Building Routines

Each week I read a terrific blog by a gentlemen named James Clear. Mr. Clear is a photographer, writer, and entrepreneur. He recently posted an insightful study on motivation:

http://jamesclear.com/motivation

One of his discoveries helped me a great deal:

During a conversation about writing, my friend Sarah Peck looked at me and said, “A lot of people never get around to writing because they are always wondering when they are going to write next.” You could say the same thing about working out, starting a business, creating art, and building most habits.

It reminded me of some of my friends who'd asked about my routines over the years. Many asked about how to being the writing process. "Just start," I'd always say. "Go pick up a notebook. Write for 5 minutes every single day and eventually go to 10, 15, 20, and so forth. Don't worry about defining what you're actually writing about. It'll slowly reveal itself to you. And on the 40th day or so, if you don't do write it'll feel strange because you'll have built a habit."

Turns out I was missing a step. It's equally important to decide when that time is going to be. I've recently implemented this strategy into my own routine deciding that I'll begin just after noon and steadily work for at least 2 hours into the early afternoon.

Start by starting. But first decide exactly when and stick to it.