The Importance of Routine

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

These days are different. During two days this past week, I shoveled snow—not what you would expect but welcome to spring in Colorado. With the worldwide pandemic and lock down, I've had to use my online skills to figure out how to get food and renew prescriptions without going inside the stores. It took some some time but I've managed to work out these details. It's just one indicator of how our world is changing. Instead of going to my doctor's office for an appointment, I had a session with him online through an app on my phone. Everyone is learning new ways to get things done in our ever- changing world.

With businesses closed, I've been thinking about the importance of routine. Do you have a daily routine? If not, I encourage you to use this time to develop one. For example, as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James a key part of my regular routine is to work with authors, answer emails, return phone calls, negotiate contracts. While much of the world has been disrupted, I continue doing this work. Yesterday I had a phone session with an author and her literary agent. Today I will have a couple more of these sessions with authors. It's been a part of my routine and is something that I continue doing.

As a part of my daily routine, here's a running list of some of my activities—and they are not in any particular order or preference:

• learn new ways of doing things.
• read books and write reviews
• listen to books and write reviews
• continue to post on social media
• write these articles for the Writing Life
• write every day on my current writing projects
• answer emails and knock on new doors of possibilities

These items are just a few of my regular routines—which are mostly the same as last month and the month before that.  My encouragement to you is to establish a routine and stick with it even with our ever-changing world. Even if you are isolated and stuck inside, you can get up, get dressed and still accomplish a great deal at home. Yes I've had some events cancelled and postponed. I've had to cancel some airline trips and delay other projects. But I've also had authors sign their contracts and move their books forward into production with Morgan James. Also in recent weeks, I've completed writing projects and started new ones. 

In these different times, I encourage you to have a routine. If your business has changed or shut down for now, look to diversity your income stream. Do you have a topic that you can teach? Then create an online course and I have a simple product with a risk-free money back guarantee called the Simple Membership System. Also look at affiliate income possibilities. If yo don't know what I'm talking about then get this free Ebook I've created. Do you have an email list? If not, create one and get this inexpensive ebook called the List Building Tycoon to start an email list.

Long after this different period, books will continue to be published. Magazines will need writers for articles and online publications will need your writing. Radio shows and podcasts continue to need guests with relevant topics. These needs continue and you can fill them with a writer—if you are continuing your routine.

Are you continuing your routines or starting new ones? Let me know in the comments below.

 Tweetable:

While our world is changing, learn the importance of routine from this prolific editor and author. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)