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open my Trello page and see what tasks I plan I make sure to include an hour at the local gym
to accomplish. I know that, as busy as I am, if I to get in a rigorous strength training workout.
don’t plan an event on my calendar or a task on I work best the rest of the day when I take a
my Trello board, I will forget and leave somebody 60-minute siesta at noon. In the afternoon, I
else or myself disappointed. tackle all the tasks that require my greatest
focus—e.g., replying to emails, completing all the
Follow a Routine tasks on my day’s to-do list, communicating with
I can’t remember the exact quote or who said potential employers and interviewing for jobs, etc.
it, but it goes something like this: “An ordinary After dinner is a good time for me to attend any
person with a routine will accomplish more than evening meetings I may have scheduled, such as
a scatterbrained genius.” During times when I’m my Marylhurst Club meeting on Thursday nights,
looking for paying work, as I have been for the or finish any Toastmasters tasks I may need to
last several months, it’s easy to allow my day finish. I also like to use this time for continuing
to become unstructured. The best way to give education in my software engineering career.
myself the structure I need is to establish a daily This is a sneak peek into my daily routine. You
routine. My routine may be different from yours. will find that a different routine works for you.
Maybe you have a job that requires you to report Whatever you do, follow a routine, and you’ll find
to a boss at a certain time each day and work yourself a lot more productive.
through to a certain time. Maybe you’re retired.
Maybe you’re an early bird who wakes at 5:00 Concluding Thoughts
every morning without an alarm clock. Or you I’m sure I could share a lot more time
could be a night owl like me who is most creative management ideas with you if I had the space
at midnight. Whatever works for you and your in this article, but 700 words can go by quickly.
daily rhythm, plot your activities on a routine For starters, though, a couple of good ways to
that has you doing much the same things at the gain some mastery over your time are to make
same times every day. a weekly plan and follow a daily routine. Doing
Because so much of my work has me these two things regularly will make your busy
communicating with other people, I like to spend life a lot less stressful. It certainly is helping me
my mornings reading email and identifying those manage the dual responsibilities of wrapping up
important messages that require my response my PQD year and preparing for my year as DD.
that day. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
VOICES! | JUNE 2021 17
