Creating Routines to Create Momentum

This is my first real week of working from home.  I "retired" and then was needed to help out at my full-time job for a few weeks. Then, I left to visit my son and his family in Louisiana for three weeks. I returned home and immediately spent two days at the Pittsburgh Pet Expo.

Now the dust is settling and I am trying to find my rhythm as I work full-time from home and attempt to use my time wisely.  I have to say, I love what I do, how I am growing as a person, and all the adventure that awaits me in the future.  I like the challenge of organizing my time and tasks, but with so many opportunities, people to follow up with, team members to support, household tasks begging to get done, I need some structure to anchor me and keep me from bouncing around like a pinball.  (Am I dating myself?)

This structure was presented to me as I turned on my car stereo and found myself listening to a chapter of The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  The chapter was on momentum and Darren was discussing the power of routines, times in our day when we don't have to rethink our actions.  Routines can help us focus on what is most important.

Darren shares the power of having a morning and evening routine that is practically set in stone.  He states, "these routines ease life's stresses by making our actions automatic and effective."  These routines help us start and end our day well, but they also help us make sure that our most important priorities are getting attention.

Here's an example.  My morning routine now consists of waking at 6:00, snoozing the alarm and taking my temperature (to keep tabs on my Thyroid).  In the nine minutes of snooze time, I speak words of thanksgiving, pray for one person that God brings to mind, and decide what 2 or 3 actions I will take today to move closer to reaching the primary goal I have identified for this week or month.  Then it's up and get ready for the day, make some tea and straighten up the kitchen while the kettle heats.  I take my tea and head for my prayer chair for some time with my "daddy" and to get my instructions for the day.  I eat a quick breakfast and then head to my office by 8:30.

This is where I can potentially waste a good deal of time or spend hours on tasks that are really not a priority.  Darren's challenge is to take ten minutes to decide the top three MVPs (most valuable priorities) for the day. If I could only do three things today, what would produce the greatest results in moving me closer to my primary goals?  Once this is decided, the day can begin, emails can be answered and sent, and tasks can be completed.

 Can you see how starting the day with a routine, one that is focused on your most important priorities, could give you more focus, and quite frankly, create momentum for the change you'd like to see in your life?  Your current priority could be relationship oriented, health related, focused on building a business or organizing your home.  It could be to get ready for a trip you will be taking, writing a chapter of a book you plan to publish, or finishing a project that you have been avoiding.

Routines get us moving and can help us insert key practices into our day so we won't forget what is most important to us.  I encourage you give this idea some thought to see if it might be useful to you.