Working for yourself presents unexpected challenges. Being on my own has taught me the value of routines in my daily life.

Without the imposed routines that come from a corporate job that starts at 8 or 9am every day, you find yourself pondering when to take showers, exercise, meditation etc., in addition to whatever work it is you do.

And yes. When to take a shower can actually become a major decision point in your day when you don’t have a regular 9 to 5 job. Hell, sometimes wondering if to change from by Bugs Bunny boxers to my Daffy track pants (very comfy both) is a half hour debate with myself.

Then there is the thought given to what shall I do for exercise, or how will I meditate today when I don’t have effective routines as part of my exercise or meditational practices.

Having to think about and choose every day when and what the actual practice will look like that day WASTES TIME.

Routines are either imposed upon you, or you are forced to create them when you work for someone else. If you do it’s good to notice them and the role they play in helping you be productive. Some of them may not. A routine of having garlic rice and beans before your one o’ clock dept. meeting for example may not be appreciated by your colleagues.

If you work for yourself, especially starting out create some routines right at the beginning. Getting up showering and dressing for work just as if you had a 9 to fiver may do wonders for your productivity.

There are two measures that enable me to assess my progress in this area of my life. One is Time to Productivity (TP) which is a measure of the amount of time that elapses from waking up till you actually are working.

The other is Productive Time (PT) and is simply a measure of how much time you spend working … actually working as opposed to watching reporters lose their cool when bugs fly into their mouth on YouTube (very funny), chatting with friends and other assorted time wasters.

Choose whatever works for you, but do invent something to keep you in action. Goofing off on your own time, intentionally or unconsciously will be at your own cost not your old boss.