Ed Gandia argues that routines need regular questioning to stay effective and avoid stagnation. He shares why blindly following the same patterns can hold you back in business and life, and how to know when it's time to change what you're doing.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there.
Welcome to another episode of the High Income Business Writing Podcast, the number one podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love for better clients. With over 1 million downloads from listeners just like you across 101 countries, this episode is much shorter than usual rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you. This is part of the Audio Insights I publish for my private coaching clients every weekday and I thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. Hope you enjoy it. Most independent professionals I talk with have some sort of daily or weekly flow they follow, and that flow is comprised of a number of routines, some of which have followed for years. And generally speaking, it's not a bad thing to do. That habit and routine are important because they help us reduce cognitive energy that can then be used for our most important decisions and for our core work. However, from personal experience, I've also found that it's very easy to get stuck in routines that may no longer be serving us as well as they could. What worked seven years ago, for example, may not work that well now that our business and our obligations and our personal lives have evolved. Quick example. In my first job out of college, my co workers and I had actual working hours and we worked from 7am till 6pm so yeah, it was a long work week. That kind of work ethic was praised and reinforced all the time. It was that kind of culture. So much so that even years later, after I had moved to my third employer, I still followed those hours. And it was my choice. It wasn't because I was expected to, it was just what was drilled into my head for so many years. Worse yet, once I quit my day job and I went completely on my own, you guessed it, I still had that rule, so to speak, in my head. To work from 7am till 6pm every day. Those are like my working hours. In fact, I've had to work really hard to shift that mindset, and every once in a while I find myself drifting back to that old thinking. This is very common. Again, we're creatures of habit. But it takes quite a bit of introspection and a commitment to regularly question our routines or strategies and our methods to try new and better ideas. A few months ago, I was at the gym doing my usual Thursday morning workout when I walked to a different station to do my fifth exercise. There were two people using that machine and I could tell they were going to be there for a while. At first I was a bit upset because I always go through my routine in a very specific order. That morning I didn't want to wait. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I tried a different machine close by that worked the same muscle group, a machine that I'd never tried before. You know what? It was better. I liked it better. I found the range of motion to be more complete, more effective. And now it's replaced the old machine I used to use at that point of my workout, all because I was forced to try something different. Isn't that how it usually happens? Yeah. I like to stick to what works well for me. I love the comfort of routine and of habit. But I have to admit that too often there are other methods and approaches and strategies or routines that could work even better for me if I just gave them a try. So don't get stuck with the old patterns. Test ideas on a regular basis. Give them a chance. Not all of them will work better than what you're doing right now, but some of them might. And you won't know until you try.
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the episode.
And just a quick reminder to grab.
Your free copy of my latest book. Earn more and less time to proven mindset, strategies and actions to prosper as a freelance writer. You can get your free copy@b2b launcher.com or you will also find detailed show notes to this and all my other episodes. Enjoy and have a great day.
