The life of a freelancer is anything but routine, but I have found it incredibly useful to have a few activities that I perform without fail at least five days in a week. These tasks have helped to keep me grounded and make sure that I get a sense of fulfillment from my day even on days when there isn’t much work to do. I feel that anyone would benefit from a few routine tasks regardless of the nature of your work.
Gratitude
This is the first thing I do immediately I draw my first conscious breath in the morning. I spend five minutes laying in the darkness and mentally ticking off a few things that I am grateful for. These are never ‘big’ things. I’m usually grateful for a good night’s sleep, somewhere safe and warm to lay my head, a new day, work to do, a partner, family and the little graces that are easy to take for granted.
I have found that thoughts tend to follow you around for the rest of the day so I think it wise to consciously choose my first thoughts of the day.
Journaling
I rarely miss a day of journaling Monday to Monday. I find that it’s a great exercise to stay current with what’s going on in my life.
There isn’t a ‘right’ way to journal but I have picked up a pattern over time. I begin with one thing that I am grateful for big or small. Gratitude forces me to acknowledge what’s good in my life regardless of what the prospects of the day look like.
I also mentioned two good things that happened the previous day. It might be something as little as a funny YouTube video I watched or something big such as a great client that I landed. Again, this forces me to acknowledge things that are going well in my life.
Next, I write a sentence about the outcome I would like to see for the day. It might be ticking off all the items on my to-do list or simply maintaining a positive attitude throughout the day. Having a good idea of what I would like to see happen during the day helps me stay focused on what I have identified as important.
I write down my goals for the next five years with timelines and specifics. The more I write down these goals, the more achievable they seem. I also find myself gravitating towards activities and thoughts that directly contribute to my achievement of these goals.
Finally, I write about what’s going through my mind and my emotional state at the time. I have become very self aware and I can tell what’s happening to me and why I might be feeling some way at any given moment. I end the day’s entry with a positive or uplifting quote from some inspired soul.
All this takes about 20 minutes.
Bible Reading
“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” Proverbs 1:7
I wouldn’t call myself religious but I would be a fool to despise wisdom. There is a lot of wisdom in the bible or any religious book for that matter. It’s hard to read the bible chronologically or random so I look up catholic readings for the day. This usually comes with a first reading, psalm, second reading and Gospel. I am yet to find a better way to read the bible than following daily readings; the different readings somehow all work together.
This takes about 10 minutes.
Brainstorming
I wasn’t so sure why I started doing this but it’s paid more dividends than I expected. The idea is to pick a topic (it really doesn’t matter which one) and write 10 ideas for it. Today’s was;
10 Ways I Can Improve My Day
Again, it really doesn’t matter what the topic is but the challenge is to come up with 10 ideas about the topic before you do anything else. This isn’t about coming up with good ideas but coming up with ideas. It doesn’t matter if the idea is ridiculous, impossible to implement or whatever; if it pops in your head write it down!
I’m able to do this in less than 10 minutes but it used to take a lot longer when I had just started. I have found that I automatically jump to finding solutions any time I am faced with a problem. I literally have no time to wallow or think about how the issue is getting in my way. This happens unconsciously and my problems have magically turned into puzzles that can be solved with a little time and brain power.
Morning Writing
I literally have to drag myself to my computer kicking and screaming to write. I learned that even the best writers in the world don’t really like to write. If you are going to get good at something, you have to work at it as often as you can.
I made it a habit to write at least 600 words every morning. I’m not talking about literary genius here; it’s mostly rambling that’s difficult to follow. The point isn’t what I’m writing about but rather I am writing.
I figure if you play around with words long enough you eventually get good at stringing them together. I have a helpful PDF file to get me inspired. It has a word for every day of the year and a short phrase to give you direction. This daily word prompt has been very helpful so I can just get down to writing without needing to figure out what to write about.
Listen to Lectures
I love listening to people who have deep thoughts on life. Some of the ones I like are Jim Rohn, Allan Watts, TD Jakes, Les Brown, Sadh Guru and Eric Thomas. I create time to listen to lectures for at least 30 minutes to an hour five days a week. I have learned so much from these great speakers and have challenged a lot of my long-held beliefs.
I actually prefer listening to people who challenge my sense of reality such as Allan Watts and Sadh Guru. It’s really helped to be more open-minded and to entertain thoughts and philosophies that conflict with my own without accepting blindly or dismissing without seriously considering what’s been said.
Mediate
This has been a difficult habit to adopt consistently but it’s gotten easier. The mind is always active and it can get in the way of a quiet life. Through meditation, I have learned that you can switch off the mind or at least turn it down for a while. It’s also helped me to stay calm under pressure and to take some time off to calm down before handling some imposing task.
I meditate for 15-30 minutes a day.
Read
I have made it a habit to read for at least one hour every day, five days a week. This is one of my more expensive habits because I go through about a book a week. It’s been worth it though.
I read on subjects that I am interested in or about areas in my life I feel I could do better. I read that 95% of the thoughts you have today you also had yesterday.
The point is we think about the same things over and over which isn’t very helpful if you’re trying to solve a problem. I find that reading adds to the mental fodder and I have a little bit of new information to churn every day. It’s helped me work things out from angles that I would never have thought of otherwise.
There is also a book about everything under the sun. If you are having problems with your finances, relationship, health; someone has figured out a way around it and written a book about it!
To Do List
Last, I end the day with a list of things I want to accomplish the next day in order of priority. It’s helpful to wake up knowing exactly what I need to do and when. I most recently started adding time-lines to the activities on the list otherwise I put them off for as long as I can.
This takes about 5 minutes
Conclusion
I didn’t realize how much I do in a day but all these activities take about 4 hours in total. I also spread them out throughout the day. I have had to cut down on sleep, TV and going out on random nights but I think it’s worth it. There are also a few more things I’d like add; you might notice exercise is conspicuously missing from my list.
I have a good reason everything that I do which I think has helped to sustain these habits. Doing things because someone else says it’s good for you or because you think you should isn’t a good idea in my experience.
Honestly my life is better in so many ways because I have a personal routine beyond what I do for work or other obligations.
I think it’s useful to have a few good habits that you do every day that relate to your life and what you want. Good habits keep you grounded, focused and eliminate most of the background noise that gets in the way of a happy, quiet and fulfilled life.
What is your daily routine?
On The Way to Find the Way 