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Every Sunday I bring you an article, an interesting quote that has been on my mind, and a journal prompt, all related to working and living better.
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Embracing Structure: How Routine Unlocks The Door To Possibility
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The other day, things weren’t going well for me. I felt rushed getting into my home office to work. I jumped from one virtual meeting to another, responded to the never-ending deluge of instant messages, and bounced around in my email inbox. It was a mess, and I felt flustered.
Later in the day, it occurred to me where things had likely gotten off track; for the past week, I had fallen away from my usual routine in the morning. I had a morning routine that I had built up over time, one that really worked well for me. Following this routine puts me in an optimal frame of mind. Without realizing it, I hadn’t been following it for the past while. Instead, I had been reading news, looking at my Twitter feed, and reading emails. As a result, I was starting my day off with pessimism and negativity.
I know better than that, but I’m not immune to getting sidetracked.
In our current age of rapid and constant change, the notion of structure and routine may seem like a relic of the past. Society has conditioned us to believe that routines are limiting, that they restrict our freedom, spontaneity, and creativity. That they somehow constrain us.
Routines open up the door to what’s possible, giving us space to grow. They free up our energy, allowing us to concentrate on higher order challenges.
The Power of Morning Routines
The most impactful routine that you can put in place is a morning routine. It is a prime example of how structure can positively affect our lives. Countless people that have achieved great things attribute part of the reason for their success to having a morning routine. I think it is because you are “paying yourself first”, putting a focus on getting your mindset aligned with what your intentions are, before getting sucked into the grind of daily life.
By making time right when you wake up to dedicate to reflection, learning, and setting your mindset, you are affirming to yourself that these things are important to you. You remind yourself of what is most important to you, and this will affect how you approach decisions throughout the day.
Hal Elrod, the author of The Miracle Morning, has a great acronym for the morning routine that he developed; SAVERS.
S – Silence
A – Affirmations
V – Visualization
E – Exercise
R – Reading
S – Scripting (journalling)
I like the idea behind Hal’s framework. I use a variation of this framework after having experimented with a variety of approaches. My routine involves;
- meditation
- reading my core values and my list of how I want to be in the world
- reading my affirmations
- reading and reflecting on my current set of goals
- journalling
- reading non-fiction (learning)
I find taking an hour in the morning to do these things has a hugely positive impact on my day. It is an investment worth making, and I had accidentally stopping investing in myself.
Structure and routine can be powerful tools for gaining clarity on our goals, identifying our strengths, and cultivating a growth mindset. These are all key aspects of building a solid foundation that opens the door to new opportunities and possibilities in your life.
That structure and routines are a constraint is a myth that needs to be debunked. By embracing routines and incorporating them into our daily lives, we create the space for possibility, growth, and transformation. As a career coach and work architect, my mission is to help others redefine their relationship with work. Embracing routine and structure provides you the stable foundation to build on, empowering you to take control of your destiny and turn your dreams into reality.
Quotation that I have been pondering
So many people want to change their life, to improve things. That is the nature of being human; we continually strive for an ideal. But changing is extremely difficult. The most common problem people encounter making change is trying to introduce too much change at once.
Vincent van Gogh said
That idea deeply resonates with me. Take the first step. Then breathe, and take another. That is the only way to do anything meaningful.
Journal Prompt
The world is a complicated place and we suffer from a never-ending deluge of information. The pace is relentless. Your list of things to do will always continue to expand, and if you aren’t careful, you will burn yourself out. Working harder and being more efficient is not the answer.
You need to let go.
Let go of perfection. Miss some deadlines. Many things are much less important than you are making them out to be.
Which leads to this week’s journal prompt:
You get to choose the game you play in life. By choosing to create some space in your life, you allow room for creativity and innovation.
Sometimes doing nothing is the most productive thing you can do.
