The Anti-Routine [M&M #032]
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30% of new businesses throw in the towel within two years.
When I chose to create a one-person business that would give me the income and autonomy I was so desperate for, I thought…
“I can make it happen. I will not become one of those statistics!”
What’s one of the first things that many new biz owners do to hedge their bets?
Create a Routine.
A consistent rhythm that ensures you get things done.
But there’s a huge problem here that has straight-up sabotaged so many one-person businesses….
Many routines suck.
They suck energy, time, forward drive, and more.
And even worse than that…
Many people are so ritualistic with their silly routines that it becomes an internal power struggle to rip the band-aid of these mistakes in order to recalibrate for what’s actually important.
Consider adopting the Anti-Routine.
An anti-routine is a state of being where one aims to get important things done by eliminating all the menial tasks and rituals that keep them from their ultimate goal - which in our case, is autonomy or to make it less fancy-sounding… Freedom.
Freedom to earn what you want, work how and where you want, doing only the things that provide a sense of meaning and fulfillment for you.
Routines Make For A Slippery Slope
The issue with overly systemizing your day is that unless carefully crafted, your routine may tend to fill up with non-essential tasks that don’t support your dream outcome.
There’s a huge buzz around the morning routines of high performers like CEOs, athletes, and royalty. Everyone wants to know how they spend their morning with the notion that if they could mirror those behaviors, they too may become a high performer with a rich and exciting life.
This has caused a surge of people thinking,
“I need to do ____, in order to achieve ____.”
…without even considering their own unique strengths, weaknesses, or requirements.
Similar to how a personalized nutrition plan will increase the likelihood of one’s optimum health, a copy-and-paste approach to routines paves the way to lackluster results, missed goals, or worse - crash and burn failure personally and professionally.
Are You an Addict?
Or should I say, overly dependent?
Look. I’m a coffee drinker.
I always have 1-2 (rarely 3) cups of coffee in the morning while getting my day started.
But if I begin to identify with, and convince myself that I need that morning pick-me-up I will begin to reshape my identity to reflect that statement.
“I’m the type of guy that ____”.
Be careful how you label yourself because you will inadvertently imprint a new reality on your psyche.
It’s worth taking note of this.
It’s also worth noting that this mental hack is neither good nor bad.
It all comes down to how you use it.
“I’m overweight because I have bad knees.” - damages your identity
“I haven’t found an exercise solution that works around bad knees yet.” - honest, but not damaging
See the difference?
As an aside, “I am” statements are among the most powerful things that we can say.
The Anti-Routine Just Might Save You
Self-defining Statements shape Identity.
Identity shapes Routines.
Routines create Habits.
Habits build Dependencies.
Dependencies dictate the Outcome.
What’s your dream outcome?
Do your routines support that?
Are you sure that you need to journal, stretch, meditate, ice bath, sauna, breath work, and hit Starbucks before your start each day?
Eliminate as much as you can out of your routines.
Then, carefully add back in only what will aid you toward your ultimate dream outcome.
Be good to your future self.
Until Next Time ✌️🙂
Ev
