This is How to Harness the Power of Creating Routines

I have always been a big proponent of creating routines in my life to streamline things and save my brainpower and creativity for the more important stuff.  But not until recently, did I realize how powerful they are for parents that have young children.

Several weeks ago, I was staying with some friends who have twin 5-year-old girls and I was amazed at not only how many routines they had but how effective they made things.  During my stay, I observed morning routines, eating routines, brushing your teeth routines, and evening routines, just to name a few.  I also observed another routine, which was a really great one that I had not even thought of, we will get to that one later!

The Power of Creating Routines

The beauty of creating routines is that they can help us to do stuff without even thinking which helps us avoid nonessential distractions that overwhelm us.

According to Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less:

“But if we create a routine that enshrines the essentials, we will begin to execute them on autopilot. Instead of our consciously pursuing the essential, it will happen without our having to think about it. We won’t have to expend precious energy everyday prioritizing everything. We must simply expend a small amount of initial energy to create the routine, and then all that is left to do is follow it.” ¹

Why Routines Make Difficult Things Easy According to Science

One simple explanation that explains why routines make difficult things easy comes from a large body of scientific research. The more we perform certain tasks our neurons form new connections via communication gateways known as synapses. As we repeat the tasks, the connections grow stronger and it is easier for our brains for activate them. For example, we can drive to work every day without even thinking about it or we can make a meal without referencing the recipe.

There is Another Cognitive Advantage to Creating Routines as Well

According to McKeown, creating routines has another advantage in that:

“Once the mental work shifts to the basal ganglia, mental space is freed up to concentrate on something new. This allows us to autopilot the execution of one essential activity while simultaneously actively engaging in another, without sacrificing our level of focus or contribution.” ¹

In other words, the brain can almost shut down which leaves you mental activity that can be channeled towards something else.

This is How to Create Routines That Help Us Execute on the Essentials

Researchers at Duke University have found that almost 40% of the choices we make are deeply unconscious. In other words, we don’t think about them in the usual sense; they are automatic. This is both good and bad. It is good in that we can create new routines that eventually become instinctive. On the other hand, it is bad in that we can create routines that are counterproductive.  It is very easy to get caught up in non-essential habits or routines without giving them a second thought. For example, checking our email first thing in the morning or reading trashy gossip sites on the internet at lunch rather than having an interesting conversation with a colleague.

McKeown offers several strategies to get rid of the routines that are counterproductive and replace them with routines that are productive.

(1)  Change your triggers

A habit or routine is simply an activity or task you perform without thinking in a focused manner. Your brain likes habits because they save our brains from expending energy and allow them to focus on more important things.

Habits consist of 3 primary components:  a cue, a routine, a reward:

Cue

This is the trigger that gets you started in whatever you are doing, it could be an appointment on your calendar, a task on your to-do list, an alarm or reminder on your phone. There are 4 types of cues – place, time, how you are feeling, and how you react to something that has happened or how you react to other people.

Routine

The routine is your response to the trigger or cue; it is the habit your brain automatically goes to when receiving the cue. Routines can be useful, useless or even harmful.

Reward

The reward is the pleasure that you receive from completing the routine that makes habits develop and continue.  In terms of procrastination, the reward is thinking about something more enjoyable. The ease and speed at which we can think about something more enjoyable is what makes procrastination such an easy habit to fall into.

As time goes on, these 3 components become automatic as the cue and the reward become intertwined.

According to McKeown:

“What this means is that if we want to change our routine, we don’t really need to change the behavior. Rather, we need to find the cue that is triggering the nonessential activity or behavior and find a way to associate that same cue with something that is essential. So, for example, if the bakery you pass on the way home from work triggers you to pick up a doughnut, next time you pass by that bakery, use that cue to remind you to pick up a salad from the deli across the street. Or if your alarm clock going off in the morning triggers you to check your e-mail, use it as a cue to get up and read instead. ” ¹

(2)  Create new triggers

In order to change our behavior, we are not only confined to changing our existing cues. We can also create new ones to jump-start the execution of the desired routine.  For example, if you want to read before you go to bed, you could put a book on your nightstand to remind you to read.

You can also use a concept that we have discussed previously called habit stacking. The idea is to attach the new habit or routine to an existing habit or routine which becomes your trigger or cue to do the new behavior. For example, let’s say you want to make your bed. If the first thing you do every morning is to put on the coffee, then attach your new habit of making your bed to that. So, your new routine becomes putting on the coffee and then making your bed.

(3)  Do the hardest thing first

Another idea you can use to create a routine that sees you doing your hardest thing first thing in the morning. We all have so much crap to think about and we can eliminate a lot of that stuff by focusing on a routine centered around doing our hardest task first.

As McKeown recommends:

“Find a cue—whether it’s that first glass of orange juice you have at your desk, or an alarm you set on your cell phone, or anything you’re already accustomed to doing first thing in the morning—to trigger you to sit down and focus on your hardest thing.” ¹

(4)  Switch up your routines

Doing the same things day in and day out can get a little boring.  To counteract this, you can create different routines for different days of the week.

CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey avoids this type of “routine fatigue” by having different routines for different days. On Mondays’, he conducts his management meetings, on Tuesdays’ , he focuses on product development, Wednesday’s are for communications, marketing and growth, etc. This strategy also leverages the concept of batching or grouping similar tasks which helps avoid inefficiencies associated with task switching.

(5)  Handle your routines one at a time

The last strategy that McKeown recommends is to tackle your routines one at a time. The idea is not to try to overhaul all your routines at once, but rather to start small. Make one or two changes to your daily or weekly routines, see how it goes and then build on your progress from there.  Create your hypothesis, test it, and then make it a routine or try something else.

The Routine That My Friends Have for Their Girls That I Wasn’t Expecting…

…is a technology routine. As in they are only allowed a certain amount of time per day on technology, they can use it how they want, but once it’s done, it’s done – no more. Personally, I think it’s a great idea to limit the amount of technology kids are exposed to or they can become obsessed with it.

Anyway, I tell you this because it led to a funny story. One afternoon I was sitting on the couch doing some email on my iPad when I heard them ask their Dad where I was. Soon thereafter they sidled up to me on the couch and asked if they could watch some videos on my iPad.

Knowing how my friends’ limit the girls’ technology use I responded with, “Why don’t we ask Daddy first?”

I wish I had a video of their reaction because it was priceless, both adorable and hilarious at the same time.  Both of their eyes got really big and wide and they replied in unison, “No, no, no!”

Gotta love kids!

Until next time, keep creating routines, and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use it Or Lose It

We discussed several strategies to get rid of the routines that are counterproductive and replace them with routines that are productive:

(1)  Change your triggers.
(2)  Create new triggers.
(3)  Do the hardest thing first.
(4)  Switch up your routines.
(5)  Handle your routines one at a time.

When to Use It

Use these strategies for creating routines when they make sense in your life.

What Do You Think?

Do use routines and are you adept at creating routines in your life?  Do you have any go-to routines in your life that you cannot live without? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

¹ Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown