‘m an enormous creature of habit, almost to a fault but I do think that this weird personality trait of mine ultimately adds to my general productivity. Mark Zuckerberg wears the same thing every day because he doesn’t want to waste time or brain space on making decisions. That’s a teeny bit too drastic for me (I’d pass out from boredom if I wore the same thing every day!) but I do similar things in my life to eliminate guess work.
I have the same breakfast every day – a banana, almond milk and protein smoothie. This saves me time in the morning because I’m not dicking around trying to decide between cereal and toast 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.
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.
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?
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 subconsiously 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.
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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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P.P.S This post was first published in March 2015.