Your rituals and routines largely determine your ability to achieve productivity and success in your projects.
Rituals
A ritual is "a set of predefined, repetitive and rigidly structured patterns of actions".
If we analyze the morning and evening rituals of several successful people, we will see certain patterns of activities that are repeated in all of them. Analyze your own ritual to find out what you are doing and what you should improve.
In the morning:
- Wake up and be grateful.
- Feeding: What is the first thing you eat or drink?
- What is the first thing you do, the first thing you pick up?
- Visualize what you are going to do and accomplish during the day.
In the evening:
- Celebrate the accomplishments of the day.
- Write down what you learned.
- Prepare for the next day.
- Identify what were the interruptions.
Analyze your rituals
It is important to be clear about what has become part of your rituals, in order to identify how you can improve. Here are some crucial tips to keep in mind:
- Set one critical task a day (review it beforehand).
- Track your time (Pomodoro technique).
- Sleep between 6 and 8 hours at a time (find a measure for you that you are comfortable with).
- Be aware that your efficiency depends on your circadian rhythm (understand your circadian rhythm and be aware of it).
- Focus on optimizing the 4 hours after waking up (assign the main tasks to these, as this is your most efficient period).
- Take a walk, exercise and disconnect (allocate some time for yourself).
- Change rooms and delimit your work space (make changes from time to time).
- Take long showers (use them for reflection).
- Use a notebook (a physical and analog notebook is very important for proper concentration).
- Break the routine (be flexible, make cuts).
Routines
Routine is a mechanical repetition of acts (automation). Once we establish a habit, the amount of willpower and base energy needed to perform the actions is minimized.
This benefits us in:
- Minimizing uncertainty.
- Saving mental energy.
- Maintaining concentration.
"Automating our daily actions and subjecting them to discipline allows us to enjoy more time and spend our mind and energy on more necessary or pleasurable matters." (Samantha J. Heintxelman - Routines and Mening in Life)>
Analyze your routines
Know the best morning routines according to 300 successful people and compare yours.
These are the tips extracted from the comparison between the routines of successful people:
- Get enoughsleep.
- Find your optimal wake-up time.
- Give yourself time to clear your head.
- Take time to energize yourself.
- Practice positive affirmations.
- Find your best eating pattern.
- Adapt to diverse situations.
Contribution created with contributions from: Diana Paola Aldana Chaparro.
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