I have start of the day and end of the day routines. At the beginning of each day I look at what I’ve planned the night before to see if the priorities are still the same and adjust if something happened overnight that would be cause for adjustment. At the end of the day, I review what I did and compare it to what I had planned. Then, I look at what needs to get done the next day and set that down to review and execute the next day. These routines allow me to know what was done & set myself up for success for the next day. It also provides me a time for reflection, planning, and adjustment as I work towards my goals.
Reasons I have a beginning and end of the day routine:
Beginning of the day
- Gets my mind into a “ready for the day” state.
- I know what to expect and can better respond to incoming request that might adjust my schedule and plans.
- I have direction.
- I can ensure I’m working towards my goals.
End of the day
- It frees my mind – I don’t continually return to those things that need to be done in my head.
- It transitions my day from “working” to “family time” so I can be more present.
- Overnight my subconscious can work on the tasks I’ve scheduled for the next day.
- I have direction.
- I can ensure I’m working towards my goals.
My end of the day routine is pretty simple. I review what I had planned and compare it to what actually got done. My task management process exists as a combination of handwritten tasks and notes similar to the Bullet Journal, Todoist to keep track of everything I need to do, and a couple digital calendars. My notebook is the source of what I review each day because it contains any tasks that need to be created, notes I need to process, and thoughts I need to follow up on. So, the process:
- I review the tasks that were completed and update Todoist to match. Any task that wasn’t completed just stays in Todoist to be evaluated later.
- Then I create any new tasks that came out of the day.
- Review any notes that I had made and enter my time in my “time” digital calendar if I hadn’t already entered it.
- I review my tasks in Todoist, prioritizing any new tasks and picking out the tasks that need to get done the next day.
- Review my work and personal calendar for any events for the next few days making note of the next days events in the notebook.
- The tasks that I choose to do the next day are written into my notebook under the next day’s heading and I block out time in my calendar for these tasks based on their type. See my “Scheduling Your Day” post for more on that.
That’s it! Six steps and it usually takes me anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes depending on the kind of day I’ve had.
The start of day routine is much simpler. I have my tasks and priorities set from the night before, so all I really do is check if something happened over night to change those priorities and/or tasks. If that does happen, then I see what task “gets bumped” for the new, incoming thing. It may sound like things are all over the place, but it works out well for me. This is for working weekday, my days off are much more relaxed and less structured.
This is becoming a habit for me, it’s not one yet, but I think I’m almost there. I’ve added in some ritual to help strengthen the habit. Something I’d strongly suggest for you to do too if you’re going to start a routine like this. In the morning, I make coffee, grab a cup and sit down with my tools and begin my day. The end of day process doesn’t happen until later in the day. My wife and I have to get our son to one of his many sports practices, so I use that to “end” my day. This has also chopped up the end of day routine a bit. I’ll usually review the things I did that day, and fire off any emails or follow-ups that came from my notes before heading out (basically steps 1-3). Then usually before bed I’ll take 10 minutes to plan the next day ( steps 4-6).
This has been working well for me for the last few weeks.
Do you have a daily routine? If so, what’s your favorite part?