The Power of Routine

Your daily routine will ultimately determine your destination. W.H. Auden, the playwright, poet and author said, “Routine, in an intelligent man (or woman, of course) is a sign of ambition..”

Most of your major achievements in life will not be made in giant leaps. Rather, they will be accomplished little by little as you make tiny steps in the right direction. You do not get in good shape by going out and impulsively running a marathon, and you do not become an expert by spending all day reading a single book on a topic. Routine Collage

The more positive aspects you include in your regular routine will allow you to make consistent progress in the areas you prioritize. I am, unfortunately, a rather slow reader. But I do not let this stop me. I always have a book with me and I read very regularly, typically in the morning and evening, but also when I get stuck in a waiting room or in line. As a result, since I have been keeping track, I have now read over 600 books on all different topics, from cover to cover.

To harness the power of routine, take a little time each day to begin with something inspiring, regularly exercise, and crack open a book on a topic of interest or related to your work. Keep at it for a while, and before you know it you will get in better shape, people will start asking you what you think on various topics, and you will in general become a better person. Such small but very consistent steps are how legends are made.

The Shotgun or Sniper Rifle: Scattered vs. Focused

Are you going in a million directions every day, or are you laser-focused? It’s most likely the former, because unless you have deliberately gone through a process of focusing your life, our default mode is disorganized.

Essentialism Energy

However, there there is a step-by-step process for transforming your life from the image on the left to the image on the right. In Essentialism by Greg McKeown, he takes you through the following steps and covers much more:

1.  How to choose the things that are most important in your life

Essentialism Book

2.  How to say “No” to the things that are not the best use of your time

3.  How to decide where you can have the greatest impact

4. How to execute in that area

Don’t let other people make decisions for you. Take the time to choose what is most important in your life and start moving in that direction!