A Few Routine Changes to Get A LOT More Done (video)
Just a few months ago, my days looked very different than they do today.
I was doing way too much. My brain was constantly “scattered” and pulled in different directions. Projects would get delayed. And the things that I managed to ship, never achieved the results I had hoped for.
Even when I created systems for productivity, like my Cascading To-Do list that I wrote about last summer, I still felt that I was falling short of the milestones I set for myself.
But this year, things changed big time.
Somehow, I’m managing to get more done than ever I did before. I’m seeing real, tangible progress. It’s slow, but it’s steady, and growing.
And most importantly, the progress I’m making is on my own terms, at a pace that I’m comfortable with. Slow and steady wins the race… Or something.
So I gave it some thought, and came up with 6 changes I made to my daily routine and work habits this year, that have had a massive impact on my productivity. I described them in the video above. Here are the notes:
Had a kid
Yup. Somehow, being a new Dad has made me even more productive than before. Crazy, right?
Well, in kind of makes sense in a way. I definitely treasure my family-time more than ever before. But when I’m at work, in the office, (or when my daughter is taking a nap), I’m super productive.
Those windows of opportunity are gold, so I’m even more ruthless about shutting down distractions like Twitter, email, etc.
Waking up early
This is one that I seem to come back to year after year, because it’s so easy to start slipping back into the old routine.
But this year, the early morning rise is finally starting to stick (maybe having a newborn helps in this department). Now, I’m out of bed by 5:30am, and after my morning ritual, I’m in the office by 8:00am.
Pro Tip: Place the alarm clock across the room (or in a different room) so that you have to get up and out of bed to shut it off.
Pro Tip 2: Place a tall glass of water next to the alarm clock the night before. Chug it down when you shut off the alarm. Water wakes you right up.
Morning Ritual
Waking up early isn’t just about getting a jumpstart on the day. There real benefit of waking up early is it allows time for a morning ritual.
My morning ritual now consists of the following:
- 10 minutes of meditation
- 1.5 mile run at the beach or the gym (working on increasing this)
- feed & play with my daughter
- breakfast and plan the day and week.
Without waking up early, these things tend to get pushed off or not done (especially exercising). And when these things don’t get done, my day lacks energy and momentum, and that has a big impact on my work — both the quantity and the quality of what gets done.
One thing per week
I’ve heard the idea of planning on one thing per day, and I tried that for a while. That’s a good start.
But what I found was that if today’s task is completely disconnected from yesterday’s task, and the day before, then I’m not making meaningful progress on big projects. Many of the things I work on require multiple days of focused, creative effort. I ran into 2 problems:
- My “1 thing” for the day didn’t get done (because 1 day isn’t enough time to complete it)
- Even when I break it into sub-tasks, I lack momentum because I’m jumping around from project to project.
So I recently started focusing on 1 thing per week instead, and it works must better for me. Now I can focus on one project for 4-5 days straight, and ship 4 big things per month. That gives me a much better sense of accomplishment and momentum from week to week.
Metrics tracking
I wrote about this in detail a few weeks ago, in my post Taming Metrics. There I showed the spreadsheet and system that I use to record all of the key metrics in my business on a weekly basis.
This has given me a huge boost in productivity (especially since delegating the running of this report to one of my teammates). Being able to review and digest my key performance indicators, and cementing this into my weekly routine, keeps me aware of the progress I’m making. That keeps the momentum flowing from one week to the next.
Embracing Routine
As you can see, routine and momentum play a huge part in my productivity habits this year.
In years past, I was driven by whatever inspired me on a daily basis. That’s an enjoyable way to work for a while, but lately I’m embracing, and beginning to crave a structured, repetitive, routine to my work and life habits.
But a successful routine must drive momentum. Otherwise, there’s no payoff.
What’s your biggest routine change this year?
Every year is different. What’s the one thing you tweaked in your working routine that has had an impact on your productivity this year?