[Tracking Every Minute]-Day 5 – What Routine

Today was the type of day that lead to the creation of this challenge. As I look back at what I got done during the day, nothing pops into my head. I got through the day. That is a win. But I was just running from place to place, with minimal intention and no focused work.

As I previously mentioned, Day 1 was a Sunday and my son’s birthday. I got no “work” done, but was totally ok with that. Days 2, 3 and 4, were a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and I felt like I was really settling into a routine and felt good about how I was using my time. Today I feel like everything went out the window.

Here is what it looked like:

6:30 – 9:00. This is the first time during the week that I did not wake up a bit earlier than everyone else to get some reading in. This should have tipped me off that I was in trouble for the rest of the day.

9:00 – 11:00. I filled this in as a communication block because I was just frittering around on my computer and not doing much. I had originally planned to play tennis during this time, but my opponent canceled at the last minute. I also wasn’t feeling great, which might have distracted me a bit.

11:00 – 2:00. This is a lunch that might happen once a quarter. It’s with my best friends and missing it is a non-negotiable. But, it is a big time commitment, right in the middle of the day. Lunch was great. Then we walked and got some coffee.

2:00 – 3:00. I stopped in at a co-working spot. I was stuck between heading back to my car to get my laptop, or just working from my phone. I chose to power through everything on my phone. I didn’t have much time, so I figured the extra 10 – 15 minutes spent getting and then setting up my laptop wouldn’t be worth it.

3:00 – 5:00. I went to my daughter’s basketball game. They are absolutely awful, but great to support nonetheless.

5:00 – 6:30. I was planning on taking my daughter to practice and hanging out around there, but her basketball team wanted to go do dinner together. Which left my wife and other daughter with some free time before my oldest daughter’s practice. We decided to get a quick dinner just the 3 of us. As a family of 5, it is rare to get one on one time with each kid. It is a blessing and a curse.

6:30 – 9:00. Wife dropped daughter at soccer practice and I went over to a buddy and business partners house. He was having some trouble with some AI applications he wanted to try. Spent some time figuring out what he wanted to do and then setting it up.

9:00 – 10:00. Picked up my daughter at soccer practice and took her home. Then shut it down for the day.

Maybe Today was a good day

As I mentioned, I did not feel great about the day. I did not get in any of the deep work that I value and that I feel will push me towards accomplishing my goals. However, I did actually have a great day. Lunch with friends and dinner with my wife and daughter. Those are both priceless. I did also spend around 2.5 hours working on AI.

While I was out of my routine, the day was still a good one. But if I do this every day, it would be an issue.

Main Takeaways

Routines are great. However, you are going to fall out of them. Life will get in the way.
Some events are more important than routine. Family and friends fall into this category for me.
Too much of a good thing can quickly turn into a bad thing. While today was a great day, don’t forget the purpose of this challenge.

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