Daily routines. To-do lists. Reminder alerts. Whatever strategy you use to keep yourself consistent, one thing stays the same: You're following a routine.
Many people resist having so much structure in their life (myself included), but as I've discovered, not planning ahead but instead "just waiting to feel like it" may leave you waiting forever. The question for most of us is not "should I keep to a routine?" but rather "HOW do I keep to a routine?"
Transcript:
Whether we like it or not, routines run our life: We have a set time for waking up, for eating, for going to work, and often even for our free time. I gotta say - I personally hate routines. But I have to admit there is a real benefit to knowing exactly when you need to get your work done.
The fact is, routines are great if you're trying to build and keep to a habit. So it's amazing how many people, when they are pursuing a personal goal don't build a routine, but instead rely on sudden will to get work done.
If you want to be a self-starter who really believes in their ability to tick things off their to-do list, you need a plan - and that plan needs a routine.
Hi guys! My name is Ian Crewe. I'm an instructor at the Joy of Dance Centre in Toronto, Ontario. I'm also the creator of Social Ballroom Dance: Where you can learn your dance, at your place, on your schedule.
Now, I want to share with you five tips today that can help you keep to the routines you create. But first let me explain how routines became something that I could appreciate in my own life.
I used to hate doing anything at a specific time, and would love to procrastinate until the last minute. One of the things I love about ballroom dancing is that I can create my own schedule. But even then, sometimes I still have trouble keeping my appointments.
It got so bad, I started to ask friends and family for advice. From talking to them, I started to realize just how frustrated I would be at the end of the day, when it seemed like I'd been working constantly, but in reality not much was getting done.
It helped me realize that, when I created and stuck to a routine, I could really start to have the kind of day I wanted to have.
Now that's all well and good, but now, how can we stick to the routines that we create? Well first of all, it's really helpful to know how long it takes to do certain things. For example, I know it takes me 15 minutes to have a shower and get dressed. So if I have something that needs to be done at 10 o'clock in the morning, I'd better be in that shower at 9:45 at the latest.
Second: Eliminate distractions. That means no cell phone, no email, and NO YouTube. Sometimes I know, work requirements need us to keep our cell and our email available, but even then, there's often ways around it.
For example I know a blogger who blogs between 5:00 and 9:00 a.m. every morning - now that's a little bit earlier than I would like, but that still means that she's not distracted, so she can get about 75% of her work done during that time - and hopefully that allows her to take a nap in the middle of the day to make up for it.
Three: Build in some "oh crap" time. Like a certain quote about the best laid plans of mice and men, there's always going to be something unexpected, that throws a wrench into your plans. So building in some buffer time will work wonders for your stress levels, while following that routine. And we talked last week about how important keeping your stress levels down is.
Four: Check back with your schedule on a regular basis. First of all, this helps keep you honest, and second of all, it allows you to see if you're starting to fall behind.
And five: Build in a good work-life balance. Speaking from personal experience, I know how easy it is to put so many ambitious tasks into your routine, that you don't leave any recharge time for yourself.
Set up some time when you can relax, reconnect with friends and family, and you'll have a lot more energy in the long run to tick those tasks off your to-do list.
Use these five routine building tips, and you'll be well on your way to become a master planner in your own life.
So now let me ask you, what are some other strategies that you've used in the past to work smarter; not harder? Let us know in the comments below!
And if you had any questions or comments about today's video, you can message me on my Facebook fan page, Ballroom Dancers Anonymous. or you can email me at ian@socialbalroom.dance.
And if you liked what you saw and you'd like to see more, you can either subscribe to my YouTube page, or you can go on to my website - there's a lot of great material that can help you on your own dancing journey.
And if you decide to subscribe to the newsletter there, you'll gain free access to four instructional dance videos in four very popular dance styles, so check those out!
Next week, we're going to be interviewing life coach Ellen Smith, who takes a very different approach on New Year's resolutions. So I look forward to seeing you then, and happy dancing!