Maintaining a good routine is crucial for creating momentum and building the life you truly want.
It can help you execute and give you a feeling of control by approaching your day in a proactive way.
Without any sort of routine or daily critical task list...
You are forfeiting all control and reacting to what happens to you in your day.
But building a routine doesn't mean holding on to habits that aren't contributing to your success either.
Let's be real...
Most people do not struggle with consistency.
They consistently clock in and clock out at work...
They consistently eat garbage food...
They consistently sit on the couch and watch their shows...
...and they consistently blame the life they have on everything and everyone other than themselves.
Which means what I'm actually talking about when I refer to routines are the routines that will serve you. Routines that will actually help you make progress toward your goals.
You have to put conscious and intentional effort into developing a routine.
...and it ultimately comes down to discipline and mental toughness.
So ... How do you build and adhere to a routine that will actually contribute to your success?
Here's what you need to know.
Why do I constantly stress the importance of routines?
Wouldn't repeating the same things over and over again lead to complacency?
If you go through your day checking boxes ... Sure.
Which is why you have to execute on your daily tasks with the proper intent and effort every single day.
What you must understand is that these tasks are reps ... and winning comes down to simple math. Here's how it works...
It's step up to the plate.
Take a swing.
Make adjustments to your swing based on what went right or wrong.
Take another swing.
...and repeat this cycle 10,000 times over.
This is the value of routine.
You are positioning yourself to take the actions and reps necessary to create success.
...and you're also eliminating a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety by handling the things you know you need to get done.
As someone who runs several successful businesses ... I can't afford to give up control over my time and daily routine.
I have to be proactive and regimented with the tasks I know I need to get done to make progress.
Here's the method I use to build routines and the habit of winning the day every single day...
Building a routine is not supposed to be easy or convenient for you.
It's going to be a challenge no matter what you do because not every day is going to present you with the ideal conditions.
In fact, very few days will.
These problems and challenges are not exclusive to you.
We all have them.
Building and sticking to a routine is supposed to help you build the discipline necessary to execute regardless of these problems...
Regardless of the conditions...
Regardless of how you feel...
Regardless of ANYTHING.
Building your routine is simple.
You have to start by identifying your goals.
Not the goals that you think are "realistic" or fall in line with what's been possible for everyone else you know. I'm talking about the goals and dreams that live inside your heart that you're too scared to share with anyone else.
Those are your real goals.
Break them down into the yearly and monthly milestones you need to reach ... and reverse engineer them all the way down to the daily actions you have to take to reach your goals.
Pick 5 of the most important and impactful tasks. These are your critical tasks.
These critical tasks are your daily routine, and what you must execute on to win the day.
This is a method I've used for over 25 years and has led me to create massive success in business and life.
It's a tool ... and it's a tool I call the Power List.
The Power List is an extremely simple and effective tool.
Not only will it help you establish a routine ... But it will also help you build the habit of winning.
Here's how it works...
Write down your 5 critical tasks for the day and execute.
If you complete all of your critical tasks ... You win the day.
If you fail to complete all of your critical tasks ... You lose the day.
Win enough days ... and you win the week.
Win enough weeks ... and you win the month.
Win enough months ... and you win the year.
Win enough years ... and you win in life.
Get it? It's keeping a scoreboard of your wins on a day-to-day basis.
If you can win one day ... Which we all can ... You can win in life and establish habits and routines out of the critical tasks necessary to reach your goals.
When you've completed a critical task enough days in a row to form a habit out of the task ... Continue doing the task every day, but replace it with a new task on your Power List.
This is how you'll develop successful habits over time to propel you toward whatever it is you're looking to accomplish.
You can only build a good routine if you hold yourself accountable to executing it. This is a major component to what makes the Power List so effective.
It's also an excellent way to track your progress.
Every time I talk about the Power List ... I have at least one person who asks about routines in the sense of doing the same thing at the same time every day.
If you were looking for some sort of "secret routine" or cookie-cutter plan to reach your goals...
I don't have that for you. Nobody else does either, so be careful who you listen to.
That's what I want to get into next...
There is no morning ritual...
There is no perfect routine...
There is no blueprint...
...and there is no strategy for structuring your day every single day that's going to magically manifest a life of success and fulfillment for you.
What you are looking to accomplish in life is unique to you.
You also can't rely on every single day going the exact same way ... Even if you do everything in your power to maintain that kind of structure. It's not possible.
Trust me ... I wish I could tell you to make your bed...
Brush your teeth...
Exercise gratitude...
Do a cold plunge...
...and spin around 3 times for an amazing day every single day and a life of success and fulfillment.
...But no matter what the routine is ... Nothing is guaranteed. Deep down, you know this too ... So I'd recommend you stop searching for the premade routine or strategy that's going to help you win.
What you need is to develop discipline around executing your critical tasks.
You need to identify the most important things you need to get done on a daily basis...
...and attack these things with a high level of urgency and intent.
Building a routine and the habit of winning can be extremely important for reaching your biggest goals in life.
That's what the Power List is for.
It's a tool you can use every single day to create habits out of your critical tasks and build the habit of winning.
This still requires mental toughness.
...and at the end of the day, mental toughness is the single most important skill you need to create the life you truly want. It's the foundation upon which every other skill is built.
Confidence.
Self-Esteem.
Self-Belief.
Self-Worth.
Fortitude.
Grit.
These are all skills you can develop in the mental toughness program I created called 75 HARD.
It's an endurance race for your brain and will help you develop the skill of mental toughness.
If you follow the program with 0 compromise and 0 substitutions...
You can take complete control of your life for good.
If that's something that interests you ... It's 100% free, and you can learn more about the 75 HARD Program here.
You can also get your own Power List here to start building a routine and making progress toward your goals.
Just remember...
There is no secret routine.
Success comes down to executing on your critical tasks every single day with the proper intent.
Nothing else.
The single biggest lie we’re told in society today is that we're entitled to value and feel good about ourselves.
It's that we're entitled to be confident...
We're entitled to high self-esteem...
We're entitled to feel worthy...
If you plan on becoming successful in any aspect of your life ... You need to make a lifelong commitment to developing your mindset and skill set.
You need to make a lifelong commitment to personal development.
It doesn't matter how great you become...
Winning consistently over the long term requires constant...
If you're looking to accomplish anything of real significance in life...
Or if you're looking to go out and build yourself and your life into what you dream about...
Those goals and dreams will not come true for you if you are unwilling to pay the price.
That price is the same price that everybody else you look up to has...