Optimize Your Productivity with Daily, Weekly Routines

Post written by Leo Babauta.

One major thing missing from GTD is structure — I think David Allen did this on purpose, to achieve more of a “mind like water” state where you are Ready for Anything. You are fluid in your movements, and respond to anything that comes your way.

But while this is a good thing for people like The David, it can be a bit too chaotic for others.

Hence Zen To Done’s Habit 9: Create weekly and daily routines. This habit creates the structure missing from GTD, giving your day and your week a more ordered and calm feeling.

It can also greatly simplify your work day and personal life, as your day won’t be overly chaotic and complicated, you can group similar tasks together and batch process them, and you can be sure of doing the things you really need to do.

Most importantly, it puts you in control of your day, instead of putting you at the mercy of the ebb and flow of all incoming requests. Without a routine, we have no good way of saying “no” to requests as they come in, and we are at the beck and call of every person who wants our time and every website that wants our attention. That’s not a good thing, not if you want to get the important things done.

Take control of your life. Set some routines and learn to follow them.

Here are some tips for doing that:

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