I try to make as few decisions each day as possible.
Here are some of the things I’ve “automated” about my day, and why it matters.
Years ago, I started with automating the trivial parts of my life:
- What to wear
- What to eat for breakfast
- When to get up
- When to begin work
- What time to break for lunch
- When to go to bed
I rarely make those same choices every day as if they were “new”. I’ve mostly become boring about the trivial stuff, so that I don’t have to think much about it every day.
Next, I removed as many of the non-trivial decisions from my day as possible as well.
I did this by creating routines for growth in my life. Things such as:
- Reading habit
- Writing habit
- Workout routine
- Sleep routine
- Automated finances
- Date night
By creating routines for growth in each area of my life I don’t have to think about growth decisions every day. Instead, I simply have to show up and stick to my routine.
By “automating” parts of my day, it means two things…
- It keeps me focused and growing in the areas of my life that I love.
- It gives me a LOT of energy to think about other stuff
See? Routines are sexy.
By automating parts of my daily life, I don’t think and decide about the same things over and over and over every day.
This lets me save my “decision energy” for the things that really NEED it. Such as being present for relationships, creating new things, and solving interesting problems.