Routines and systems are the backbones of any small business. As your business begins to take off and grow, it’s important that your systems are in place to grow with you. You can wing it for a while when you start. But at some point, you’ll find that you are doing the same things over and over again. Each day, there will be certain tasks and routines that get repeated. Those need to be written down and systemized. You need to be able to show someone else how to replicate those tasks so, at some point, you can stop doing them and focus on the high-level tasks of a business owner. It will help you alleviate the tendency to take your work stress home with you. As we head towards fall and the 4th Quarter of the year, now is a good time to ramp up your productivity. In that vein, Entrepreneur had a good article on afternoon and evening routines to increase your productivity.
Some Good Afternoon & Evening Routines
John Rampton’s article stresses the importance of the routines. Their role in making you more efficient and productive are well documented. While many people focus on their morning routine, you shouldn’t ignore the end of the day as well. They work together to help you with your overall productivity. The 11 routines suggested by Rampton:
- Stop while you’re ahead
- Get up and move
- Take a micro-nap
- Save the easy stuff for last
- End your workday on a high note
- Chillax when you get home
- Do one thing that you love
- Eliminate negativity and reflect
- Prepare for tomorrow
- What good did I do today?
- Turn your bedroom into a cave
Each of these suggestions has some good tips with them as well (read the article to get the full explanation). Ending your workday on a high note also has some concrete ideas for how to end your day at work.
One of the suggestions about “What good did I do today” also has three questions you can ask yourself:
- What progress did I make toward my vision and goals today?
- What am I grateful for today, specifically?
- Finally, what improvements can I make with what I learned?
If you have 5 – 10 minutes, I suggest you click through and read Rampton’s article. Although you may not adopt each of the tactics, it should hopefully provide you with some inspiration for your business and productivity systems.
