1. Email. I have a bad tendency of going straight to the computer as soon as I get up in the morning and then easily losing one or two hours to email and news feeds, which causes me to work in reactive mode and end the day feeling like I’m behind and that I didn’t do what I needed to do to move my business forward.
2. Long days. I’m not against working long days now and then, but I am against working for work’s sake, and on many days, I have a bad habit of not staying aware of the hours I’m putting in or paying attention to whether or not I’m even getting anything worthwhile done.
3. Ignoring natural rhythms. For a long time, I’ve considered myself an insomniac and have experimented with tons of ways for getting to sleep and staying asleep, all to no avail. In truth, I might just be a night owl trying to be an early bird or only need six hours of sleep instead of eight. By ignoring my natural sleep-wake rhythms, I’ve set things up to be a constant struggle, and it’s established a routine that doesn’t seem to work with how I’m hard-wired.

Breaking bad habits and routines is a real challenge, which in my case I knew would require a complete system reset. That’s a lot easier to do when you’re on vacation or when you make a major change in your life, like moving or starting a new job, but how do you hit the reset button when everything is the same in your environment?

A Complete Break in Routine

My system reset started accidentally. After several late nights before and during the holidays, I found myself staying up even later than usual, often until 4 or 6 AM. For the first few nights, I was frustrated by it, but after I couldn’t get back on schedule, I decided to take advantage of the time and get a little bit of work done. After a couple of days working that way, I started to see that I was actually getting more done, and I wasn’t falling into my old and established habits.

My new (and experimental) schedule looks something like this:

• Somewhere between 10 PM and 12 AM, I start working, and I work until 4 or 6 AM.
• I sleep from 6 AM until noon and then get up, eat a light breakfast/lunch, and get ready.
• I spend the entire afternoon and evening however I want, catching a 30-minute nap some time between 6 and 8 PM, and then I’m free again until it’s time to start work.

Here are a few of the positive changes I’ve noticed so far:

• I go to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow (a nice change of pace from my regular two to four hours’ of tossing and turning).
• I eat when I’m hungry (since I have no idea when I should be eating!), which has proven to be a good way to lose weight and eat healthier.
• I’m working six to eight hours a day instead of ten or twelve, a major improvement that keeps me focused on the most important tasks that need to get done.
• I have a lot more free time to spend with family and friends or even by myself, and as an added bonus, shopping and running errands is a lot easier because of the hours I’m free.
• I’m breaking old habits. When I start my “work day,” I’m not falling into my old routine. When I say that it’s time to start working, I actually start working right then and there on the most important things, since I know that I’ll actually be tired at 6 AM and ready for some sleep!

In the end, it’s probably just tricking myself into a new routine. I don’t know that I’ll stick with this schedule in the long term, but I can say that this is the one thing I’ve tried that’s actually fixing many of the ongoing problems I’ve had until now, including insomnia and bad work habits. The real test will be seeing if this hard reset has a lasting impact on my bad habits, even when back on my old schedule.

I know major life-shifting like this isn’t possible in all cases, but if you’re having trouble breaking bad habits you’ve established for yourself, it might be time to try finding ways to disrupt your routine and give yourself a system reset.

Has there ever been a time where you’ve had a major life shift that impacted your work schedule in a positive way?

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It was pure madness, and I was completely frazzled. I had to turn in the show without a single run-through to make sure it was OK, my house wasn’t nearly as clean as I would have liked, and I was still in lounge clothes when my guests arrived — not at all my normal way of handling things, especially where work is concerned.

The bad thing was that my entire week had gone that way, too: jumping from one appointment to the next, eating lunch at 2 PM (if I was lucky), and stopping work just in time to go to bed at a decent enough hour to be rested enough for the next morning’s appointments. It was chaos, and it proved that not only do I need an assistant, I also needed to create buffers within my schedule.

It might seem efficient to have back-to-back appointments with small buffers to compensate for meetings running over and time to get to the next one, but what about the time needed to process what happened in the meeting? In every appointment I have, whether with a client about a project, a partner about a strategic alliance about collaborations we’re getting underway, or a guest about the radio show, there’s usually some sort of follow-up that needs to be done after the meeting. Wouldn’t it be more effective to do that while it’s still fresh on my mind?

My schedule wasn’t the only place, though, where I needed this kind of space.; some padding around all the things I needed to do and all the units of time in which I did them. I knew I needed to start putting buffers around everything that I do:

1. Buffers in my schedule. Instead of scheduling three appointments in the middle of my day, I now schedule two and then use that extra space around them both so that I have time to do the majority of follow-up for each while it’s still fresh on my mind.
2. Buffers around my work day. I need time to throttle up and wind down at the start and end of each day, rather than immediately jumping into or out of work.
3. Buffers within and around projects. Instead of creating a jam-packed project schedule, spread it out over an extra quarter to a third of time to account for setbacks and unanticipated delays. Also consider adding “rest time” between projects to help keep the creative juices flowing and in case a project gets pushed back for some reason.
4. Buffers around vacations, breaks and sick leave. It takes a little time to get back into the rhythm of working, and usually there’s a backlog of emails, blog maintenance, writing and other tasks that have to be tackled in addition to the regular work. Try adding a buffer of a quarter to a third of the time you were out to compensate for the added workload, as well as the “jet lag” caused by time away from the regular routine.
5. Buffers around weekends and work weeks. This is one place where I actually have been doing much better with maintaining buffers. I reserve Monday mornings for accountability calls and planning so that I can see where I’m going in the weeks ahead and where I’ve been in the past week or two. On Fridays, I’m trying to get into the practice of using an hour or so to plan out the coming week and make any adjustments to my schedule and workload, based on any projects and appointments I have on the docket.
6. Buffers around problems. I’m coming to appreciate that when I’m struggling with something in my business or when I’m adding something new to the mix, I need to leave myself enough space and time to work it out. I might need time to figure out a solution (like in the case with hiring help and offloading some of my work), adjust to something new (like the new radio show and its added workload), or simply to reflect on an issue and figure out what I want.

I’ve come to realize that it’s not realistic to expect yourself to jump from one thing to the next with no downtime or space to reflect on what you’ve done, where you are and where you’re headed. It’s important to have “wiggle room” to make it all work and keep yourself from getting overloaded.

Do you add buffers in and around your work day?

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As enjoyable as the holiday season can be, it’s also a hectic time filled with demands that can exceed even your busiest days at work. On top of that, it can be hard to let go of work, and there’s often a little nagging voice reminding you of what will be waiting for you on your return. When the first weeks of the new year arrive, it’s easy to feel jet lagged and sleep deprived, wishing that you had time for a vacation from the vacation!

It’s a lot easier to realize the need for downtime and rest during times like these, but it’s just as important to routinely get time away from work and daily stresses well after putting away the Christmas ornaments.

A creative outlet or some form of physical activity can be just the remedy for stress-filled days, so why not take the time to plan for some fun activities away from the office?

Get a Hobby

There are so many ways to blow off steam. It can be as simple as a daily walk, but you might also enjoy:

• Joining an acting, photography or painting class at a local college.
• Baking or cooking something special each day.
• Gardening or visiting nature centers in your area.
• Dancing or taking a dance class.
• Exercising or bike-riding.
• Swimming, rowing or simply being near water.
• Reading or starting/joining a book club.
• Hiking, jogging or preparing for a marathon.
• Sewing, crocheting, pottery-making or painting.
• Spending time outdoors or with your pets.

The options are truly endless, but the important thing is making sure to reserve time for it every single day, so be sure to find something that’s accessible and convenient so that you’ll actually commit to it and make it part of your routine.

Schedule It In

The New Year is here, and it’s the perfect time to set your intentions and make room for those things that are most important to you, and taking time for yourself to unwind and take your mind off work should be at the top of your list. If you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re not operating at your best, which can actually take away from the attention you provide your life and business.

Reserve time now for yourself and activities that will rejuvenate you and help you bring the highest level of energy and clarity to your business.

How do you unwind and decompress from the stresses that can come with running a business?

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Many of us are web workers because we want to spend less time commuting to work and more quality time with family, doing things we enjoy year-round. But life sometimes gets in the way and we forget to enjoy the little moments.

Those little moments don’t mean the big things like making a rare trip to the museum, or catching a show. It can simply be watching your six-year-old read, going to lunch with a friend, looking at the stars on a clear night, playing a game with your family or walking your dog on a spring-like day.

I think we all agree that the older we get, the faster time flies. Remember when you were a child that time took “forever” to get out of school, to reach your next birthday and to earn your driver’s license? Now events sneak up on us. Here’s why web working rocks and gives us time to enjoy the little things in our lives.

• Flexible uniforms and workouts. Web workers can wear whatever we want. I mostly wear shorts and a t-shirt or sweatpants and a sweatshirt. This way, I’m comfortable and always ready to work out.
• Convenient workouts. We can exercise when it’s best for us rather than trying to squeeze it in during lunch, waking up extra early before work or fighting the after-work crowd. I work best in the morning, so I exercise in the early afternoon when my mind starts to lag.
• Personal appointments. When an appointment takes longer than anticipated, we don’t have to stay later in a corporate office to make up for it. We’re already where we need to be and can make up the work easily at night or some other time. If there’s a special event in town that only happens during the day, we don’t have to use a personal day to attend.
• Volunteer any time. Since moving to full-time web working, I’ve been able to volunteer more often and take non-profit board positions, which tend to have meetings during the week day. I have many memories of doing volunteer work that only occurred during the week day.
• Enjoy interests and hobbies. I joined a tennis team that only plays during the week. It doesn’t eat into my work time since drilling and playing a match takes about the same amount of time as one of my regular workouts.
• Flexible schedule. Are you a morning person? A night person? A person who needs to take frequent breaks? Unless you have family commitments, you can work a schedule that fits your innate needs. So when you wake up in the morning, take a moment and think how wonderful it is to have more control over your work schedule.
• Unexpected events. It’s easier to deal with unexpected events as a web worker. When my dad had bypass surgery while I worked for a corporation, I could only spend the afternoon with him. But when he had a stroke, I was a web worker and spent a lot of time with him in the eight months that transpired between the stroke and his passing. Had I been in a corporate job, I would have missed out on all the time I spent with him in his final year.
• Illness. When I get a cold or just plain don’t feel well, I get comfy in bed and snuggle with my laptop. I don’t have to get dressed and drag myself to the office. Or I can work just a couple of hours, enough to get the job done. Plus, you don’t catch anything from colleagues. The more relaxed web working environment can be healthier so that you don’t get sick as often.
• Pets. When I take my dog out for her mid-day break on a typical day, I look at her and around me to take in the moment. If I were still in a corporate job, I would not have her in my life. Sure, she has her accidents in the house and sneaks into the trash when I’m not looking. But nothing beats her spending her day next to me while I work.
• Children. My kids come straight home after school. They stopped going to after-school care when I joined the ranks of web workers. I spend an hour or two with them catching up on their day (when they’re willing to share), ensuring they do their homework and going outside to play. Many of us web workers can easily sit in front of the screen for hours. Thanks to my dog, kids and need to exercise, I give my eyes and body a break. I can also volunteer at their schools during the day; I love seeing them at school with their classmates and remember those days.

I live in the Dallas area in Texas, an area not known for seeing snow often. When we had a beautiful snowfall recently, I took a 30-minute break to build a snowblob. (It had started raining by the time I put on the second layer.) That was great for my spirit and feeling like a kid again. When I returned to my toasty office, I felt revived and forged ahead in my work. Web working is decadent, isn’t it? Stop for a minute and appreciate what you have.

What do you love about web working?

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The first priority, I’ve found, is the first part of the day. Not only does it set the general tone for the rest of the day, and by extension for the entire week, but it also directly affects my productivity levels. And it isn’t about getting more done in the morning, it’s about doing less.

The Bedside Table

I find that as someone who works at home, I can’t help but pay keen attention to my surroundings. That extends beyond my home office area and into the bedroom. Specifically, the bedside table, which usually contains both the last thing I look at before I go to bed, and the first thing I check when I get up.

Before recently, I’d be referring to my cellphone. Specifically, in my case, my iPhone. Saying it’s become a constant companion would be grossly understating things. Being without it for any length of time tends to make me feel like I’m being both personally and professionally negligent. It got to the point where I would wake up well before the alarm to the buzz of a silent email arrival notification and spend the first hours of the day doing inbox management from bed.

No more. The iPhone is now banned from the bedroom. I don’t want to go to sleep thinking about what I just read on Twitter, only to wake up to jump right back into the stream, creating the impression of an almost unbroken link. As I’ve had to do with textbooks and television in the past, I’ve outlawed computers of any kind in my sleeping space to keep resting and waking untouched by the rigors of the day.

Breakfast

Before doing anything else (including checking my iPhone/email/Twitter), I also now have a breakfast that I actually prepare, even if it’s something as simple as instant oatmeal and some fresh fruit. Generally speaking, breakfast will be accompanied by tea and orange juice, too. But it isn’t a ritual that’s completely devoid of work.

Breakfast is a great time for unplugged preparation work. That could mean reading the newspaper (on my Kindle, I admit, so it’s not a completely gadget-free affair), or if I’ve got a particularly full schedule ahead, preparing an old-fashioned pen-and-paper to-do list. I still find it’s important not to brave the inbox yet at this point, or I could get lost before the day even starts (my approach is similar to Jared Goralnick’s in this respect).

Begin the Day in Earnest

Generally speaking, about an hour into the day, after I’ve done my breakfast routine, it’s time to actually start work. I find that I’m much more ready and willing to tackle work like inbox clearing, administrative work, and challenging, complicated tasks that I might’ve jumped into immediately upon waking before.

Tasks that used to inspire serious procrastination and take long hours to complete now get done quicker and without nearly as much hesitation. I have more energy, less stress and greater professional satisfaction.

It may not be possible to dedicate the first part of your day to relaxation and preparation, but consider getting up early to allow time for a good start. You may be surprised to find that the extra time provides more energy and drive than an additional hour of sleep might. The sleep you do get could be of much better quality, especially if you resist that urge to check Twitter just one more time before bed.

How do you prepare for work in the morning?

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When did Noah build the ark, Gladys? Before the rain. Before the rain.
- Nathan Muir, Spy Game

In recent months, I’ve become acutely aware of how life and business can easily conflict with each other. It seems that the work involved in creating a successful business is never done, and if there’s an avalanche to come in life, it’s going to happen when there are deadlines looming and there’s a mountain of work to be done.

I’ve had a series of avalanches lately, which reminds me:

• There will never be perfect balance, peace and harmony between work life and personal life. Adjust accordingly.
• It’s important to avoid procrastinating and allowing things to pile up, whether that be work-related to-dos or the laundry and dishes. When avalanches strike, you’ll appreciate not feeling more burdened and overwhelmed by those little reminders of chaos and unrest.
• Try (at least the majority of the time) to honor a daily routine, a daily practice that keeps things humming along slowly but steadily. When things get crazy, the cushion built by that daily practice will allow for greater flexibility.
• Take regular time away from the business. Mental and physical stamina comes in handy during times of stress or when there’s more work than usual to be done.
• Remember that it’s not the big stresses, but the ongoing daily ones that cause more harm over the long term. The work will get done, eventually, so ease up where possible.
• Build (and learn to more steadily depend upon) a team of people to keep the business going, not only during challenging times but every day.
• Time flies whether you’re having fun or not, so why not have more fun?

Entrepreneurs, frelancers and small business owners have a tendency to run at a dangerously fast pace all the time, forgetting how important it is to step back and look at the big picture to make sure it resembles the vision and life they intended to create for themselves.

We can try to run at high speeds all the time, but life will inevitably throw up walls to slow us down. It’s important to intentionally steady the pace to account for those unexpected obstacles and be able to safely navigate around them. For me that means starting with a few simple steps:

• Being more selective with my work and obligations and saying no a lot sooner and a lot more frequently.
• Becoming diligent about honoring a regular stop time for work and learning to shut the office door behind me (and leaving it closed the entire time I’m off).
• Incrementally delegating routine tasks that tend to pile up and leave me strapped for time to focus on the most important things in my life and business.

It’s easy to ignore the rate at which we work and then become overwhelmed when the unexpected inevitably occurs. The easier option is to start making changes now to prepare for those times when you need more flexibility and wiggle room. While it’s impossible to plan for everything, it’s helpful to have a few safety nets in place to support you during challenging times.

How do you accommodate for the avalanches in life while still steadily building a successful business? How have you learned to prepare for rainy days while the sun is shining?

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After I stopped reeling, it was time to start dealing. And deal I did — by taking these actions.

Accept the situation. It does no one good to scream and worry about it. Of course, I still worry about the situation, but I don’t let it paralyze me or prevent me from moving forward. It’s OK to scream when you hear the news, just know when to stop and move on.

Stick to the schedule. Despite the bad news, you need to try to stick to the schedule and make your deadlines.

Respond to emails at the right time. Sometimes you may not be in the best frame of mind to reply to a difficult email. Address problems and more challenging emails when you know you can respond logically and not emotionally.

Take care of your physical self. Exercise eases some of the pent up stress and symptoms that come with it. I also make sure I get my seven to eight hours of sleep, drink plenty of water and follow a balanced diet.

Help with the job search. This gives you a feeling of some control. Plus, you might be able to contact some people that your spouse doesn’t know.

Reach out to friends and colleagues. Letting others know about the situation ensures others understand why you may not act like everything is hunky dory. They might also help by contacting their connections who may have jobs or know people who do. If your friend is laid off, wouldn’t you want to know?

Write about the situation and your feelings. For some people, writing down their thoughts and emotions can ease the frustration and anger.

I know we’re no different from the many families with at least one person out of a job. My sister, my friends and others have all had loved ones out of work for months. All we can do is talk and support each other while pushing forward to find the right job where employee and employer can benefit from the partnership.

How do you handle a life-affecting situation like a layoff?

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Just because we don’t establish good routines doesn’t mean that habits don’t inevitably take over. They do. For most of us, I’ll bet, whether we care to admit it or not, we do the same things day after day, consciously or not. We wake up at certain times, follow certain rituals, and inch our way into the flow of the work day.

For me, when I allow bad habits to set in, it’s only a matter of time before I’m hit by the “ick factor.” I can always recognize it by the plethora of excuses that accompany it. “I have no time to work out and eat well…I can’t seem to get around to [fill in the important thing]… I would do [important thing], but before I know it, the day is just gone.”

All of a sudden, I feel disgusted with myself for taking back seat in my own life. There are things that I want to do each day, like exercise, eat right, keep a journal, spend time outside, etc. When I allow a period of time to go by without doing these things on a regular basis, I get increasingly frustrated and wonder why I don’t just do them. It occurred to me recently that it’s not because I don’t want them badly enough or that I’m too lazy to do them. It’s simply that my “bad routine” eats away at my days. I go from one activity to the next out of habit. To make room for the activities that are important to me, I must establish new habits, and the only way to do that is by disrupting (and replacing) the old ones until I eventually eliminate them.

For me, there are two critical points in my day where I could disrupt my old routine and begin replacing it with one that is more in line with the daily life I hope to inhabit, and both points have to do with the same object — my alarm.

When I set my alarm at night, it’s a good time to think, “How do I want tomorrow to go?” For a minute or two (before setting my alarm), I can think about how I hope for the day to unfold and, if it could be a perfect day, what it would look like. I almost always think of starting the day with a long walk, ideally one hour. That tells me I need to back up my wake-up time by at least an hour.

In the morning, when the alarm goes off, I need something to remind me that I’m supposed to start my “perfect day” with a long walk, instead of hitting the snooze button. My trick: Place a brightly-colored sticky note on the alarm clock that says, “New routine — start with a walk!” I know, it’s a little hokey and even elementary, but it makes me become more alert right when I’m waking up and reminds me to approach this day (just this day) with intention and purpose, to approach it deliberately.

My goal is to inch my way to a perfect day. Once I’ve established the habit of walking each morning, I will put a new brightly-colored sticky note on the table by my door where I lay my keys after returning from the walk that says, “New routine — now eat a good breakfast!” Eventually, one by one, I hope to replace all my bad habits with ones that enrich my life and make me feel like I’m living on purpose, like I mean it.

What tricks do you use to break out of old routines? How do you ensure that you live each day with purpose and intent, steadily moving toward a better version of yourself?

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Successful musicians, athletes, writers and entrepreneurs all have one thing in common: They practice their craft, and then they practice some more. They dedicate time for practice by creating structure in their daily lives. By establishing their own unique routines, they ensure progress is made in the most important areas of their lives on a regular basis. Success is about consistency, and there’s no better way to establish consistency than through daily routine and habit.

I’m still trying to figure out a good routine for me, but I’m fairly confident it will follow a few basic principles.

Less is More
I’m learning that elimination is becoming more and more important for my productivity. I’m subtracting things from my life and my days rather than adding more to them. Of course, this brings up one glaring fact, which is that something has to give. I cannot be everything. I cannot do all things. I’m having to reevaluate my life, my business, and my priorities and accept that, if I hope to be successful at the most important few things, I must be willing to let go of the least important lot of things. I’m having to ask the tough questions and really get down to what matters and then, most importantly of all, eliminate those things I cannot give my whole self to right now.

Slow Down
In the movie “Curly Sue,” attorney and workaholic Grey’s co-worker says, “You keep going 190 miles an hour, you’re going to hit something.” I often try to push myself to the breaking point, and when I do, I always think of that quote. The natural rhythm of life involves relatively equal amounts of activity and rest. Trying to fight that reality results in loss of balance, so I’m trying to intentionally create more space in my days by reducing my work hours, adding buffers around major time blocks, and setting hours that are realistic for my life and its demands.

Be Real
I would love to say that outside influence does not impact my life and schedule, but that would be a lie. It does, and so far I’ve been unable to find a way to successfully prevent it from happening. My mom and “next in line” sister call me in the middle of the day. My “younger” sister calls me at 10:30 at night. Friends and family text me at all hours. My family is large (I’m the oldest of six) and many times imposing, and they drive me crazy sometimes, but I’ve thought about this a lot, and I never want there to be a day when they don’t call me because we’ve grown apart from lack of involvement in each others’ lives. We are close, and I think that’s a rarity these days, and I like that they’re all a big part of my life. That’s my reality, and I have to accommodate for it. That means people will be calling in the middle of my work day, but I try to balance it with blocks of productive time (generally two 2-hour blocks of time each day that I try to keep relatively interruption-free). Does it work all the time? No, but when it doesn’t, I make up for it with a late night or weekend work session here or there. The point is, that’s my reality, and if I ignore it, I’ll never set up a routine that works for me.

A routine is a very personal thing, but it can be a powerful tool for creating lasting success in life and business. When set up deliberately, taking into account one’s life goals, it instills discipline and consistency — both of which are necessary in order to make progress.

What principles guide your routine? Do you have any firm beliefs about what works and doesn’t work when it comes to creating an effective schedule?

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Last time around, Apple had yet another record-breaking quarter ($10.1 billion revenue, $1.78 in earnings per share), exceeding the estimates of Wall Street and observers, and beating their performance in the same period the previous year by a fair margin. They downplayed their expectations for the second quarter on that call, which is something they always tend to do, but Wall Street expects them to perform well, with $1.13 in earnings per share and $8.2 billion in revenue.

We should see at this conference call what effect Apple’s recent desktop update has had on sales figures, and also get a better idea of the toll the recession is taking on the company, which has appeared to be rather resistant to its effects. You can bet that investors will also be watching closely because of Steve Jobs’ continued absence, which is beginning to look like less and less a factor in the company’s success, since the stock (AAPL) is performing well. Some analysts are even going so far as to claim that Apple is better off without him at the helm. Be sure to check back for a follow-up on April 22 from us here at TheAppleBlog for all the details.

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