Sorry, Copying Other People’s Routines Won’t Make You Successful
I’ve never been great at the whole morning routine thing, but I want to be. I try to be. I read articles that break down the routines of famously successful people from Angelou to Zuckerberg. I keep hope alive that in recreating these routines, my personal caged bird will be free to write incredible poetry or create a website with billions of users. This has not been the case. I still wake up with just the right amount of time to get showered, make myself somewhat presentable, and get to work on time all while knowing there are overachievers out there who before 8 a.m. have run a marathon, written 10,000 words, and made nine new friends at hot yoga. Thankfully, I still classify myself as a very efficient and productive person.
While my morning routine may be a little lacking, I still believe having established routines throughout the entire day is a valuable thing. I continue to aim to keep life organized in a way that works for my brain, my body, and my responsibilities. Truthfully, there is no one right way to come up with or stick to a routine. I do think, however, there are some things that ought to be avoided.
You Do You
First of all, you have to establish a routine that fits you. There are different types of routines (and different types of ruts for that matter). They’re highlighted in magazines, here on Medium, and exist as a whole sub-genre on YouTube. While I don’t think there’s anything inherently bad about viewing or learning from someone else’s successes or failures, there does come a point where you must figure out what works for you and build a regimen around that.
If you try to force your life, your job, or your process into another person’s box — no matter how successful or famous they are — you will most likely fail.
Start by taking an honest look at yourself. Evaluate your good days and your bad days, looking for patterns. What did you do on good days? What did you do on bad days? Do you work well in the quiet of the mornings or the bustle of the afternoon? Do you need scheduled walks and downtime? Is a morning workout key to getting going, or a way to unwind after a long day?
No one operates the way you do, so just do you.
Establish Flexture
An hour-by-hour schedule doesn’t work for me. I have found that I’m a sensitive person when it comes to my work. My ability to focus on certain types of tasks (writing, data analysis, research) depends on anything from the noise level to the temperature of the room. Therefore, I have to be somewhat flexible on what kinds of work I do at any given hour or I have a rough time getting anything done, at least efficiently.
So, what does that mean in terms of my regimen? Well, it’s structured but flexible — flextured if you will. I break my week down by the day, segmenting the days by an area of focus or function. Mondays I work on all things customer related; Tuesdays I focus on our franchising division; Wednesdays I write as much as I can. This kind of schedule gives me some focus yet allows me to structure the day how I like. If it’s quiet in the morning, I can read or edit, and if it’s loud and chaotic I can make phone calls, etc.
If you need more structure than that, obviously go for it. There are daily tasks that I use a more structured routine to tackle: working out, taking a lunch break, making dinner — basically, the things that if I didn’t schedule them, probably wouldn’t get done.
Routine-ing Yourself Into a Rut
There is joy in spontaneity. Allow yourself to enjoy that part of life. The few times where I’ve actually managed to successfully program every aspect of my life have resulted in drudgery, and this eliminates any sort of potential for excitement. Whether you give yourself a full day of the week, or an hour a day, leave some time open to explore new things, meet new people, catch up with old friends, or to just be still. When we live on autopilot 24/7, we run the risk of digging deep ruts and unintentionally impeding our growth.
In the end, a routine succeeds or fails with the maker of the routine. Whether your routine is a hard regimen, or a loosely crafted schedule, coming up with a plan for how to make your life most efficient is a great practice. So, don’t worry about what Maya or Mark did every morning to achieve success. Instead, keep your routine tailored to you, leave some room for flexibility, and keep yourself out of lockstep by leaving time unscheduled for spontaneity.
