What’s your gut reaction to rules and routine? If it’s big-time resistance, I ask you to suspend it for just a few moments and consider the following, bearing in mind that I also want to instantly rebel at the idea of rules and compliance!
My theme for the year has been to simplify both my approach to work and my life outside of work. This has involved creating a few rules and reducing the number of priorities I focus on. After all, you can only truly have one priority at a time. I’ve found myself in danger of spreading myself too thin, so I’ve embraced the power of simplification and reducing the number of distractions and decisions I have to make.
I heartily recommend this approach to any business owner, especially those with ADHD. A faster-than-average brain has many benefits, but with too many choices and without some rules, it can lead to over-stimulation, procrastination, chasing distractions, and ultimately, not finishing tasks.
In my personal life, I’ve started by thinning out my wardrobe and books, decluttering the garage, dedicating at least one day a week for house and garden chores, and being selective about who I spend my time with. In my work life, I’ve boiled my marketing and sales down to the essentials and delegated tasks like bookkeeping and website copywriting.
Now, I LOVE choice and variety every day, however, I’ve introduced basic rules to reduce the daily choices I need to make, ensuring that I get everything done in a timely fashion without feeling overwhelmed or restricted by too much structure.
Benefits for business owners with ADHD of simplifying choices
Simplifying your choices can lead to:
Enhanced focus: By reducing the number of decisions you need to make, you can concentrate on what truly matters.
Increased productivity: Fewer distractions mean more gets done. Simple, clear priorities help maintain momentum.
Reduced stress: Clear rules and routines minimise decision fatigue, leaving you more energy for creative, strategic or deep thinking.
Better time management: Simplification leads to more efficient use of time, freeing up moments for rest and innovation.
Improved work-life balance: With defined boundaries and routines, it’s easier to separate your work from your personal life.
How to simplify your choices
Prioritise: Decide what’s truly important and focus on that. Be ruthless. Dump or delegate less critical stuff.
Set clear rules: Define specific, simple rules for a few daily routines to reduce the need for decision-making and ensure consistency.
Declutter: Physically and mentally declutter your environment and mind. A distraction-free* space leads to a clearer mind. (*It doesn’t have to be minimalist to be distraction free.)
Automate: Use tools and technology to automate the repetitive tasks, such as scheduling software, reminders, and templates.
Delegate: Let some of that need for control go. Trust others with stuff that doesn’t need your direct input. This frees up your time for high-priority activities.
Identifying your triggers
Consider what triggers make you less efficient.
Is it choosing your outfit in the morning, getting lost in social media, starting the day later than you intended, feeling overwhelmed when deciding what to do next, solving problems that aren’t essential to your business, worrying about things you can’t control, etc, etc?
Identify these triggers and think about what rules you could introduce to simplify things for you and avoid the triggers in future.
My personal rules
Here are the rules I’ve implemented to simplify my life and work:
Get up every weekday at 6am (no alarm on weekends)
Sandwich my day with exercise: walking after breakfast and again in the late afternoon (at least three miles daily)
Block out 9-10am every day for creative work – whether it’s post writing, newsletters, blogs, or generating new content for workshops
Plan my week every Monday morning, creating a short list for each day
Write and schedule my LinkedIn posts for the week on Mondays
Interact with LinkedIn on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (posting days)
Write and schedule client Facebook Group posts and workshop communications every Friday for the following week
Dedicate at least 30 minutes daily to sales activity
Check emails only three times per day
Limit of five client sessions per day
Start getting ready for bed by 10pm
Journal every evening before lights out
Reward myself at the end of the week for my efforts
Do no work at all on weekends
Read two business books a month (books must teach me new, interesting stuff or they get ditched)
Use a separate mobile for work; no emails or social media on my personal phone
Take quarterly breaks/holidays, regardless of whether I feel I need them
I include this list to give you examples of rules, so that they might inspire some rules for you.
It’s a long list, but these rules have been developed and refined over time through experimentation and then and practised until they become habitual for me. A couple are still a little work-in-progress.
Do remember, despite any initial enthusiasm you may have for new things, it’s not realistic to set a long list of rules and expect to stick to them immediately. Start with your two most important rules and build from there.
Simplifying your choices and setting some clear rules can transform your business and personal life, leading to greater productivity, less stress, and more time for what truly matters.
Let me know what rules you choose to introduce! And of course, if you'd like support in simplifying your business life, here's my calendar or send me an email.