Working on a strong daily routine is both exciting and frustrating. It’s not an overnight thing either, a lot of time goes in to building the right routine for you, as it’s not one size fits all.

I have revised my current routine many times, as I find out that my original ideas haven’t worked perfectly, I keep trying something new to find the best fit for me.

In the process of creating a strong daily routine, I am finding out just how good it feels to re-organize things to a way that suits my current needs. I feel accomplished when I have spent a day focusing on, and achieving the goals I have set out for that day. Being successful releases a lot of good feelings, which helps us stay in a positive mind frame.

Something I think that helps to create a productive day is TIME BLOCKING. Time blocking is a great way to pre-plan your day, have a specific amount of time to work on your tasks, and a great way to stay accountable to yourself and track your progress. For a free spirited person like me, pre-planning can be hard, because I don’t often stick to the plan. This is another reason I am trying to make this part of my daily routine, so I can be more productive.

Today I worked on organizing my notebooks, as I find that writing things down in too many places is quite stressful, because I don’t know where to look for what I need. So I wrote out a list of the notebooks I have, and what each of them will be used for based on the way I have used them previously. I want to keep my daily notebooks to a minimum, so I have a daily planner, a journal, an online note taking program and a working project binder. I want my daily routine to be as simple as possible – having it too complex is totally overwhelming and confusing.

I only want to have to take my daytimer with me when I go out. Hence the desire for an online note taking system – I use EVERNOTE. I also have a spot in my daytimer for jotting down some quick notes that I can transfer to my master lists at the end of the day.

At the end of the day, routines are constantly evolving, and while I’m not sure if one will ever be perfect, I do know that creating a great one that works for you will increase your happiness, make you more productive, improve time management skills, and will lead you to a more successful life.

Share your success stories below and let us know what works best for you! 🙂