To Establish Routines, we must recognize its importance. The website OnDeck has an interesting article called: The Work Routines of 40 Successful Business Leaders. This has simple work habit graphics of 40 business people. Here’s a quick quote – “Our research shows that successful business leaders exploit the natural rhythms of their daily cycle…

For example, Elon Musk keeps it real by walking the floor of his rocket factory all afternoon. Sure, the Tesla and SpaceX boss leads his businesses, but he also works on engineering solutions – keeping his passion for work aflame and his companies ship-shape.”

If you are a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of person, then you probably aren’t into routines. But if you want your employees, operations, logistics etc to run smoothly routines will get you there.Yes, sometimes we need to be spontaneous and make the proper changes when things don’t go as planned. However, our spontaneity should not become the design of our actions, but the attitude of our actions.

The same thing applies to those who are able to make and act on quick decisions. Just because we can make quick decisions, and manipulate our schedules as we go along, it does not mean we should live our lives without a plan, and without routines.

Establish Routines – Ideas for business

Operations: Here’s some ideas

• Determine workflow: Make a diagram, excel sheet or operational tree to visualize how you produce your product or service. This will help you understand the individual components and how they relate to each other.  
• Eliminate bottlenecks: These are the areas that cause your production to slow down or back up.  
• Remove risky and unsafe activities: Things are more likely to go wrong in risky environments. To increase safety, run through every operational activity and try to eliminate as much risk as possible.
• Improve activities that add value:   Efficiency helps increase profit margins, especially in your high-value activities.
• Remove activities that don’t add value: This one’s easy. Why waste time on things that don’t make you money?
• Initiate help: Try meeting with employees, business advisors, network groups, colleges or anyone who can help brainstorm better ways of doing things.   
• Run a cause and effect analysis: Think of this as a giant jigsaw puzzle with moving pieces. Difficult yes. But breaking down the basic organizational structure of your operations and then deciding how they all fit together will help determine what’s negatively affecting what.   
• Deal with what you can first: Some things take time, but others can be done right away. Remember, sometimes it’s the small things that can be easily fixed. And these often cause the biggest problems

Goods & Services: Some more good ideas.

• Focus on the good: We typically look for the wrong first. However, I say start at what you do best and analyze what makes it so. Then see if you can duplicate it down the line.
• Look at the big picture: Stand back and look at the entire operational process to make sure you understand where you currently stand and where you want to be. This includes what you currently produce, what could be made better and what possible products do your customers want in the future.
• Take time: Don’t rush things, or your changes might make things worse. Try some smaller experiments with various changes. Run smaller batches with each major change to make sure your product meets expectations.
• Quality Control: Everything you produce should have some way to ensure your quality will meet customer performance demands. In this digital age of smartphones, customer reviews and instant online access, products are undergoing tremendous scruitany. Sometimes a few bad reviews may just become your products judge, jury and executioner.
• Do what you can first: It’s no use fretting over things you can’t afford when there are changes we can afford now. So, do what you can first and then work on the larger things when your able to establish routines.

Meetings: I always loved the adage: The brain can only absorb what the butt can endure so remember

• Meetings should be short and to the point.
• Start with the end in mind
• Stick to the agenda – rabbit trails only aggravate productive workers.
• Decide who will do what by when (and give time limits to all presenters)
• Invite only involved parties
• Assign pre-work if necessary
• Have after meetings snacks for those talkative people who want to discuss more.

Organization: I believe that logically organized business run best.

• If we are not organized, our people products and services wont be.
• If you need help ask your workers, they often have understanding we don’t.
• Try breaking your business into components logical to you.
• Take time to organize each part of your business to run effectively and efficiently.
• Work smarter not harder – Dont be cheap. Find the right tools and equipment.

Establish Routines – Ideas for personal life

* Family Routines

As parents, my wife and I set Saturday nights aside for family nights. Even when our teens complained about not being able to go out with friends. Although this stopped when their friends started to join the fun. Years later all of my children told me those were important times in their lives. I believe this helped establish purpose for our family because now my children are doing the same with their children.

* Health Routines

Every few years you might want to try keeping a sleep journal. Click for our Better Sleep Worksheet.  Also, a periodical eating and exercise journal can help as well. Click for our Eating / Exercise Worksheet.  This may allow you the opportunity to optimize your eating, sleeping and exercise habits.

* Money Routines

To establish routines around money, it’s a good idea to keep a journal for a few months on everything you spend money on.  Then tally up your spending and categorize each area according to what and where you spend. It may come as a shock to see how much one spends on coffee, soda, or water alone. I have saved thousands by buying an espresso machine 10 years ago. Although I might have to start charging my friends for cappuccino. Also setting up a financial plan and budgeting can help tremendously. Click for our Guide To Saving Money Everywhere.

* Productivity Routines:

We all have our own routines. One of my most productive routines is my yearly goal setting sheet. Click for our Guide To Writing Better Goals.  Every year I write a list of about 50 to 100 things I want to do during the year. I categorize them by financial, family health etc. I then print, laminate, and keep one sheet in my organizer and one in my office.  This way they are always in front of me so I can keep making plans to fulfill them. Then as I check them off one by one, my encouragement level goes way up. My lowest percentage of goals reached was 58%, my highest was 86%. At the end of the year, I roll over the unfinished ones to the next year and start my list from these unfinished goals.