What's your default position?

Although we don't all purport to LOVE the humdrum of routine, many of us actually thrive on it. In fact routine (and planning) is the key to many life improvements; from diet and exercise to mindfulness and selfcare- it is also true of business development and sales.

Last month I challenged a number of my entrepreneurs to roll back the years and adopt a school 'timetable' style #defaultdiary. This age-old technique ensured that we all turned up to PE (mores the pity) at the correct time on the right day with all the kit required (or else you were in your vest and pants) and it served us well for the first 10-15 years of life; an oiled machine of organisation and preparation that saw us as children and teens fielded from the chaos of break time to the academic structure and efficiency of the classroom.

Many of my fully grown adult business owners seemed sceptical at first, but most -desperate to get 'stuck in' with 'best foot forward' after Christmas- agreed to give it a try. The first task is to create the timeframe that you'd like the timetable to cover. We explored preferred start and finish times, tried to think of their bulging task list as a employees job description and create some grouped tasks. We looked at 'immovable rocks' in their diaries, from school pick ups to family dinnertime's, networking commitments and client based days and set these in first. Some people are naturally efficient in the early hours, others prefer the quiet time after the kids go to bed; we factored all that in.

It was important to ensure the week maximised our circadian rhythms; for me personally I write best creatively in the evenings; but am better at bashing out quick emails and punchy tasks first thing. I like a full lunch break for the dog walk and a proper lunch whilst others will allow 10 minutes for a 'lunch of sorts' at their desk- whatever works for you. Into the remaining slots we #timelocked 2-3 hours at a time for project work, quotes, sales calls and much more. For complex businesses we made 4 week rotating rotes that ensured all tasks were completed 'just a little' each month to ensure progression across the board.

The result? well, I'm certain some of these superstar guinea pigs will be commenting below about the impact it's had in just the first month. However, all reflected on the feeling of overcoming overwhelm, the observation of clarity and a sense of control. It's important to note that 'default' means just that- there will be weeks that workload or deadlines dictate a different sequence of events, there will be client demands and sometimes holidays and #notfeelingit weeks where you check out momentarily. But like every good routine; you'll adapt it at times and try new things, and once it's been embedded long enough, you'll naturally slide back into it after every party season.

Give it a try. and don't forget your PE kit ??