Routines

You may not think of this as time management tool, but I feel a good routine can really help with the time management world.

Several Years ago I started a new job. The fellow I was replacing spent two days teaching me everything that was going on and what needed to completed. Okay, deadlines.

What I found interesting was the last day we made a list of everything that needed to be done. Then he wrote out the work week, Monday thru Friday. Then we took the tasks and put them under different days. Once all the tasks had a day then we put them in a priority on the days.

Just like that I had a schedule of things that needed to be done and when. As I started working each week then things started to become a routine.

Once the routine started working, things were getting done and I was successful. Then when curves and things that upset the routine started I was able to take them in stride and take care of those issues, and still get the main tasks completed as well.

I am currently a General Manager, and I have found a rhythm to the store. Orders, schedules, deliveries, interviews, hiring, training, and other odds and ends. So I try to set up times and days things need to happen and make a routine. Now there are always interruptions, things don’t always go according to plan. Yet making a routine helps get things done and insures the important daily things make it to the completed/done section.

Writing is and can be very sporadic. How can you take creativity and put it into a routine? As I’ve talked with other writers some things are starting to become apparent. Self discipline, and a passion about getting their stories onto paper. (Okay perhaps paper is become cliché, but it has to be written in digital or written down, but words have to be put out in some form or another I just use paper as the metaphor to get the point across.) There are things that are common, research, writing, editing, revising, beta reading, and critiquing. So a routine can be built, how it is built is up to you. There are many roads to Chicago, how you get there is your affair.

What I like best about routine is this: you can go to autopilot and things just get done. However, you must make a routine that works for you, be disciplined to make it work. Once it is working then things that must be done, do get done.