The Schedule of Champions
Successful people didn’t become that way by throwing caution to the wind and leaving it up to pure luck whether they reach their goals or not.
No, it’s all about sticking to a routine.
Habits are critical to success. They help you maintain your health and well-being. And by prioritizing what’s important, you are able to create balance. Having a schedule provides your life with structure, saves time, increases efficiency, and helps you build momentum. It instils good habits and breaks bad ones.
Because people lead unique lives, what works for someone else may not always work for you. But it’s always good to see what does work for people, particularly those you look up to like a mentor from your industry or even an entrepreneur who you admire.
For example, Richard Branson wakes up at 5am every morning. To boost his productivity significantly, he goes straight to his morning workout which involves everything from kitesurfing, playing tennis, going for a run, or biking.
He follows exercise with eating a good breakfast and spending time with his family. Branson says, “Exercise and family time put me in a great mind frame before getting down to business.”
The reason why he wakes up so early? It’s not so he can get a workout in before he gets down to business; it’s because he wants to check emails “before the world logs on.” For Branson, perhaps this has been the secret to his success and how he is able to stay ahead of things.
Not only has he been innovative with his business practices but with how he spends his time.
Emails are followed by reading the news and blogs, working through lunch, and eating dinner with friends and family before going to bed at around 11:00 pm. All he needs is six hours of sleep, and he’s ready to do it all again the next day.
We should also mention that he prefers to work in a hammock or tub rather than at a desk.
You see, a schedule doesn’t have to mean monotony. Sticking to a routine doesn’t make you a robot or say that your life is boring. It just means that you’ve found a daily routine that has yielded the most results.
Other successful leaders like Branson also have early starts to their day. Apple CEO Tim Cook starts sending and responding to emails as early as 4:30 am while Vogue’s Anna Wintour starts her mornings at 5:45 am with an hour-long tennis match.
But what most successful leaders have in common apart from waking up early and getting a head start on emails is that they believe your daily routine should always include doing something you love. And this is different for everyone. What you love could be a hobby, exercise, spending time with family. It could even be napping.
It’s ok to experiment and find what is right for your unique lifestyle and work demands. And once you’ve discovered what the perfect formula is that works for your life and all its elements, why would you go and change it?
Dr. Yashima White Azilove
I am an international speaker, certified coach and skilled consultant with over 20 years of corporate brand communications executive experience in the media, entertainment, healthcare and financial service industries. I now use my expertise in brand communications to ELEVATE audiences, corporations, celebrity/talent and faith organizations.