How to Set Up Routines

Alan Baljeu asks in the comments to Wednesday’s post:

Before a new routine becomes habit, how do you manage it? Do you write out a separate list that you consult? Do you write these steps into no-list FVP in reverse order them so [you can do] them 1 by 1?

Basically there are three ways of setting up a routine:

1. Examine what you are doing at the moment, write the steps down and then work out how to improve them. This is how I worked out the Blogging routine in The Same Old Routine. It is particularly important to do this when you find that your existing routine is not producing the intended result.
2. Get into a routine by using a consistent time management system. As you work day by day so you will tend to follow the same path. If you examine what you have done each day, you can take steps to consciously improve the sequence. Although any time management system will work as far as this is concerned, No-List systems are particularly good at it because you have to recreate the sequence out of your own mind each time.
3. Design a new routine from scratch. If you are about to start a new activity it is worthwhile to design a sequence of action.

Remember that by the very nature of routines, they are activities which are going to be repeated over and over again. The more often you repeat one the more it is going to get carved in stone in your head. Therefore it’s important to examine your routines regularly to ensure that they are in fact producing the desired result efficiently and effectively.

The Same Old Routine

Now I’ve got back to daily blogging again I find myself back in the same old routine for producing posts:

1. Put “Blog Ideas” on my NL-FVP list
2. Go to my Blog Ideas note in Evernote
3. Add any new ideas for Blog subjects to the list
4. Select a subject from the list.
5. Put “Blog” on my NL-FVP list
6. Open a new blog post in SquareSpace
7. Enter the title in the Subject line (today: The Same Old Routine)
8. Enter a tag in the Tags box (today: routines)
9. Enter a category in the Categories box (today: Articles)
10. Set the publication time to tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.
11. Write a very brief first draft of the article.
12. Two or three times more during the day, flesh out the article.
13. Add links if necessary.
14. Forget about it.

The result of following this routine will inevitably be a new blog post like the one which you are reading now. Why did I not publish any blog posts over the last few weeks? Because I didn’t follow this routine, that’s why. If I had, there would have been a blog post every day.

I have made a few alterations to the routine along the way. I used to put the Time, the Tags and the Category in after I’d finished drafting the post, but I found that I kept forgetting to do them. It works much better to put them in before I start writing.

Probably not many of you are writing daily blog posts, but consider the value of routines in all areas of life:

Why do some people have tidy offices? Because they have a routine for tidying their office.

Why do some people keep their friends over the years? Because they have a routine for maintaining friendships.

Why do some people have loyal clients? Because they have a routine for client follow-up.

Why do some people get full value out of every day’s work? Because they have routines to deal with as much work as possible.

Why do some people produce a mass of creative work? Because they have routines to keep them producing.

And so on.

When I first learnt to drive I was taught a simple routine by my driving instructor, which I was to go through every time I got in the car to drive it. It included “check fuel”, “check gearstick in neutral”, “check rear-view mirrors correctly postioned”. When seat-belts came in, I had to add “fasten seat-belt” (which took a bit of time to get used to). Now that I drive an automatic car the routine has needed further amending. I have a different routine when I drive my wife’s car because I have to cope with an automatic brake and the fact that the engine won’t start unless I have my foot on the clutch (instead of on the brake as in my car).

These routines have become second nature - I don’t have to think about them at all. Instead I can concentrate on moving safely into traffic whichever car I’m driving from where it is parked.

A few years back I also had a temporary routine for driving because I was finding it quite difficult to change gear smoothly on my wife’s previous car. I solved that problem by introducing a two-step routine. Every time I changed gear I gave myself a mark out of 10 for the smoothness of the gear change. After a very short time I no longer needed the routine and let it go. But not before I taught it to my wife who was having the same trouble.

These are just very simple examples of how routines can make a big difference. What areas of your life would be improved by introducing well thought out routines?