routine

Tag Archive for routine

Computer Code Uses Routine – And It Works

August 6, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Having a routine can help your life go a lot smoother. GenuLines borrows from computer science to give you a template for setting up your own routine.

Computer Code Uses Routine – And It Works

Ever write computer code? It’s an effective way of creating routines. These snippets of code can repeat the running of certain functions or processes.

They prevent coders from having to write redundant code each time they need it. It’s an efficient way to code and saves countless hours for programmers.

From the machine’s perspective, it will run successfully every time you call it. This assumes the code is well-written and bug-free.

With the program loaded the device runs the routines on command.

Humans try to create routines for themselves. They write down processes that they handle on a frequent basis.

For instance, you might pay your bills on the same day every month.

You have a system for how you do it. You follow a step-by-step procedure to organize the eventual payment of bills.

The routines that you set up for yourself help you to keep an orderly flow to the work at hand. But unlike a machine, you are subject to error.

That’s part of the human equation.

You can’t help it, and this means that your routines are fallible. While it may be annoying, it’s reasonable because you’re human.

Sometimes, we try to use machines to automate as much of our routine as we can.

Routine and Your BIlls

Let’s take a closer look at bill paying. Rather than send checks you can automate your bank payments on a specified date.

In most cases, all goes well and your bills get paid on time. But, what if you forgot to deposit enough funds into your account?

Your automatic payment will fail.

This issue shouldn’t discourage you from automating your life. You need to realize that there is room for error.

Be ready when errors occur.

While the banking example is trivial, others may not. For instance, suppose someone in your company is leaving. and they transfer an automated process over to your control.

The process works well for a while, and then one day, it blows up on you.

Your company is depending on you to get the work done. You never learned the manual completion of the automated process.

And you don’t know anything about coding.

As you can see, routines are great. But they have their limitations.

Be aware of those limitations and make sure you have steps in place should your plan not work for you.

JohnK 8-6-2019

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Overheard: “Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine”

~Shunryu Suzuki

Let Your Daily Routine Move You Toward Success

May 28, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Spontaneity is a lot more fun than routine. It helps to mix things up and keeps life interesting.

But too much spontaneity can lead to an unstructured way of life. Some people love that, but most find would find that difficult to maintain.

Today GenuLines asks you to take a look at or set up your daily routine.

Setting Your Daily Routine

For starters, enough sleep is important for proper function. If you don’t have a routine, it’s not likely you will get the right amount of sleep every night.

Your body needs to have its internal clock set to the same sleep habits.

What if you don’t have those things in place? You might find it difficult to go to sleep at night.

Or you’ll wake up from time to time during the night.

To help you get to sleep faster, make sure you go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time in the morning. Try to avoid drinking too much alcohol as this will disrupt your sleep.

You may fall asleep easier, but you will not go into a deep sleep. That deep sleep interrupts your internal rhythm, and you may not be able to fall back to sleep.

Snoozing over screening

Try to limit the use of electronic devices before you go to bed. Studies tell us devices such as laptops and tablets stimulate your visual senses. This makes it tougher to sleep.

You should have a routine for your diet, too. If you don’t set up the right diet and eat at the same time daily, you will likely have digestion issues.

Your erratic schedule has a downside, too. That’s because your body’s inability to regulate can cause weight gain issues.

An article about routines would be incomplete if it didn’t cover getting exercise. Exercise is also the one element where many people have a problem being consistent.

But a routine here can be a stress-buster. And it can bring better sleep.

You don’t have to incorporate intense exercise. Take a daily or every other day walk.

Then you can check off a big part of your exercise need.

Find the routines that work for you, and work hard to stick with them. Routines are habits, and it takes some effort to develop habits to the point where you don’t even think about them.

There’s room for some spontaneous activity, which everyone needs once-in-a-while. Don’t try to make major changes all at once.

Small changes are best since it’s easier to succeed with them.

JohnK 5-28-2019

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Overheard: “The only routine with me is no routine at all”:

~Jackie Kennedy

Do You Know Your Optimal Routine Zone?

April 23, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Do you have a favorite time of day to do your work? Not everyone’s a “rise and shine” thinking dynamo.

Today GenuLines looks at different peak productivity times. Let’s see where you might fit into one of them.

Do You Know Your Optimal Routine Zone?

People have certain times of the day when they do their best work. They get more done and are more focused.

Some do better in the mornings. Others in the afternoons.

Then there are the night owls, who can produce the most during the later hours. These are their optimal routine zones.

What is your optimal routine zone? Are you a morning person or do you cringe at the thought of getting up early?

Do you have vampire blood that lets you do your best work at night?

Match up with the zone

Whatever you find to be your optimal routine zone, set your tasks to work during these times. Do as much of your work as possible during this optimal zone.

Structure your day around it.

Working during your optimal time doesn’t mean you do nothing when you’re outside of those zones. Your boss will likely not take too kindly if you slack off.

Instead, you should use this time for activities that are not as taxing. These include making phone calls and other non-stressful activities.

Sometimes, you’ll have no choice but to do more of the heavy lifting during your “off times.” If this happens, you’ll have to make the best of it.

Zone out

Another problem is that you may be working in a job that does not coincide with your optimal zones. That’s a tough one.

You may want to adjust or to move on to opportunities where you can work during your optimal times.

If your job involves being creative, this concept of optimal zones is going to work in your favor. For instance, if you are a writer, try to do most of your writing during these times.

You can use the other times to answer emails, post on social media, or check out forums related to your writing. If you’re writing for a blog, try writing several posts in your zone.

Schedule them as if you’ve written one per day, etc.

Increasing your productivity is knowing your advantages. Find your optimal work zones and use them effectively.

This way you’ll increase your productivity. Your manager will notice this, and it could help you when asking for a raise or getting a promotion.

It will also give you the satisfaction of a more fulfilling job.

JohnK 4-23-2019

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Overheard: “It’s a hard thing to leave any deeply routine life, even if you hate it.”

~John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Your Routine: Good, Bad, or In Need of a Tuneup?

March 19, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

We’re talking routine today. If yours is working for you, way to go!

If not, GenuLines is here to help you power up your routine

Your Routine: Good, Bad, or In Need of a Tuneup?

Routines are neither good nor bad. It all depends on the context by which you apply them.

If your routines are making you crazy, or have you in a rut, it may be time for you to break away from them, at least temporarily. Then again, if you don’t have some structure in your life, routines may be what you need.

If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut, consider going on a vacation. This can be a great way to reset the ordinary.

It can also lead to meeting new people or opening up opportunities. How many stories have you heard of people going on vacation and falling in love with the place they visited?

But keep in mind that making the new place your home can result in still more routine. Another way to shake things up is to join a club that you wouldn’t otherwise join.

For instance, if you never tried a certain type of craft, join a local club where you can learn all about that craft. Or, join a group that plays music together.

You may have to learn an instrument or try out with the group as the singer. No matter what the activity, try doing it in a different way.

If your life is a bit unstructured, and this isn’t working for you, try to introduce some routine into your days. This could be as simple as creating a to-do list.

And you might want to find someone who can hold you accountable to the routine. People form accountability partnerships for this purpose.

You can hold your partner accountable for reaching their outcomes.

Many people find having a mix of routine and spontaneity works best for them. Doing something spontaneous helps to break up the routine before the people get into a rut.

Getting back to those routines after taking a break will restore order in their lives. This isn’t necessarily the way everyone will work best, though it’s worth a try.

Make sure you give yourself some time before writing this off.

Only you can decide whether you need to incorporate a routine or if you have too much routine in your life.

Remember, you’re the only one who can determine if you need to do a mix of routine and spontaneous action.

JohnK 3-19-2019

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Overheard: “It’s a hard thing to leave any deeply routine life, even if you hate it”

~John Steinbeck

Routine Could Be Just What Your Life Needs

February 12, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Riddle: When is routine not so routine? Answer: When it boosts your creativity.

For example, you can add routines to your life to make sure you’re completing your tasks. But you’ll need some structure to complete those tasks.

GenuLines has some guidelines to help you make that happen.

Routine Could Be Just What Your Life Needs

Start by defining which routines you want to map out for yourself. You could do this for your personal goals and work goals.

You can list all the tasks you currently need to do and decide which of those would need a routine.

A simple example would be to do an oil change on your car:

The first step is to schedule it for every three months on your calendar.
Then, you could map out a plan on how you’ll complete the task.
First, you’ll need to buy the supplies, like oil, filters, etc. You’ll also need to jack up the car or put it on jack stands.
Then, you will drain the old oil from the car, replace the filter, and add the new oil. The last step is to check the oil dipstick to make sure the levels are good.

More steps you can take
You can automate some tasks via computer. If you’re capable of doing this yourself, then proceed.

If you need to hire a computer programmer, you may be able to find one on freelance websites. It’s not as expensive as you might think.

You do want to make sure you create a complete specification. That can be a challenge if you’ve never done it before.

Always have a backup plan for any automated procedures. Some people get dependent on automation to the point where they don’t know what to do when the routines fail.

Write down how to do manual procedures in the event you need to get the job completed by a certain time. Trying to find a programmer to fix the problem is not easy and may cost you a lot of money.

When it’s all up to you
What if you have to perform routines which are not automated. You’ll need the discipline to complete them.

Schedule time on your calendar as a reminder. It’s easy to let these tasks go.

Especially if they’re ones you are not thrilled to do in the first place.

JohnK 2-12-2019
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Overheard: “The only routine with me is no routine at all”
~ Jackie Kennedy

Photo by Anelale Nájera on Unsplash

Why Routine Is Good for You

January 8, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Your daily routine probably doesn’t vary much. But today GenuLines looks at routine in a different way. Read on and you might do the same!

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Why Routine Is Good for You

You hear people refer to routine as being dull or boring. It implies that life is the same from one day to the next.

But, routines are a great way to get your work done. They’re also a great means for teams to work together toward a common goal.

When everyone has an idea of what needs to get done, projects tend to run smoother. Each member knows what they need to do.

We also have routines in our society. In some ways, laws are routines.

You know that you aren’t supposed to run a red light and that can be thought of as a routine. When you come to a red light, you stop as best as you can.

There may be instances when you unsuccessfully try to beat one here or there. But, most people will stop for red lights.

To no one’s surprise this helps to reduce accidents.

It Starts at Home
You set up routines for your kids in the form of chores. You know that certain tasks need to get done each week.

Many parents tie kids’ allowances to these chores. When the kids finish their chores, they receive their allowances.

It teaches the kids a work ethic. They need to perform tasks, and when they complete those tasks, they receive money for them.

When you pay bills, you tend to have a routine for this. Some people like to get everything sorted on one day and pay all the bills on that day.

Others will pay them whenever they receive them. Others, still, will set up automatic payments through their bank or brokerage.

There isn’t a right answer for how to do this. Whatever works for you is the right answer.

But, the method you choose will be routine.

When There Is No Routine
Contrast this with people who don’t have routines to manage their lives. They tend to handle tasks when the mood strikes them.

These people are usually late with their bills and have messy environments. Some of these people will say that this way of life works for them.

Others call it chaos. It’s something you can easily avoid setting up routines for the tasks you need to complete.

Of course, people are not robots. They do break up their routines on occasion.

You may use weekends to do activities that you don’t get to do during the work week. Also, many families use vacations to help break up their routines.

JohnK 1-8-2019

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