ave you heard how Mark Zuckerberg and his daily routine of wearing the same thing every day? So he doesn’t have to waste time thinking about what to wear? I freaking love that. Well not that specifically – I’d die of boredom if I had to wear the same thing every day BUT I’m in love with creating a good daily routine so I have boring closet respect for the Zucks.
I have the same breakfast every day – a boiled egg on a piece of protein toast. This saves me time in the morning because I’m not dicking around trying to decide between cereal and a smoothie and it saves me time shopping because I buy the same thing every week and I’m not wasting time and money buying generic breakfast stuff I may or may not eat. I reply to emails once in the morning and once at night. I reply to (most) of my blog comments in the evenings while I’m watching the news. Repetition and routine can be brilliant for keeping you on track and making you work almost on autopilot. It saves you making decisions and wasting time deciding when to do things. It can be a bit of a game changer so here are a few tips on how to smash your to-do list with repetition and routine.
Exercise
Pick a time of day that you exercise and stick to it. First thing in the morning, on your lunch break, after work or a quick lounge room workout after the kids have gone to bed. That way whenever that time of day rolls around, you’ll know it’s time to get your sweat on. I’m a first thing in the morning gal – it gets it over with for the day, I start each morning in the same way and there’s no chance I won’t go because I don’t have all day to talk myself out of going.
Emails
Pick two times during the day to check your emails and don’t check them at any other times. It will make such a huge difference if you limit yourself. It also creates a natural boundary in your day. If you know that your afternoon email check time is 4.30, you’ll be
extra motivated to get everything done by then. You can use Self Control to block yourself out of your emails during the day if you can’t help yourself.
Cleaning
Allocate a time each day to do a quick 30 minute clean. If you choose after dinner at around 8pm it will force you to just get it done, rather than procrastinate on it all night. Would you rather clean for 30 minutes or hate the the thought of cleaning for 5 hours? Tip: I always listen to podcasts when I clean and I save my favourites for it.
Meetings
Always schedule meetings at the same time of day. I like early morning or lunch time meetings so they don’t ruin the flow of my working hours. Also if you only schedule meetings at the same times each day, you’re less likely to forget them. This is also a great way to train people you regularly have meetings with so they don’t do stupid things like request meetings at 5pm on a Friday – seriously who does that?
Breaks
If you schedule your breaks and what you do on your breaks, they’ll become much more efficient. For example the coffee guy at your local cafe might start to remember your order and your co-workers will know when you’re out of the office and they’ll subconsciously start to work around that schedule.
Tip: Set rolling alarms for things that you do every day. Most smart phones will allow you to set an alarm for a certain time every day so you won’t forget to do any of your task until the repetition of these actions makes them a routine. This great for things like remembering to drink water or to get up and do some office stretches.
Also it’s podcast day today! This week Kelly and I are talking about recommendations – all our favourite things. Books, shows, foods… just are warning though. All my book recommendations are sad and all my food recommendations are boring and healthy. Don’t say I didn’t tell you…
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Do you have things that you do every single day? Are you ruled by routine? Or are you a bit more relaxed?
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