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The daily routines of successful people
Think of your typical daily routine, what comes to mind?
Do you see a series of pattern behaviors that stem from habits you’ve had for years or rather just some hacks you’ve picked up from friends and the internet?
A daily routine needs to be a reliable blueprint that serves both your personal and professional goals. It can play a comforting role as it outlines a scheudule within which you can set out to use each day.
A daily rotuine is ultimately responsible for how happy, healthy and productive you could be each day, week, month and year.
But learning how to identify and break bad daily routines is the real secret to mastering a successsful routine.
Start with these 3 easily-implementable tweaks to your daily routine:
1. Listen and Learn
Ditch the morning drive show or the habitual social media scrolling for a productive podcast. Avoid letting time pass during your daily commute, lunch time, admin tasks or downtime – use that time to learn something new?
Set your routine for success and shift your focus from Facebook and radio-listener-rants to curated talks and discussions set to boost your productivity, creativity and mood.
That’s at least 1 hour 20 minutes each day that you could be spending with one of these next-level pod-casters:
The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry: Sitting on an innovative idea unsure of how to turn it into reality? You’ll find the inspiration you need here.
TechStuff by HowStuffWorks.com: from DNA forensics to alphabetising Google, this one’s for those looking to let their geek flag fly.
The Tim Ferriss Show by Tim Ferriss: the author of The Four-Hour Work Week “deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics and tools you can use.”
Meditate This by Peter Falker and Jason Hollander: a podcast where interesting people discuss their understanding of mindfulness, art, science, spirituality, music, philosophy, and more.
2. Stand up for yourself
Today, most of us spend at least 8 hours hunched over a desk – and a further 2 hours hunched over a mobile device. That posture shortens your diaphragm and tells your body to go into flight-or-fight mode: All. Day. Long.
Why?
According to registered massage therapist, Adam Leavens, sitting in a bad posture at your desk can result in accessing your sympathetic nervous system when under normal work stress. This means you’re constantly engaging your fight-or-flight mode whilst working. But, because you’re unable to physically fight your stressors or run away from your desk, it results in your sympathetic nervous system being constantly overloaded.
This burden then translates into an inability to digest your day and rest when you return home, leading to sub-par bodily function such as irregular sleeping patterns. Try these tweaks to avoid repeatedly sitting in a seat of tension:
Aim to be on your feet for at least 2 hours a day
Motivate to your HR or Services Manager for a standing desk space in the office and aim to use it at least once for a standing work session. You’ll be surprised at the difference it can make to your efficiency.
Walk and talk at least one meeting a day
Adapt your one-on-one meetings from being a boardroom sit-down to a focused walk and talk.
Prepare beforehand: leave your laptop behind and grab your notebook to write important points down.
3. Escalate your evenings
You know the importance of starting strong by making the most of your mornings, but are you giving the same deliberate thought to the way you spend your evenings?
According to Forbes.com, one step to take is to simply relax or find other activities that can draw you away from negativism and refocus your attention on the positive aspects of a situation. Winding down the right way after work is crucial to how you will spend your tomorrow.
Here are habits successful people have in their routine when they get home:
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