Time Maximization (Part 1): Building Your Rituals and Routines
“I do a little thing about the way people shake the sweetener packet. You know, like they’re all excited. I want to get all the granules down to one end. I love all these rituals.”
This is the first of two articles that seek to help you engineer your time and ultimately your daily focus—making sure you identify and schedule your fixed time before discussing strategies to maximize your variable time. At the center of your fixed time commitments are the rituals and routines that support weekly, monthly, bi-annual, and annual focus. Let’s start by identifying the time maximization system you plan to use. While I prefer an electronic system (as it is much easier to schedule repeating actions) you can do this just as effectively using a paper system. So pull it out and let’s get to work…Today let’s brainstorm some rituals and routines you find most valuable with several time frames in mind (annual, bi-annual, monthly, weekly, and daily). In the second article we will discuss a model to ensure you are focusing on the value and impact of your variable time to ensure you are moving the needle on your short-term goals. Later in this Finding Your Flow Series (Entering the Moment), we’ll discuss a pre-performance ritual/routine checklist that can help you ready yourself to enter any arena with clear focus and intent—just like a pilot in preparation for take off.
The Value of Rituals & Routine
- Help us manage energy through conservation of conscious attention
- Decrease our use of conscious will (giving us more energy and attention to focus on what’s important in the moment)
- Provide a stable framework where creative breakthroughs can occur
- Help translate powerful values and priorities into the actions that matter most
- Provide a level of comfort, continuity and security that frees us to improvise and to take risks (Loehr & Schwartz. 2001. p. 166-67)
- Sleep (8 hours)
- Morning & evening prayer/meditation (10-20 minutes)
- Morning or evening exercise (30-45 minutes)
- Daily planning (15 minutes—the morning of or the evening before)
- Mid-day walk (10-Minutes)
- Focused time with family (1 hour)
- Daily reading and study (1 hour)
- Evening reflection and journaling (15 minutes)
- Review weekly goals and scorecards (30 minutes)
- Organize files and desk on Friday (30 minutes)
- Date night with spouse (4 hours)
- Fun activity with kids (4 hours)
- Meditation and self-reflection (1 hour)
- Review weekly tasks on Sunday (30 minutes)
- Sunday walk with family or friends (1 hour)
- Review monthly goals and scorecards (1 hour)
- Personal questions and feedback: How am I making progress? Where do I need to pay more attention? What needs to change?
- Have a similar conversation with your direct supervisor, your whole team—even more important—your spouse and children!
- Review your personal study theme (a current training mission?)
- Social gathering with friends (3 hours)
- Community service opportunities (2-4 hours)
- Review current Missions, Vision & Legacy (1-2 hours)
- Review annual goals (progress and changes (1-2 hours)
- Review Philosophy of Engagement (1 hour)
- Feedback/coaching session with supervisor/spouse (2 hours lunch)
- Vacation with spouse (3 days)
- Review all strategic documents: Missions, Vision, & Legacy (4 hours)
- Review and re-write annual goals and create new annual goals (4 hours)
- Re-write Philosophy of Engagement (1 hour)
- Complete physical check-up
- Vacation with family (7 days)
Whatever daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annual, and annual rituals and routines you choose, you should place them within your time management/maximization system and set dates and alarms so you are prompted to act. Whatever is working keep—whatever isn’t—delete. Discover something new—test it out. These committed practices play a significant role in helping you stay focused on what is most important today.
In Time Maximization Part 2 I’ll discuss a daily filter to help you design your working day to maximize value and impact and move the needle on all of your short-term goals.
See you soon.