How Successful People Structure Their Days

Introduction

Have you ever watched someone go through a super busy day, seemingly unbothered, while you can hardly get through the most important things on your to-do list?

You started the day with a well-structured to-do list. And then your phone lit up with notifications. Or, you got a surprise email. And, just like that, half the day has gone by. You wait all day to finally have the time to yourself, and you stay busy all day, only to feel like you accomplished nothing.

There is nothing more frustrating than feeling like you are putting so much work in, yet not seeing any results. Things that feel the most like work; procrastination, distractions, poor planning, and changing priorities, can turn an easy day chaotic.

There is nothing magical about the amount of time successful people have. They also have to deal with interruptions and unproductive days. The biggest difference is that they have routines that help reduce impactful decisions.

You are not going to be more productive just by copying a famous person’s morning routine. You are most likely going to be less productive and more stressed. You need to understand productive routines, and then make your own productive routines. the most impactful habits are the ones that simplify your day.

What Counts as a Daily Habit?

Things you do everyday. Like: setting tomorrow’s goals every morning, reading your agenda before work, doing workouts, or organizing tomorrow’s work before signing off for the day.

The important word is everyday. If you plan once or twice, you may be driven to do it for a few days. But, habit keeps going week after week, even without motivation.

Think about running a website. You wouldn’t change the title just because you felt like it. You wouldn’t do just one or a few site checks and then plan and schedule posts at random intervals. You have to do things regularly to keep things running. Productivity works the same. Habits put structure to the things that are important to you, but that you keep procrastinating.

Habits and routines, when done right, help you be less busy instead of more busy. It helps make it more convenient to do the things you need to do, but that you keep putting off.

Why Productive Habits Form

A strong or productive habit solves a recurring, but previously unaddressed dilemma. For example, the chaos of an unprepared morning is solved by the preparation done the night before. Or, a distraction is solved by changing the space to a less distracting environment. Or, various procrastinating projects are solved by blocking time on your schedule to work on them.

How to Build Energy and Time for What Matters

Your day starts with countless decisions. What do you do first? When do you exercise? When do you check email? All small decisions, but from a mental energy perspective, it adds friction. Some decisions can be eliminated with preparation. By laying out clothes, reviewing the following day’s schedule, and writing priorities the night before, the decision about what to do when you wake up is eliminated. This preparation saves mental energy for more important work.

The Consistency Effect

Great, big, seemingly instantaneous accomplishments, like a new skill or a finished book, are all the result of the slow, steady accumulation of small, consistent, repeatable actions over time.

For instance, writing 500 words once is unlikely to produce a finished book, but writing daily is more likely to, and will create the first draft.

There’s no greater enemy to a steady routine than an occasional motivation-fueled sprint of activity that quickly fizzles out.

Setting Boundaries

Great productivity is creating work/life boundaries. After work, the boundaries allow you to enjoy dinner and activities in the evening without to do tasks following you to bed. The boundaries allow for a natural stopping point to your work day, even if the day doesn’t end on schedule.

10 Ways to Improve Daily Habits

Changing your habits doesn’t mean altering your entire lifestyle. In fact, going to such extremes will only cause you to end up failing to follow through to complete your goals. Rather, choose one thing that needs to be changed, one habit you want to add, and allow yourself time to adjust to the change.

1. Plan Your Tomorrow, Tonight

As you are approaching the end of your work day, spend five to ten minutes planning. Identify the most important tasks to accomplish, check your meetings or appointments for the next day, and identify the first thing you are going to start the day with. By doing this, you are clearing your mind of the things you have to do, and you can rest without the worry of forgetting anything.

2. Schedule Time for Important Tasks

Having a to do task list is a great start for motivation, but tasks that sit on a to do list ultimately are not accomplished. To avoid a task being pushed to the back of your daily routine, designate a time for the task to be done. For example, block 90 minutes without any other distractions to complete the messages to be sent.

3. Finish Your Toughest Task First

The easiest tasks are most likely to get done first. But most tasks, especially the easiest ones, can take up most of your productive time. Find ways to get the most avoided tasks done before the other tasks fill up your schedule. Mornings are not the only productive times of the day. If you feel that your most productive time is in the afternoon, then schedule your most dreaded tasks to do in the afternoon. This is all about principle and clock management. Don’t feel that you have to get your most important task done first just because you have the most time available to do the task.

4. The Two-Minute Rule

The duty to respond to a quick email, file a piece of paper, or take a short turn can seem heavier than it actually is because of the accumulation of small duties. If it actually takes two minutes, do it. However, be careful because it can be hard to tell how a small task can morph into a big task. So, only take on the tasks that you can actually clearly define as small and easy.

5. Add a New Action to a Set Routine

New habits can be easier to add to a routine that already is reliable and well established. Every new habit can be added to the routine of making coffee. This can be especially useful in the mornings. Each routine can be different. This new habit can be added in the evenings as well after a well established routine of brushing your teeth and then going to bed. Each small change to a daily routine can be easier forming that new habit that is desired.

6. Fit Your Surroundings to Your Aims

With respect to changing your surroundings to change your behavior, willpower comes a poor second. A phone placed next to your keyboard will be checked far more than willpower will keep it untouched. A well organized workspace will eliminate many barriers to starting. Move distracting apps, unnecessary tabs, and put supplies in advance. A person wanting to read more will probably place the book on the bedside table, not in a drawer — the changes in surroundings will cause changes in behavior.

7. Run a Weekly Review

Daily reviews or tasks will show you what you need to do for that set day, a weekly review will show you what state you are in as a whole. Set aside 15 to 30 minutes, once a week, to review what you have done, what has been postponed, and what is upcoming. A task that sits untouched for three weeks tells you more than just that it is not being completed. Perhaps it is unimportant, perhaps it is too large or needs to be scheduled at a different time. Without this review, you are likely to keep doing the same thing over and over and get the same result.

8. Protect Your Sharpest Hours

Not every task requires the same amount of focus. For example, answering a text message requires less focus than doing a task that involves a lot of thinking, analyzing, or even solving a complex problem. Figure out the time of day that requires the most focus and protect that time for really important work. There is no time of day that is the most important for everyone. What you need to do is know yourself rather than following the schedule of someone else.

9. Develop a Smaller Version of Your Routine

Life is unpredictable. You have illnesses, trips, exhaustion, and surprises. If your ideal routine has one hour for exercise, thirty minutes for reading, one hour, or more, for a planning session, then nothing less than that may feel right. Develop your smaller state version. Perhaps, the smaller version for you is to just write the three priorities for the next day, then that habit can be smaller instead of failing completely.

10. Include Rest

It’s tempting to think of rest as something you get after you complete everything, but there is always something left to be done. Deliberately built-in rest is not unproductive, but, it is a line that makes you keep your working hours doing work and your personal hours doing personal not work. A routine that can be kept, does not only have work, but has rest, hobbies, and personal relationships.

Keeping Habits Useful Over Time

Once the basics are in place, the challenge shifts to maintenance.

You have to pay attention to the energy you have, not just the time.

Have an energy inventory at the end of the day to see how much of your time was actually valuable.

Expect the old to become the new.

Setting Realistic Deadlines

Deadlines can be tricky. There’s a fine line when it comes to setting personal deadlines. If you set a reasonable deadline, time won’t be viewed as a non-restrictive buffer and tasks will be completed in a timely manner. However, if you set a deadline that is too aggressive, it can be a huge source of stress.

Adjusting Your Routine Over Time

Once you have a schedule, don’t be afraid to change it as time goes on. What was once a perfect routine may not be as effective down the road. A perfect routine is one that changes over time.

Common Mistakes When Building Daily Habits

The most typical mistake novices make is trying to create a ton of new habits overnight. Waking up early, going to the gym, meditating, etc. is not a sustainable way to begin self-improvement. Start simple.

One way people seem to think of self-improvement is waking up at an ungodly hour because certain public figures associate it with their success. Don’t copy a person’s routine because that doesn’t guarantee success for you.

Doing a whole bunch of nothing to feel like you are making progress is also a huge mistake. Making a bunch of to-do lists or reorganizing your task management system, for instance, can feel like you are doing something productive because over time it will result in done tasks, but in reality you are not doing anything meaningful. A good way to frame most actions is to ask, “Will doing this actually make me progress toward my goal?” or “Am I doing this to feel accomplished?”

Not reviewing your progress on a routine is another trap a lot of people fall into. It is entirely possible to follow a routine to the letter and have it not work at all. For instance, if your routine has taken to planning your entire day hour by hour to the detriment of your ability to wake up on time, then you are not accomplishing anything.

Avoid relying on motivation. It’s fleeting, unlike a good routine. It requires minimal motivation.

Pros and Cons of Daily Routines

Pros

Consistency on the most important behaviors; less decisions to make; easier to keep focused and clear work time; less chaotic; easier to separate work time from personal time.

Cons

Building a routine takes effort; can be frustrating to those who like to be spontaneous; can be counterproductive if the same routine is always done; it will become restrictive; unexpected things will always get in the way.

Frequently Asked Questions About Daily Habits

How Long Does It Take to Build a Habit?

There is no definitive answer to this. It ultimately is based on difficulty of the habit and frequency. You should aim to build habits by doing them as often as possible instead of doing them all by a certain time frame.

Do You Have to Wake Up Early to Succeed?

There is no need to. It is based on personal preferences. You should build your routine based on your own personal preferences not someone else’s.

What’s the Single Most Important Habit?

There is no definitive answer to this based on preferences again. Overall, you should focus on your habits based on the most pressing issues you are dealing with for the time being.

How Do I Stick With a Habit When I Have No Motivation?

Make it smaller. Do 10 minutes of exercise. Read a couple pages. The key is to make it easy to start. Preparing what you need the night before is super helpful. Set out the book, the exercise clothes, the papers, etc.

Is It Normal to Fail at Building Habits?

Absolutely. The key is to not let one day off ruin your habit. Your goal is a routine that allows gaps and not a routine that is 100 percent complete.

How Many Habits Should I Build at Once?

Starting with one or two is best. There is a lot of focus that goes into adding a new behavior and it is best to not add a lot of changes at once. You can add more habits once the first set is all automatic.

Does Habit Stacking Actually Work?

It works, because it utilizes a habit that you do all the time to add a new habit. A good example is using the habit of drinking your morning coffee as a cue to set your daily priorities.

How Do I Stop Procrastinating on a Big Project?

Focus on the next step that you have to take. A project goal like “build a website” is overwhelming. Focus on one step like “name the homepage” instead. Make goals that are super small and very concrete instead of large and vague.

What If My Schedule Is Unpredictable?

Design your routine with a sequence rather than fixed times. First, check your calendar. Second, identify your top priority. Finally, prep for your first task. Flexible time blocks tend to work better than fixed, rigid time blocks.

Should Weekends Look Like Weekdays?

Not necessarily. Because your responsibilities tend to change on the weekends, your weekend routine can also change. This can mean having more flexibility and incorporating fewer weekend habits. However, weekend habits that help your productivity can be kept, such as spending time with family.

Conclusion

Emulating the daily habits of productive people is about more than simply repeating the same daily rituals. It is about being consistent in your daily habits of scheduling, work focus, and task efficiency. It is also about daily review and allowing time to not be working.

The biggest problem that is usually the biggest issue is the one that is causing the most frustration in every day life. Fix the fractious routine first instead of trying to solve multiple issues at once. If this is task procrastination, take the first step, focus on completing, and setting personal work limits.

Make your routine with habits that can be sustained in your life in a small scale. This is more valuable than habits that require large amounts of daily effort. Focus on one small scale habit at a time that can be repeated daily.

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