With so much to do and the threat of falling behind constantly at our door, there’s an insatiable thirst to be more productive, have it all (in balance of course) and be successful.

We burn the candle at both ends, cut into our sleep and sacrifice play all in the name of success. It’s no wonder we’re only a shadow of the person we’re were meant to be.

And all this effort is no guarantee for a success.

There are plenty of books and articles that tell us what we ‘need to do’ to be successful.

I’m talking about the kind of successful life that has space for relationships, fun and rest. The kind of activities that are meaningful, will help us achieve our goals and be our most productive and successful self.

Often time we focus on the tactics, or look for a short cut, without a thought of the principles at work behind success.

We try to make someone else’s system for success fit our unique responsibilities and needs.

One size doesn’t fit all.

And if who you are directly affects the success of our family + business, as I believe it does, then you’ll want to have the success principle of a daily routine at work in your life.

The power and secret for success is found in the principle at work, not the tactic.

For example if you’re a morning person, staying up late working on our goal or project won’t serve you well. And if you’re a night owl, getting up at the crack of dawn to ‘get a few hours in’ will only leave you tired and worn out for the rest of your day.

It’s not about whether you stay up late or get up early, that’s the tactic, the ‘how’ to.

What you really want is to make progress on your goal or project. And to do that you need to find some uninterrupted time in your day to work on it. This is the principle for making progress. It’s the ‘what’ behind the ‘how’.

When you know ‘what’ you are achieving, you can then choose from the abundance of ‘hows’ to make it happen.

It’s the principle at work behind the system or process that will work for you and help make success automatic.

When we started home schooling almost five years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long already), our whole life changed.

Even though the change was a good one for us as a family, I quickly realised that we, and I, needed new routines. The old ones would no longer work.

I could have chosen any one of the popular routines of ‘successful’ people found online or in a book, instead I embraced the principle that a daily routine was one of the best ways to make success automatic, and decided to create my own.

I love a good experiment, so that’s what I did. I tested what worked best for me and the family.

I had a few non-negotiables that I wanted to include in my day. These were things that would help me be the kind of person I wanted and needed to be.

As a wife, mum, business owner and designer my daily routine needs to take care of me so I can be my best for myself, my family and my clients.

So first I tested if I was really a morning or night person. There’s no point in trying to make a routine work if it isn’t in align with who I am and the season of life I’m in right now.

The result surprised me.

I can enjoy the freshness of the early morning and the quite solitude of a late night, especially when I’m working on an exciting project.

It was actually the range of benefits that spoke the loudest about what kind of person I truly am.

know what you need for your success

I mean, to have more energy, less dark circles under my eyes, being more witty and creative than usual, and this one is surprised me, getting things done faster than they usually took.

I was sold!

When I took a holistic view of the data, I discovered I’m actually a morning person.

Now do I always get to bed early? No. Sometimes I don’t feel like it. And like I said I do enjoy the solitude of a late evening, especially one I have to myself.

But I can’t do a late night without surrounding it with plenty of early ones and be my best.

When you discover if you’re truly a morning or night person, you can create the most powerful routine that energises and fuels you.

When you do your routine often enough, it will become a habit. You no longer have to think about doing that activity, you automatically do it.

That’s the power of habit. It’s the secret to being your best self and making success automatic.

How to create a daily routine that sets you up for success

First, decide what core activities you need to do each day to be the best you for yourself, your family and work.

I call these your non-negotiable because they are essential to being who you are no matter what you are doing or the season of life you are in. Mine included :

• Exercise
• Bible Reading
• Journalling
• Gratitude
• Prayer

Then find out when the best time of day is to do them. They don’t all have to be done together or even at the same time every day.

I encourage you to experiment and find out what truly works for you.

Lastly, do them.

It’s important to know that you will miss days. That’s ok. Life happens. And it will take a little while for them to become habit.

If you do miss one or more activities from your daily routine, simply pick up where you left off and get back on track.

For more insights on how to set your day up for success, including habits and routines, grab your copy of the FUSElife Planner Playbook.

It’s important to note is that it’s just as easy not to do the activities of your daily routine as it is to do them. That’s what makes them so powerful and essential for your success.

Remember who you are directly impacts the success of your family and business.

Every day you choose to do your daily routine you move another step closer to success and making it automatic.