10 Daily Routines and Habits to Become Highly Productive

How to become highly productive? There are few things that have as big of an impact on your productivity, creativity, happiness, and career trajectory as building solid routines and habits.

Why Routines and Habits to Become Highly Productive?

Habits account for up to 40% of our daily actions, according to studies. This means that your subconscious mind can help you achieve your goals or it can hold you back from achieving them.

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There is no need for studies to prove how influential good habits can be. What successful entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives do every day has been detailed in whole books.

While Aristotle is famously miscredited for saying:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

If you want to improve your productivity and reach your full potential, this post will dispel some of the myths about developing habits and routines.

It will also provide you with a step-by-step guide to creating your ideal day.

Why Follow a Daily Routine?

The saying “good is the enemy of great” suggests that people who settle for good enough are missing out on the potential for true greatness.

It may seem like following a daily routine takes away the spontaneity needed for creativity. But in many cases routines can lead to improved productivity and higher quality work.

Not really. Our world is full of too much spontaneity and excitement for our own good.

You can only do your best work by putting in the time. Writers have to write. Coders need to code. Designers need to design.

Unfortunately, that’s getting harder to do. Like vampires, social media, entertainment, and the news suck away our attention.

Although success may come from other factors, it mainly comes from hard work. You need to be dedicated to work hard even when you don’t want to in order to be successful. As Stanford behavioral scientist B. J. Fogg explains:

If you pick the right small behavior and sequence it right, then you won’t have to motivate yourself to have it grow. It will just happen naturally, like a good seed planted in a good spot.

More specifically, a routine helps you in a number of ways:

• Routines help you prioritize what’s important. When you schedule your day a certain way or work hard to build specific habits. You’re essentially saying “this is what’s important to me.” Routines and habits force you to think hard about your priorities and make choices.
• Knowing what you’re doing each day helps you block distractions. As the best-selling author, Nir Eyal writes, “You can’t say you’re distracted if you don’t know what you’re distracted from.” When you have a routine, you’re more likely to notice when something is trying to take away your attention.
• Habits free up energy for more important tasks. The reason 40% of our actions are driven by habit is that our minds love to conserve energy. The more you can automate the things you do each day. The more mental space and energy you have to commit to more important tasks.
• Daily routines and habits boost creativity. As we wrote in our Guide to Being More Creative, there’s no such thing as a creative muse. Instead, the most creative ideas come from working consistently and putting in the time.
• Habits and routines drive you forward. More than anything, your habits and routines are what help you see progress and motivate you to do more.

Or, as Atomic Habits author, James Clear, sums up:

Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits. How in shape or out of shape you are? A result of your habits. How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are? A result of your habits.

What is the Difference Between a Habit and a Routine?

Why You Can’t Just Follow the Daily Routine of Famous Founders

If our lives and success depend on our routines and habits. Why not copy the routines and habits of people who are already successful?

Founders and creatives who are successful love talking about how they spend their days and sharing the “secrets” of their productivity.

However, trying to follow in someone else’s footsteps will not guarantee success. Because what works for one person might not work for another.

Constantly following other people’s lead will not make you the best version of yourself. Instead you should question things, try new things and see what works best for you.

This means that the routine has to be suitable for the person doing it. We all have different things that trigger our habits.

How much willpower we have, and how much control we have over how we spend our time. If you think you can duplicate Elon Musk’s success by following his routine, you’re likely to be disappointed.

You need to try different things to see what works best for you to have a productive day. More specifically, there are a few areas of your life you should look to build solid habits and develop productive daily routines:

• Your Morning Routine
• Work Habits to help you stay focused
• Disconnecting from work
• Optimizing for energy and health

10 Daily Routines and Habits to Become Highly Productive

Test a few habits and routines to make the most of the early hours.

1. Give yourself more time by waking up earlier

There are many successful people who wake up early. Many of them recognize that once 9 AM arrives and everyone else is awake, their time is no longer just theirs.

The early morning hours are an ideal time to do things that will help you stay focused and motivated during the rest of the day.

This may include preparing for the day ahead. Working on meaningful projects, or spending time with family.

You should also: Building a habit of getting up early requires a few considerations. You should also:

First, you can’t sacrifice your sleep. Getting up earlier means going to bed earlier. If you sleep for less than 7-9 hours, it will do more harm than good to get up early.

The next thing you need to do is pick a wake-up time and stick to it. Our bodies crave consistency and so does our habits.

It is more likely that you will be able to turn waking up at a specific time into a habit. If you are able to stick to specific wake-up times.

Lastly, never, ever hit snooze. As Benjamin Spall, co-author of My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, writes:

“Highly productive people don’t hit the snooze button. They just don’t. This has been the most consistent theme that’s come up in my over five years of interviewing people about their mornings. They do, however, set an alarm to hedge against oversleeping. Even if they end up waking up and turning it off before it has a chance to sound.”

2. Boost productivity

Taking risks is an important part of being creative. Sometimes, you will fail at what you set out to do, but this is all part of the creative process.

Although it may seem counterintuitive. Giving yourself permission to experiment and to fail can actually help you learn what doesn’t work.

Which then makes it easier to see what does work and ultimately leads to more success. Tsaousides says that if you are successful, it can lead to you wanting more success, which can make you more productive.

3. Take the (mental) road less traveled

We all have ways in which we think of ourselves—and ways in which we believe others define us: smart, athletic, type A, scatterbrained.

Tsaousides says that it can be difficult to do something that is not related to the labels that we are attached to.

In the Yoga Sutras, these patterns are called samskaras—mental and emotional habits that we regularly cycle through.

When we keep repeating the same thoughts and behaviors, we reinforce them and they become our go-to patterns.

Brenner suggests that it is possible to avoid negative experiences by changing the way we see the world, our relationships, and ourselves.

Expert-approved exercises that can help you break free from negative samskaras and live a more fulfilling life.

4. Realize that your “rules” can be the exception

According to Brenner, it is common to get used to our usual thoughts and feelings But it is crucial to realize that we can choose to stay or leave them.

Recognize the story you keep telling yourself and become more aware of it. Ideally, you would be aware of it as you are playing it on repeat in your mind.

Perhaps you commonly give yourself a hard time after getting helpful feedback from your colleagues.

Or superior at work and tell yourself you’re not smart enough to do an excellent job. Maybe you have a lot of things you need to do.

But you can’t seem to start because you haven’t been able to finish those tasks in the past. Why would this time be any different? If you examine your typical thoughts and behaviours.

You will be more likely to see their limits and recognise that there are always other options. Brenner believes that once you are aware of the limitations you have set for yourself. You can begin to work on changing them.

5. Sit with yourself

We often exercise or attend yoga classes for physical benefits or to connect with friends, and while there is nothing wrong with that, it is important to remember the mental benefits as well.

It’s important to have time to yourself to think quietly. This can be done by meditating every morning, or having a cup of tea in silence each night.

It can be helpful to think collaboratively and seek out community support. To fuel your creativity and maintain a positive outlook.

But in order to make real change. You need to take some time to yourself to process new information and decide your next best steps.

This says Christine Whelan, PhD, a professor at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

6. Make small changes.

You don’t need to make drastic changes to your life in order to get new ideas. Tsaousides says that you can start by trying something small. Like driving a different route to work or changing up your breakfast menu.

Even minor changes can help your brain become open to bigger shifts. Building up your tolerance to change makes it easier to handle big changes when they come along, he says.

7. Get comfy with discomfort.

As you let go of old patterns, you may feel uncomfortable or even unhappy in your new surroundings.

The best way to practice accepting things that are difficult is to repeatedly expose yourself to them.

You might offer to go first when presenting ideas at a work meeting. Even if you don’t like public speaking, or are worried that your coworkers will judge you.

Alternatively, you could tell your friend that you would love to go to her dance class with her on Saturday morning. Instead of going to your normal yoga class.

If you feel nervous or uncomfortable when you try something new, remind yourself that you’re expanding your comfort zone. This will open you up to new opportunities and ideas.

8. Hit the road.

Research by Adam Galinsky, PhD, a professor at Columbia Business School. It has shown that travel can be a great way to boost your creativity.

This is especially true if you immerse yourself in the local culture. Rather than choosing an all-inclusive beach resort.

Galinsky has found that foreign travel, in particular, boosts the flexibility of your thinking, sparking new ideas.

9. Start doodling.

The next time you find yourself in a long, uninspiring meeting. Try passing the time by doodling in the margins of the paper in front of you.

According to research published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, doodling can improve your focus and memory. It can also fire up your creative juices, solidify ideas, and inspire new notions.

10. Do a quick body scan.

This style of meditation can help you to relax as well as tap into your creativity to solve problems.

A study published in the journal Mindfulness found that a meditation practice during which participants were receptive.

To every thought and sensation in their body made them better at creative thinking. Than when their meditation involved focusing on a single thought, mantra, or object.

Daily Routines Are Just Guidelines For Living Your Best Life

Every one of these customs and proposals will assist you with being progressively fruitful. You shouldn’t try to add all of them to your daily routine.

You need to try different things to see what is best for you. Try one for a week and track your results. Does it work? Why not?

In the end, we’ll always go with what works best for us. Your body and mind will indicate if something is not working for you through various symptoms (such as restlessness, boredom, anxiety, or fatigue).

Pay attention to the signals your body is sending you and use them to create a daily routine that works for you.

FAQ

How can I create a morning routine for productivity?

Start with a consistent wake-up time and avoid snoozing. Incorporate movement, like stretching or a short workout. Plan your top priorities for the day before checking emails. Hydrate and fuel your body with a nutritious breakfast.

What habits boost focus and efficiency daily?

Start your day with a clear to-do list and priorities. Use time-blocking to minimize distractions and multitasking. Take regular breaks, like the Pomodoro technique, to stay fresh. End the day by reviewing progress and planning for tomorrow.

How does exercise improve productivity and energy?

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, boosting focus. It releases endorphins, reducing stress and mental fatigue. Regular movement prevents sluggishness from long sitting hours. Even a short walk can refresh the mind and enhance creativity.

What nightly routines help ensure a productive day?

Disconnect from screens an hour before bedtime for better sleep. Reflect on the day’s accomplishments and set goals for tomorrow. Prepare essentials like clothes and meals to save morning time. Practice relaxation techniques, like reading or meditation.