Using A Routine To Be Insanely Productive.

Routine: a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program.

Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

The main difference being that habits happen with little or no conscious thought, whereas routines require intention and more cognitive effort.

If you execute your routine enough, it will eventually become a habit. Once you're in a habit, this come and flow naturally and with far less resistance.

Consider the following example.

A basketball player goes to the free throw line to shoot is foul shots. This process, the location on the court, the rows of players on either side of the hoop — it's not unfamiliar. However, depending on the score, timing of the game, the energy of the crowd (ha — a crowd, remember when that was a thing?) the pressure can vary greatly.

If having a habit of touching their socks, shoulders and then dribbling exactly three times prior to shooting, when executing that habit, they immediately feel comfort and in control, and thus, the anxiety of the scenario diminishes. They're able to confidently take their shot.

I was on a roller coaster of mental and emotional stress, anxiety and inner-discord for the past handful of months. I couldn't shake it. Until I picked up a new routine.

Suggested by two good buddies, for the past two weeks, I have religiously done the following:

• Night before: Identify what needs to be completed the next day. What's one, important task that if completed, you'd feel good about your accomplishment for the day.
• Wake up: between 5–6am, depending on the previous day.
• Key Takeaway: After only turning off my alarm, I do not check my phone or email until the remainder of this routine is over.
• Water: drink 16oz of water. This immediately rehydrates your dehydrated body and helps kickstart your metabolism.
• Yoga: 15-30mins of yoga (YouTube for free). Zen out. Don't think about your day. Embrace the breathing, body movement, and morning stretch.
• Coffee/Tea: if you're a morning warm-drink drinker, get that goodness goin'! If not, grab another glass of water and move on.
• Read: set a 30min timer, and read. Preferably a screen-free read. I do a yearly reflection at the end of each year, and every year I find myself wishing I read more. However, I never prioirtize that time. Now I do, and I'm on track to read 10 books this year if I continue. A big change from last year's 0 books ??
• Big Task: set a 1hr timer, and for duration of that time, undistracted and uninterrupted (still, no phone or email checking through this point) work on your big task for the day. The sense of accomplishment when completing 1 solid, uninterrupted hour of the thing that you would more often than not avoid or procrastinate all day is indescribable.
• I personally choose to listen to classical music during this time.
• This routine takes about 2hrs from start to finish, and I feel SO incredibly accomplished upon completion.

As I mentioned, Today marks 2 weeks of executing this routine. So, it's still just that. A routine. Not yet a habit. But it will become one.

Starting my days with this personal time, intention and control, making substantial progress on that 'big task' each day has been absurdly satisfying. I HIGHLY suggest you give this a shot.

But, Adam, what do you do after that? Is the rest of your day just a normal day where you're catching up on email and putting out fires?!

*I scoff* Of course not! Every day, I schedule ninety percent of my day, using the pomodoro technique, breaking my day out into 30min increments. This affords insanely productive and satisfying (crossing out list items all day everyday is immensely fulfilling and gives you small doses of dopamine that reaffirm and reenforce this habit) days, enabling me to feel deeply accomplished nearly every day.

*Rarely, but sometimes, I do feel like I didn't have control of my day, but sometimes still, shit catches on fire, and I end the day feeling like it was wasted, I'm behind, and I got nothing accomplished. Sometimes that's necessary — allow yourself some grace!

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