“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide
The power of routine cannot be overstated. Having a routine that you follow and execute every day is great, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. When you tap into the power of routine to achieve your goals – that’s when things get real. The focus is to create repeatable actions that will guide you to success. Routines make us perform those important activities in our day which solve problems.
Routine Helps Identify Life’s Challenges
We know life can be full of stress, chaos, hardship, and failures. In the past few months, we have faced many of these challenges. It is how we deal with those challenges that are most important. This is where routine can help. Identify these challenges and take action. Build a new routine and get stuff done. Then we can move on to the more enjoyable parts of our lives.
Why Routine is so Powerful
Creating a routine takes commitment and a plan. First, why do you want to create this routine? If there is no strong “Why” there will be no strong desire to implement. Plan it out. What problem will this routine solve? What is the purpose? Is it creating more time, less stress, bringing more joy? Will this routine be Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
So we know that motivation is created by pain. We know we can lessen the pain by practicing the basics. We know routines will help us keep in the practice of the basics. This practice will improve us and success. The best way to stay in the basics is through the routine.
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If you want to be happy and have daily harmony, you need to discover and engage in actions that make you joyful. To increase your happiness and bring that harmony to your day you must know and repeat those actions.
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If you want to lose weight, you need to understand, plan, and repeat specific activities. They are eating healthy food in a proper manner. Exercise with a purpose on a regular basis
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If you want to build wealth, you need to understand the power of compounding. Then you need to develop actions that help you gain and save money. Once these actions are in place, invest with a trusted advisor, and repeat those actions.
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If you want to learn you need to create time and plan . There are specific actions that help you gain knowledge, wisdom, and help to improve your “game”.
Since early March our lives were altered with the COVID-19 lockdown. I expect you have seen numerous articles written about routines and how they can help each one of us. Why another article or blog?” Because I believe in routines. They work for me to become more successful, create harmony, and less stress.
The second reason that I want to write about routines is to encourage taking ACTION. Unless I put a routine into action my well-planned routine does me no good. Think about those routines that take too long to install. They were often discarded through inactivity. ACTION is required. It is important to understand that routines are here to help us move forward in an organized manner.
Routine Lead to Longterm Success
Our understanding of routine and its importance is vital to long term success. We can get overly stressed about the routine itself and not pay attention to why we are using it. A common-sense approach to building routines allows us to sequence the events needed to solve the problem.
If properly sequenced the routine or ritual will encourage and help create action. This action will cut through the fear of failure. It will keep us flexible enough to enjoy the process and the journey. here are a few of my experiences in building and working my routines.
There was a time when I would become very upset with myself if I was off my routine. Even if I can’t do my routine in its entirety, I take pieces of it and do my best to incorporate as many parts as I can.
I’ve found that the most important predictor of success in my day is my attitude. My routine is there to serve as the building blocks for a successful day. It’s a tool. I try not to get bogged down if I can’t do it all. My attitude is way more important. I try not to be too hard on myself if something comes up and makes it impossible to stick with my routine.
Why Building a Routine is Important
I’m have become much more flexible and will adapt as the routine becomes more engrained. The more I do it the more I want to do it. Swimming is an activity I do on a daily basis for 1 mile. When I first started swimming my time in the water went unbelievably slow. Each lap was a chore. In starting a routine or new activity it is often getting my mind use to the time commitment. If I am not used to swimming for 30 minutes or writing for an hour, time goes by slowly. As I finish the tasks every day it seems that time passes faster. The time it takes to do each sequence and achieve the goal takes more getting used to than the physicality.
This post is the first in a series of articles from my recently published eBook, EVERYday: The Power of Daily Routine. I invite you to use the link to request a complimentary copy as a gift. My hope is this book will motivate and inspire you to establish at least one new action. It is not what we know, it is what we do.
