The Incredible Power of Routine: Take Your Productivity to the Next Level

1. Strength through structure

1.1. “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine” — John C. Maxwell

1.2. I never change the underlying routine

1.2.1. I know every task that’s in front of me and what needs doing next

1.2.2. My mind and body knows what to expect next

1.3. The only variation in my routine is currently between weekdays and weekends

2. Think like an entrepreneur by making one less decision

2.1. Removes unnecessary decision making

2.2. Focuses on doing the work I have decided I most want and need to accomplish

2.3. Improve the wheel, adapt it, change it, get rid of parts that aren’t working as well as they need to

3. Routines make discipline accessible

3.1. Focus on being disciplined in establishing the habits, making the choices that build them, and keeping the schedules

4. Routine as a productivity booster

4.1. Allows your mind to focus in on just these tasks

4.1.1. Frees up your ability to think and create freely

4.2. If you want to build and develop your creativity, you have to feed it plenty of good material, to begin with

5. Tips on building your routine

5.1. Know what you want, why you want it, and determine to get it

5.2. Be willing to experiment

5.3. Start simple, expand outward toward more complicated tasks

5.4. Plan a small amount of tasks for your routine

5.4.1. Be sure to tie your tasks to whatever you’re after and to strike harmony with other parts of your life

5.5. Do this often enough and it will become a force of habit

5.6. If you break the routine or habit, don’t make it a big deal

6. Always leave room for growth and change

6.1. Embrace progress, and never settle for being best when you can and should pursue being better instead

6.2. When something stops working, hit pause, ask why

6.2.1. Always give yourself room to stop and reassess, to figure things out

6.2.2. Thinking time is an incredibly important part of your productivity