3 Steps to Build a Great Routine

If you find yourself stretched thin, I recommend that you establish a routine. A routine outlines what you plan to do when. It is all about protecting time for your priorities – and making sure that distractions are kept at bay.

3 Steps to a Build a Great Routine:

Step 1: Identify how you want to spend your time

What are your big buckets of work? This might include your team, clients, marketing, research, operations, etc. Keep it simple and group things as necessary. Try not to slice yourself any finer than three to five types of work.

Step 2: Define your ideal time allocation

Given your limited time, what is ideal allocation across these buckets? It might be easier to think about it across a week versus a day.

Make sure to save time for the miscellaneous tasks that need your attention. There are people to talk to and emails to address. Most people vastly underestimate this bucket. You might want to think about saving two hours each day for this alone.

Also, save time for lunch and personal time. We are not machines and cannot run flat-out. In fact, we are more productive when we take a break.

Once you have allocated all of your time, add it up to make sure that you are happy with the total. A discrepancy is a sure-fire recipe for stress and disappointment.

Step 3: Build a weekly routine

Now comes the fun part of putting the puzzle together.

When do you start and end your day? When do you meet with clients? When do you work on your projects? When do you meet with your team?

Consider your personal preferences, as well as the needs and preferences of your team and clients. And trust that this is possible. While we need to be flexible, it is amazing how well this works when we truly commit to it.