Are you stuck on the hamster wheel?

When I worked in the corporate world my day went something like this.

My alarm jarred me awake at 4:45 AM.

I hit the snooze twice.

I stumbled to the shower.

Drove 40 minutes to work.

Worked from 6 AM to 5 PM.

Raced home to pick up the kids by 6 PM before the one-dollar-per-minute (times two) daycare penalty goes into effect.

I was in a routine.

At times it was a rut.

Today my routine is very different thanks to Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning, and Perry Marshall’s Renaissance time.

I haven’t set an alarm in years unless I’m catching an early flight.

I meditate, journal, read or just sip a cup of coffee in silence, thinking random thoughts.

I jump on the Peloton for my morning ride, or I take our black lab Lilah for a walk.

I write my almost-daily email.

Client work from 9 AM until 2 or 3 PM, sometimes 4.

Routines get us through the day.

In the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown talks about the power of routines.