Labor Day, and our last long weekend of summer, has passed. The packed days of fall are beckoning. There are new schedules, new opportunities, and perhaps even new changes happening in our lives. Though some things from previous seasons have ended, there are still responsibilities and roles that haven’t changed. And so early September becomes the time of year in which we are trying to juggle both the old and the new. We wonder to ourselves:
Can we really do it all?
But the answer varies depending on how much we’re trying to take on. And the solution is controversial at best. Over the years, the only thing that I have found to be the most helpful in busy seasons is to create a routine. And yet even saying the word “routine” feels like I am talking about the importance of eating Lima beans. My mom told me they were good for me, but that still didn’t make me want to eat them.
Routines can seem constricting. And yet ironically, in seasons I have put structure into my schedule, I have felt the most free and the most accomplished. For this reason, this month on the blog we will be doing a “system check” on our lives. We will be looking at what is most important in this season, and how best to make our lives work.
To begin this focus, I share an “old fashioned” organizational tool I love, an online video series I have learned from, and a quote to begin helping us as leaders think about our routines. Enjoy!
Love
As I have shared before I am a planner. I like to look at the month or week ahead, and know what is coming or where I can plan something great. For this reason, and because I love actually writing things down, I use a planner like this one, for the blog. Yes, it is a little old fashioned in that I am not using some fancy app, but this is a system that works for me. I find that the act of physically writing things down helps me remember them, and keeps me from overbooking.
Do you use a planner or calendar app to help organize your life?
Have you found an organizational system that works for you?
Learn
What I love about technology today, is how many successful leaders, thinkers, and creatives we can learn from directly—without ever having to go to a conference or (creepily) show up at their doorstep. Between TED talks, podcasts, and other online platforms, we can learn about almost anything. One of my favorite ways to do this is through watching, Chase Jarvis’ Creative Live.
This online show, in which Jarvis interviews many of the leading creative’s of our world, gives us a peak into what it takes to be successful. What is most surprising is how many of the conversations turn toward the importance of routine in our daily lives. Check out his interviews with Ariana Huffington and Ramit Sethi (available also in podcast format, episodes 54 and 44).
Who has taught you about life and routine?
How has your schedule changed because of them?
Lead
Your first ritual that you do during the day is the highest leveraged ritual, by far, because it has the effect of setting your mind, and setting the context, for the rest of your day.
–Eben Pagan
What is your first ritual (aka the first thing you do) each morning?
How does it set you up for the rest of your day?
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