If you came here ready for me to answer one of life’s greatest mysteries—how to stick to a routine—well, I’m sorry to disappoint. The truth is, I rarely keep to my daily routine and often stray. I view routines more as suggested guidelines, kind of like a wish list of sorts. Of course, some days require me to follow them to the letter of the law. But in most cases, I go by how I feel.
One thing I got good at through Camp Clarity with my business coach Diana Davis was outlining my weeks and using “batch days” to get tasks done. Since I’m not a morning person, most of my days begin after 10 am (and yes, that means they go well past 8 pm). But outlining my schedule allows me to control how and when I work best. I’ve adopted Diana’s idea of having Mondays be a calibration day—a day to tie up any loose ends from the previous week, follow up on emails, and create an agenda for the week ahead. After that, I use batch days, where I dedicate one big task per day. For instance, Tuesdays are when I create client content for the week, Wednesdays are when I shoot videos for reels, Thursdays I look at the week ahead and map out content for my blog, and Fridays are when I do a lot of outreach on social media. Assigning tasks to certain days has been a game-changer when it comes to keeping me on track and has helped me feel less overwhelmed when I have a lot to get done in a week.
Since I now work for myself (sans co-workers or a boss), it’s been more important than ever to use my time wisely. And while I mentioned earlier that I don’t stick to my routine most days, I tend to stay within the general theme of the day. While I might not be very productive in the morning one day, I make sure that by the end of the day (at whatever time that might be), I get what I need to do done. Aside from that, I reward myself with little treats throughout the day after accomplishing a task. It could be running out for a coffee or working out at home with The Ness.
The bottom line is…I’m not super hard on myself about when things get done, so long as they get done. One of my goals for 2023 is to be a little more chill about the stress I place on myself, especially since I have so many other responsibilities as a caregiver. The true art of sticking to any routine is having just enough on your to-do list that it’s possible to complete everything in one day, but not too much where you are overwhelmed and can’t motivate yourself to start.
What’s your relationship like with your routine?
Leave a Reply