Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.

— Henry B. Adams —

I'm going to add my own translation to the quote above — Routines turn disorganization into creativity. Just how does it do that? By assigning everyday actions to routine, you can save time and act more efficiently, thereby freeing up your time and mind for the activities which require creativity.

Too often, the word "routine" gets a bad rap. It is associated with "boring, stagnant, dull." And if your whole day was just a series of routines, with no time left for real thought and activity, then it could become a life of drudgery. For the most part, though, I will side with the Power of Routines, which will allow you to put your energy towards important things as your repeating tasks are accomplished through Routine.

What are the various routines you could set up?

1. Morning routines.
   Most people already have a personal routine of cleaning themselves and getting dressed in the morning, but there are other routines that can be added or developed to help you get what you want out of life. You may add some exercise, meditation, a good breakfast, reading, catching up on the news, going over your STARS worksheets, getting emails out of the way, or some general cleaning.
2. Evening routines.
   Your evening routine should be a bridge for finishing the current day, yet linking to the next day. Lay out your clothes for the next day, put your keys in a place where you can find them, straighten up your home office desk, set up your breakfast utensils for the next morning, do some evening meditation, write in your journal, and make sure those you love know that you love them.
3. Office routines.
   Communications and filing are two big areas you could develop office routines around. Instead of looking at your emails constantly all day, pick set times in the morning and afternoon to check them, and don't worry about them in between. Have a routine for filing papers, and as soon as you are done with some papers, put them in the appropriate place.
4. Workout routines.
   I am a strong believer in finding an exercise or sport that you love doing so you will stick with it and enjoy the training. But there are always basics that need to be covered, so depending on the sport, you should have a warm up routine and a cool down routine. In some cases, depending on how strenuous your sport or workout is, you may also need a recovery routine.
5. Cleaning routines.
   Instead of doing a "big" clean, develop small cleaning routines that you can do often. This could eliminate putting aside big blocks of time for a big cleaning job. These could be incorporated into your morning and evening routines.
6. Cooking routines.
   By having some set menus and cooking plans, that's one less thing you would have to worry about in your busy day. Save your cooking energy for special occasions, or maybe a once-a-week gourmet treat for yourself.

Designing Your Routines

Some routines develop accidentally, but now you are going to purposely design your own routines.

1. List actions that you are constantly repeating, as this would be the start of a new routine. Ask yourself if there are ways that you could streamline the process.
2. Ask yourself what actions you are doing that you could eliminate. Look for those time wasters, or tasks you are doing that others should be doing.
3. List what new habits would you like to include.
4. Arrange your old and new actions in an order that would seem to flow into each other and work well.
5. If this routine must fit into a time frame, calculate the time it would take, and adjust accordingly.
6. Make a formal checklist you can use when you are initially starting out with your new routine. Use it until you have comfortably incorporated it into your lifestyle.

By Designing Your Own Routines, you will be able to put your energy towards projects and adventures that are important to you, and build a Great Life.

— Shelly —