Routines can be hard to establish and sometimes even harder to maintain but they bring tons of advantages to daily life. Having a good routine can help you focus easier, keeps the progress in your projects and personal life steady, and gives you time to relax. So here are seven tips on how to build a productive routine.
Time-tracking
One way you can start getting a grip on your daily life is by learning how long it takes you to complete different tasks. Knowing what takes only a few minutes and what can become hours or even days of work is crucial for future planning. And to help you out, there are tons of time-tracking apps. Once you have a good idea of what your schedule is now, you will have an easier time changing it.
Create a schedule
Having a clearly laid out plan for the day can help you in a ton of ways. Your brain gets used to the rhythm of your day and will have an easier time focusing on work at the right time. You will see yourself progressing in clear increments rather than in chaotic leaps. And you will have time to relax, knowing you worked hard enough. Schedules are one of the best ways to keep track of your overall progress.
Batching
Another popular work management strategy is batching. This means that you do the same type of work in one “batch” rather than throughout the day. This can mean anything from emails to calls and more. This helps you concentrate on the work you batched but it also leaves you with more undisturbed time to focus on other tasks as well.
Plan your travel
Many aspiring digital nomads want to see a new country every week. But this can easily lead to burnout since there is often not enough time to work and travel. Make sure you space out your travels into months rather than weeks. Being able to work is more important than sprinting through your nomad journey. The more stable your work is, the more you’re likely to keep this lifestyle for a long time.
Try “Deep Work”
Deep work is an intense form of working that can help you solve complex or concentration-intensive problems. The idea is to first remove all distractions from your vicinity (and yes, that means your phone as well). The second thing you need to do is to set clear and achievable goals for your deep work session. Lastly, you set yourself a clear timeframe - it can work with as little as a single hour up to four or more hours.
Eat the frog
This method asks you to do the hardest and least appetizing task first. By “eating the frog” first thing in the day, you will have the hardest task finished and you can move on to easier tasks. It also helps you stay motivated. After all, if you complete a difficult task that you have been dreading, you will feel a sense of achievement and progress in your daily routine.
The Kanban method
This method is straightforward. Make three columns on a cork board or on a piece of paper and use post-it notes to create individual tasks that need completing. Put the tasks in the first column and when you start working on them, put them in the middle column. Once you complete them, they will go to the third column. This way you will see what work is still ahead of you and also what you have already accomplished. The method scratches the itch of ticking a box of a completed task and is very satisfying.
