When I posted last night that I was happy to be getting back into the routine of daily blogging, it was with the thought that I was doing a good thing for myself. This morning, I’m wondering just how good it is.

As a creative person I’ve always Detested — with a capital ‘D’ — any type of structured environment. Schedules and I do not get along, and haven’t been on speaking terms for years. Ditto with the alarm clock. I truly cherish my freedom to be able to go where I want, when I want, and to be able to write when the mood strikes.

However, as a creative person working at making a living as a creative person, I also know that I need some sense of structure and routine in my working life at the very least. Case in point — almost three months between blog posts. (Being a diabetic means I also have to have some semblance of routine in the rest of my life too if I want to keep it under control. But that’s a story for another day.)

So anyway, back to the story here… This morning when I was trying to decide what to write I went searching for a quote to sum up how I feel about creating a work routine that works for me. I was really shocked to find a whole raft of thoughts that portray routine in a really negative way. For example:

“Habit and routine have an unbelievable power to waste and destroy.” Henri de Lubac

“Habit is the beneficent harness of routine which enables silly men to live respectfully and unhappy men to live calmly” – George Eliot

“Routine is not organization, any more than paralysis is order.” – Arthur Helps

“The less routine the more life.” – Amos Bronson Alcott

“As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.” – Henry Van Dyke

That last one by Van Dyke really resonates with me. I’ve had some friends who schedule every minute of every day, and day in and day out never change their routine at all. They call it good time management. I call it no time to live, but they’re my friends and I love ‘em so I put up with having to make appointments to spend time with them. But I can certainly see the point that is being made here.

As a person who hates being labelled and stuffed into a box — whether of my own or anyone else’s making — being so bound by a routine that there’s no room for change would be a fate worse than death.

But I know that in order to be a good writer, I have to have some type of routine that requires me to spend time with my butt in the chair with a pen in my hand. So I guess the challenge is to find that happy medium that gets the job done and falls somewhere between the no-room-to-live, destroyer of creativity brand of routine and having no routine at all. I’ve come to the conclusion this is another one of those things that there’s no right or wrong answer for — it’s another one of those life choices that is unique to each one of us.

For me, I’m thinkin’ my routine will look something like this: write and work out in the morning, do client work in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day doing whatever the heck I want.

Oh, and I did find my quote finally:

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.” – Ben Nicholas

So what about you? Where do you fall on the routine spectrum? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

You know you’ve been off your game when you log in to make a new post and you’re shocked to see that it’s been almost three months since you’ve even visited your own site! I’ve taken breaks before, but never one that’s lasted quite this long or left me feeling this disorganized.

I’m really glad that the theme for this months NaBloPoMo is “routine” because it’s painfully obvious that I need one. Whether I can find 31 days worth of ideas on the topic or not, I can say that I will definitely be creating a routine for blogging every day. And since I have more than one blog to take care of and get whipped back into shape it’s something that’s long over due.

So, it’s the first day of the second half of the year, my playtime is definitely over, and it’s time to put the butt in the chair and write if I hope to meet even half the goals I’ve set for myself this year.

How’s your year going? Are you where you want to be after the first six months?

Pot, meet Kettle.

Yep, that would be me. In another one of my infamous ‘do as I say, not as I do’ posts, I thought you might like to know what I do to break my own procrastination habit. I’ve been putting things off all day today, and for no real reason at all. The only thing I had to do today was write this post and a couple articles, and I really did set out with the best of intentions to get it all done earlier. Yet here it is, 11:30 p.m. and I’m just starting to write now.

I’ve dealt with procrastination all my life. So it’s not like I don’t know I have issues with it. Nor do I not know what to do to break the habit. It’s one of those issues of self-sabotage that I’m learning to deal with that keeps me on a first-name basis with procrastination. In an effort to break my own habit by talking about it, here are five quick tips that I use to get myself back on track.

1. Stop putting things off! Might as well get right to the heart of the matter from the start. Like the famous slogan says, “Just do it.” If you can get something done now, there really is no point in leaving it for another day.

2. Do your least favorite tasks first. Take the one thing on your list that you really dread having to do (and be honest with yourself, there’s always ONE thing that you’d be happy not having to do) and put that at the top of the list. Getting it done first will fuel your sense of accomplishment like you wouldn’t believe, and will give you a boost of energy to get even more done during the day.

3. Know your limits. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Trying to be everything to everyone is a sure way to overload your schedule. Knowing how much you can reasonably fit into your day means you’ll get more done and not have to worry about putting things off because you’ve run out of time.

4. Get help when you need it. When you know you’ve taken on too much, don’t be afraid to ask for help or to delegate in order to get things done. Using your time and resources in the best way possible will go a long way towards breaking your procrastination habit.

5. Finally, learn to prioritize. Prioritizing will help you keep your life in balance. When you know what is important in your life and in your work, and live by those priorities, procrastination becomes a non-issue.

I know from experience how procrastinating can suck the energy out of you. It’s not a feeling I would wish on anyone. The tips I’ve shared here are ones that I use when I need to get my own procrastination habit under control. I hope they are of use to you as well.

Personal balance is something that a lot of people, me included, have a hard time achieving. We often allow ourselves to be pulled in many different directions as we try to balance our own needs with those of the people around us. That’s especially true during the holiday season when there’s always somewhere to be and something that needs to be done.

Here are a few tips that I’ve found helpful in maintaining a sense of balance when things get too hectic.

1. Practice some basic time management skills. Take some time out to really look at your schedule and notice when you’re trying to fit more into your day than is physically possible. Make sure that you are leaving enough time in between appointments that you don’t get caught having to be two places at once. What I find helps is to schedule a fifteen minute buffer zone around each appointment so that if I’m running late I’m covered, and if I’m on time I actually have a few minutes to myself to relax and catch my breath.

2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. In other words, know your limits and stick to them. I know I’m not really one to talk here because I consistently take on more than I should. But hey, I’m trying to break this habit even as I write this. It’s really important that you take care of yourself by knowing what you can handle at not allowing yourself to be stretched beyond that point.

And that brings me to my final point…

3. Learn how to say no. Don’t allow yourself to get hung up on the idea that people will be mad at you if you don’t jump to do their bidding at the expense of taking care of yourself. Too often we allow ourselves to become “yes” people because we worry about how others see us. If you allow yourself to say no instead of overwhelming yourself by taking care of everyone else’s needs you might just be surprised at the outcome. You’ll feel more self-confident and happier when you’re taking care of yourself. And after they get over their initial upset at you saying no, other people will realize that you’re happier and more relaxed too.

So there you have it. I know it’s sometimes easier said than done, but you are the only one who can find the balance that you need in your life. By keeping these tips in mind and acting on them when necessary, you will find yourself one step closer to having the balanced life you deserve.