Say what? How is that possible, when by their very nature, routines are restricting?
Ahh…not if you are the one creating a routine that sets you up for a day of success. It’s not about structure, as much as it is about focus. When you take time in the morning, for instance, to follow a routine, you will feel more settled than if you just wake up and go.
For me, setting—and following—a morning routine has been essential for my own productivity. I have found that in the three months since doing so, I have procrastinated less, fulfilled more AND believe it or not, discovered additional free time. Plus, my ability to create has expanded exponentially because I am able to honor my responsibilities without resistance...and without this resistance, efficiency gives way to inventive opportunity.
All it took was an analysis of how I spent my time, what I wanted to spend my time on and what times of the day yielded the best results.
1. Identifying Non-Negotiables. In restructuring how a day in my life looked, I knew that it was important for me to establish a health routine that catered to my physical, mental and emotional well-being. My non-negotiables became daily journaling, meditation, a morning and evening walk, healthy meals and a good night’s rest. In addition to paid work and caring for my children, I also needed to ensure that I took time to write and explore a non-work creative outlet every day. It was a tall order, but they were not up for compromise in my book.
2. Identifying Time Wasters. Once I knew what I needed in my day, I had to figure out how to fit it into my busy schedule. How would I ever make the time when I had so much responsibility? First, I needed to evaluate how I actually spent my time over the course of a day. I devoted an entire week to tracking my every activity and how much time it took, and it was flabbergasting to see how much of it was wasted on non-essential behaviors, such as social media, television and random internet nonsense.
It wasn’t difficult after that to learn what needed to change to make room for my non-negotiables: social media is now limited to two times per day and television’s importance has almost been completely eliminated. Binge watching or guilty pleasure shows have not contributed to a life of fulfillment, and I made the conscious decision to give them up on a regular basis. (Of course, there are just some shows I can’t resist, but there are a lot less of them I will give my attention to now.)
3. Making Adjustments. Taking into consideration the times I have committed to working for others, I was then able to take the rest of my time and design a routine that allowed me to begin and end my day in a manner of my own choosing. I am not an early riser by nature, but I checked in with myself to see when was the earliest I was comfortable with waking up. From there, I knew that I wanted to journal, meditate, walk, eat breakfast, shower and briefly check-in on social media for business purposes before work.
I also knew I had some creative energy in the morning and wanted at least a half hour to and hour to allow myself to write before starting my day. This was super important to me, because I knew based on my workaholic tendencies, I’d work later than anticipated and then I wouldn’t have the time or energy for creativity at all. That meant waking by a certain time—which also meant going to bed by a certain time. Although a late owl, I knew that in order to design the day that I wanted, I had to compromise on my sleep cycle.
4. Creating a Solid Routine. I experimented with different flows until I found the right groove, and it led me to re-negotiate a new start time for work. Now, when I sit down, I am focused and ready to serve others because I had taken time to care for myself. In the evenings, I now also have open time to create, walk and spend time with my kids because I’m not scrolling through the internet or sitting in front of a television screen. I have reminders built into my phone for breaking to make meals, managing my kids’ activities and even to wind down for bed.
Although it’s not a perfect system and I don’t always follow my own rules, I learned quickly that stepping outside of my own boundaries sets me up for a less productive day, and my health and creativity are the ones who pay for it. The more I adhere to the general routine I have in place, the more joy I find in a day; the more I can accomplish off my task list; and the more I can tap into the creativity within.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, having structure has given me the very freedom I desire.
Give it a try for yourself—you may be surprised to find that infamous “latte factor” analysis used on money wasting can be just as revealing when it comes to your time. You deserve the extra investment.
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