The Routine Procedure - Why I gave in and got organised

Historically speaking, I have hated the idea of a 'routine'. Even in my imagination the word is said in a bossy/nasal tone, if spelled out it would look a little bit like this, 'rooooteeeen.' Bleugh.

The whole idea of a routine makes me want to shout:

'You're not the boss of me!!!'

I know, real mature, but I think some of you will be on my side.

Recently however I have been having more and more trouble ignoring the idea of getting myself all 'routined' up. 

Without a routine (even now... roooteeen) I find myself drifting. Days can go awry remarkably quickly, it seems my consciousness and attention has all the structural integrity of a glitter bomb.

Result? I am still finding the shiny remnants of my intention all over the house weeks later.

Clearly, this is a situation with a half life of approximately one week. One week then, till BOOM!! Something goes wrong in a big way.

So what to do? I hate the idea of a big bossy list of items to tick off with a smug little swipe of the pen. But I'm also a smart girl, I'll know if I am trying to trick myself into becoming a list maker.

My plan then? Start with the morning and leave the afternoon glitter bomb friendly (assuming that by that time I will have already achieved so much it won't much matter).

It seems logical to me that getting off on the right foot is more crucial than focusing on the last steps, Tim Ferris has a great saying which I have been using to inspire myself to get on board;

'If you win the morning, then you win the day'.

Tim Ferris                                           

As a result I have begun filling my mornings with activities that are sure fire motivators for me (and here we may differ in our poison). Every-bodies motivation buttons are different, and perhaps that is why I have been so resistant of the 'one size fits all' routine solutions.

The outcome from having a more 'intentional' start to my days has been extraordinary, impacting positively on everything from productivity to anxiety.

My brain it turns out, is more impressed with achieving my day 'dreams' than it is worried about being bullied into action.

So what have I been doing?

My Morning Motivation Musts

Morning Wisdom

(and no, alliteration is not on this list).

1. Journal Writing - I have found that 20 minutes or so of brain dump writing in the mornings is unmatched in its impact on my day. I write like no one will ever read it (which is hopefully true), I'm not too worried about it being pretty or perfect or funny or even too much if it makes sense.

I leave that 20 minutes with a mental clarity that I have not seen in 20 years.

I kid you not.

My one concession to my love of stationary is I have bought a leather bound notepad that fits in my bag and a handwriting pen, because I like the way it glides across the page.

In this twenty minutes as if by magic, ideas and solutions for all areas of my life appear on the page and I bloody love it!

Leather Bound Journal Notebook 

2. Getting an early start on work: I am lucky enough to work from home, and quite early on in this process I discovered that I was carrying a low grade anxiety around each day which was only relieved by logging on and checking the status of my work.

This was an easy win, sometime between making lunches and ironing, I log onto my work for a quick look at what has happened overnight. Then I get on with the rest of my morning, safe in the knowledge that I know what I am doing for the day.

This was an interesting insight for me, now I keep my eyes open for other sneaky anxiety triggers, and deal with them quickly too (paperwork, I am looking at you).

3. The Whiteboard Plan: In a small concession to planning, I spend 10 minutes jotting down the 'Big Rocks' (if you are not familiar with this term check out the amazing 'First Things First' by Stephen Covey of  'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' fame), these are the things I can't risk forgetting (we all remember the glitter bomb).

When I have done them, I DON'T tick them, I erase them from existence off that white board, it's like they were never there (it's different than ticking!).

4. I get out of the house: Every morning I walk for around 40 minutes, some mornings I bounce along, some it's more of a trudge. Whatever the days style, I arrive back to my desk with more energy than I left with. The value of this cannot be over sold. I believe I can credit most of my morning productivity to the early morning endorphin release that comes from that walk in the (occasional) sunshine. 

5. I crack on! The last and most definitely not least element in my morning routine is the intentional and focused cracking into my work. There is no  place for procrastination in my mornings any more, I have things to get done and goals to kick.

I know this because I am clear of mind after my journal brain dump and I have the energy to get at it.

Tackling my morning procrastination with immediate action lights a firecracker under my day and more importantly removes the sly and insidious growth of panic that comes with delay.

Bottom line, I am happier and more serene with my morning 'roooooteen'.

I would love to hear your morning routine wins, I am sure as I become more accepting of the idea of routine mine will morph and improve:)

Resources:

Here are a few of the books I have been reading around the idea of morning routines (and winning in general ;). These are in the main affiliate links, for more information on this, please read my disclaimer.