are, but most importantly not even be based on any real scientific evidence (and not actually work - completely derailing your confidence in the process).

Plans based on “eat cleaner,” “train harder,” “wake earlier,” or “prep everything” tend to fail because they come from external expectations. PCOS requires planning from what is realistic and supportive for YOU, not what sounds ideal.

How can values based planning help women with PCOS?

Values-based planning helps anchor habits to what genuinely matters to you... like simplicity, structure, flexibility or growth... instead of pressure. When habits align with your values and your energy, they become more sustainable long-term.

Values shape behaviour more reliably than motivation. When habits match your personality and lifestyle, you’re more likely to maintain them across varying energy levels or symptoms. This creates a routine you can actually live with, not one you fight against.

What habits tend not to work well for women with PCOS?

Habits that ignore energy levels or require perfection rarely work, such as rigid meal plans, overly intense weekly routines, early morning workouts if you don't function well then, or unrealistic meal prepping strategies.

Common habits that backfire:

• Meal prepping identical lunches if you prefer variety

• Strict training plans if your energy fluctuates

• Complicated morning routines you can’t maintain

• Skipping meals because your schedule is overloaded

• Planning more tasks than your day allows.

These fail because they ignore your lived experience with PCOS.

What’s a realistic way to build sustainable habits with PCOS?

Start with awareness of what energises you, drains you, or triggers symptoms. Then build habits that support those patterns. Use simple, flexible structures instead of rigid plans.

Ask yourself weekly:

• What helped my energy?

• What made things harder?

• What felt manageable?

• What felt overwhelming?

Your answers guide your routine & the habits far more effectively than any generic plan.

FAQ

Q: Is it normal for routines to feel harder some weeks with PCOS?

Yes. Symptoms can fluctuate, making consistency naturally harder at times.

Q: Do I need a strict plan to manage PCOS?

No. Flexible, values-aligned habits tend to work better long term.

Q: What’s one habit I can start with?

Choose one simple anchor habits, like eating lunch daily or going for a short walk.

Q: Will planning help reduce overwhelm?

Yes, but only if the plan matches your actual lifestyle and capacity.

Q: Is it okay if my routine looks different from week to week?

Absolutely. Adapting is a sign of awareness, not inconsistency.