This month we have been covering how and why to make clear and motivated professional goals for 2021. We are continuing this week by diving into our routines and getting curious about how they affect our plans. Routines are important and powerful. They allow us to save time by not having to make decisions. They can support you, your vision, and your goals, or they can work against what you actually want.
As you read in a previous article (if you missed it, you could click here), we all have routines, but few of us actually chose our routines. We just seem to fall into them, and we keep our routines unless they’re obviously failing.
Your current routines might be okay, but are they bringing you closer to your goals? Do they support your values and priorities? Examine your daily habits and determine how well they serve you.
Can you make some small changes here and there that would enable them to serve you better? Even a tiny alteration in a routine can make a big difference because they’re performed consistently. Over time, these actions add up.
Let’s jump in with some questions about your routines:
As you get curious about your routines and ask the questions below, follow up your answers with “The 5 Whys” technique to get to the root of why you are taking the action you are and how it affects your end goal. Once you practice this technique, you will start to gain clarity and find opportunities to try new ways that may be more efficient.
Example:
What time do you wake up? 6:00 am.
Why do you wake up at 6:00 am? Because that gives me one hour to get to work.
Why are you giving yourself one hour? Because I stay awake until 10:00 pm every night.
Why are you staying awake until 10:00 pm? Because I need to wind down after I get home from work, make dinner, and take care of home obligations.
Why are you taking care of those in the evening instead of in the morning? It is what I have always done.
Why is it what you have always done? Because that is how my parents did things.
1. Morning routine. From the time your alarm goes off until you’re out the front door or starting to work, what do you do?
What time do you get up? How many times do you hit snooze on your alarm?
What do you think about while lying in bed?
What do you have for breakfast?
Do you do anything besides eating and prepare for work? If so, what do you do? Are you doing those things optimally?
How much time do you waste that you could use productively?
How do the things you do support a forward movement towards your goals?
2. Work routine. From the time you leave for work or sit at your desk, what are you spending your time on?
Are you taking the optimal route to work?
How do you use the time in your car? Or if you productively used your drive time before, like listening to books, and are now remote, how are you still incorporating what you were doing?
How early do you arrive at work?
What do you do first?
How much time do you waste at work, and what precisely are you wasting it on?
3. Meals. Eating healthy and regularly plays a big part in how productive you are. Nailing your nutrition every day will provide you with energy and focus while lowering your stress level.
What are your eating routines?
How do you choose your meals?
Do you buy your lunch or bring it to work?
What is your snacking routine?
Do you prepare healthy meals ahead of time or throw together what you can at the last minute?
4. Evening at home. How do you spend your time after you get home from work?
Think about your household chores and the time you spend with your family. Are you making positive memories with your loved ones? How?
What hobbies do you spend time on?
How do you use the time before bed?
5. Weekends. How do you spend the weekends? What are your weekend routines?
Do you go out to breakfast every Saturday morning?
Do you attend church?
Do you use the weekend to catch up on home tasks?
Do you follow the same sleep and morning routines as the weekdays?
Evaluating Your Routines
There is no right or wrong way to spend your time. Yet success is found more often when you are intentional about using your time to achieve your goals.
What is your general impression of your current routines? Are there any apparent weaknesses or places where you’d like to do something differently?
Identify wasted time. Look at your routines and determine how much time you’re wasting each day. Include all non-value activities, like watching TV. You might be shocked by the number of hours you’re spending on them. Start thinking about how you could better use that time.
Examine your goals, values, and priorities. Take a few minutes to jot these down. It’s not really possible to evaluate a routine without having criteria to evaluate against. This is an important step. If you don’t know what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish, you undoubtedly will be spending most of your time on unproductive things.
Also, consider the challenges you’re currently facing in your life. Are your routines helping, harming, or having no effect on solving your challenges?
Now, go back and create routines that make sense for you. Consider your current challenges and goals:
What activities can you do each day that support what you’re trying to accomplish?
What can you do each day that will move you closer to your goals?
What is the best way to use your time in each of your routines?
You might be able to accomplish more in the morning than just getting to work on time. With a proactive pre-bedtime routine, you could teach yourself a language or a new skill that could help your career. What do you want to accomplish?
Are you looking at getting a leg up on your 2021 game plan? Email me to take the Energy Leadership Index Assessment and receive a personalized debrief session to lay the foundation for your 2021 goal planning. Only $245 if you purchase before February 2021 (Regularly $395).
This simple online assessment takes about 20 minutes to complete.
Once you place your order, you will receive an email with the link to take the assessment within 24 hours.
Once the results are in, you will receive an email to schedule your debrief.