I get asked on a regular basis about balancing time between several different initiatives. I’m working on a new software company (Kevy), a tech entrepreneurship center (Atlanta Tech Village), and investing in startups (Atlanta Ventures). Yesterday, I was talking to an entrepreneur and he said a statement that helped crystallize my thinking:
Routine sets you free.
There it is: a simple four word strategy for business and life. The idea is that by having a simple routine I can maintain a pulse of how things are going, regardless of number of projects, and jump in and help wherever I can add the most value. When people hear how many meetings I have, there’s a tendency to think it’s overkill. In reality, they’re focused and add a tremendous amount of value (list of meetings).
So, the next time there’s a challenge juggling a number of different initiatives, considering developing a more consistent rhythm, and let the routine set you free.
What else? What are your thoughts on letting a routine set you free?
David Cummings on Startups 
David,
What is your personal routine in terms of work, commute, relax hours?
Or, if it has changed, what was it like while you were running Pardot & Hannon Hill?
Aarjav
Can’t agree more with you on this David. I work remotely and routine is the only way I am able to stay on track. I wake up no later than 6 to read and then write (www.pickadirection.com) before I jump into the most important task for the day. Email doesn’t happen till after breakfast and my #1 task is done, I get more done before 10 AM than most people get all day all because of my routines. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg has some great insights on this as well, good thoughts!
Been wanting to comment on this for a while… routine is an interesting thing and one that you have to be extremely careful with because at one point, the notion is lauded for its ability to create successful habits (shout out to “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”), but at the other end, it could lead you to monotony and blind to new ways.
I suppose you could always implement the habit of “learning new things”. I make it a habit, for example, to change my workout routine every 6-8 weeks as your body tends to adapt after 6 weeks; and, it’s important to continually stimulate and challenge the body.
In closing, Nick Saban (coach for University of Alabama football) was interviewed by GQ where he shared how he eats the same thing every breakfast and lunch so that he doesn’t have to plan or prepare new things, really. A little snippet from GQ:
“For breakfast, he eats two Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, for lunch, a salad of iceberg lettuce, turkey, and tomatoes. The regular menu, he says, saves him the time of deciding what to eat each day and speaks to a broader tendency to habituate his behaviors.”