In addition to providing training on pricing homes, listing homes, building a sphere of influence, I also teach continuing education courses. From Easter to June 10 every year I teach a lot of CE. So on June 11 one could describe me as comatose. That’s why I always schedule some time just to rejuvenate.
This year the location was a house in the mountains of North Carolina. I say a house…although it has all the rooms of a house those rooms are really secondary to the 500 square foot screened porch with a waterfall in front. My husband (he keeps the same schedule) and I collapsed on two hammocks and literally slept for two days.
However being the extreme type A personally I did sign up for some coaching webinars that coincided with the time in the mountains. My logic was that because they were webinars I could lie in the hammock with a pair of earphones and just listen. What I didn’t expect was that a man, named Verne Harnish, who I’d never met and lives thousands of miles away in Barcelona could cause me to blurt out an obscenity.
What did he say to create such a reaction? It was a simple sentence…
“Routine sets you free.”
Why did I react so strongly? Because I knew it; but had forgotten.
Routine Sets You Free
In fact, I’d taught it countless times….in order to have flexibility in your job, structure is required. I’d even lived it for many years by creating a routine that allowed me to be focused on my goals and achieve those goals. But somewhere along the way I had just stopped. Reflecting back I don’t know when or why. Suddenly my life was a series of chasing what was urgent (at least I thought urgent) rather than what was important. Sound familiar? If so, read on.
To get back in the flow, start by answering a few questions:
What’s Important To You?
In my case I listed my family, my health, helping people flourish in their businesses.
What activities are useful to fulfilling those priorities?
In my case:
- I need about an hour a day journaling/meditating. Over the years I’ve found that this time is essential to working in my zone.
- Another hour is required for exercise.
- My family, which is really self-sufficient (other than the dog), needs my attention about 2 hours a day.
- Next, the business. In order to have any clients, prospecting time needs to be scheduled in each day. Two hours of concentrated prospecting time should do the trick.
Because I’ve taught this process before the objections you are thinking right now are very familiar. Biggest one is “But I can’t predict what my day will be like. There are lots of interruptions!” Yes, but given that there are 16 awake hours in the day and a fraction of those would be scheduled (in my case 6 hours) there are 10 hours for the other stuff called life.
Routine is the starting point
If you have a routine established then you have a place to start each day. And if the day falls apart and you get out of your routine then just go back to it tomorrow. Consider this…what will be the quality of your business if you don’t establish a routine?
Think about it.