Twenty-six of the greatest lessons I was ever taught.

This is a chapter from The ABCs of Dan M. Wilson.

Hand in hand with efficiency goes routine. Every single day we repeat a lot of mundane tasks. As you grow older you’ll add even more to your weekly and monthly tasks as I mentioned in the previous chapter. If you want to maximum the amount of time you have for “quiet time,” you’ll do well to work up a set schedule to get everything you need to do handled.

“Establish a routine and stick to it.”

Every day when he came home, Grandpa Dan went through a routine. He’d empty the contents of his pockets, placing the various items back into his dresser. Next, his shoes would be removed and placed back into the closet. He’d change out of his suit, taking care to hang it up so that it wouldn’t wrinkle. He’d change into casual clothing for piddling around the house in. Finally, he’d grab Excelsior Springs’ local newpaper – The Daily Standard – and head to the bathroom. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This was his routine five nights out of the week when he’d come home after work.

Get into the habit of putting things you use frequently back into same place each and every time. Items like your cell phone, car keys, scissors, tools, even your glasses should have a “home.”

Establish a routine and stick to it.

It may seem silly to just repeat the same routine each and every day the exact same way when doing the most mundane of tasks, but the benefits are tremendous. Done enough times and you just take care of these things without even thinking about them. You’ll be able to locate items whenever you need them. You’ll become faster at handling these tasks which provides you with that much more time to do other things.

I’m easily one of the most routinized people you know. Before each week starts, I pretty much know what I will be doing so that I can anticipate where to schedule anything new or unexpected that pops up. If a friend wants to go to a movie, I’ll know exactly which dates I am free. If I need to go to the doctor’s office, I’ll know exactly which dates and times I can do so.

Establishing even the simplest of systems can benefit you tremendously. Never underestimate the power of routine.