My wife and I have moved twice this summer.
Our first move was from Pomona, CA to Seattle, WA. The decision and planning process for this move lasted for the better part of a year. We were able to visit, scope out apartments and neighborhoods, and spend time processing the idea of moving away from my wife’s home.
Then, we got to Seattle and, shortly after, accepted an excellent job offer for Michel in San Francisco. So, here we are again, going through the moving process.
After just three short months in Seattle, we packed everything back up and headed to SF.
Now, we’ve been here for almost 2 weeks and still have not received our things from the moving company.
In the middle of all this madness of moving and waiting, it’s been difficult to set any kind of rhythm around work, routines, and habits. Currently, Michel sits on the floor in a corner of our living room as her “temporary office” while I sit on our slowly deflating air mattress in one of the bedrooms.
It’s certainly all first-world problems, nothing serious… but it does call into action an old habit of mine that I used religiously during college.
Day scripting.
Any time I find myself in uncertain circumstances, I like to fall back on this habit. When there’s any kind of transition or uncertainty in life, it’s always nice to have a plan.
Day scripting is the practice of writing out (or typing) your day so that when you wake up, all you need to do is execute on the plan you’ve made for yourself.
I naturally gravitate towards routine because I feel that I get my best focus and creativity in this state – rather than simply seeing what comes in a day.
A few benefits of day scripting:
- Routine-based structure
- Less cognitive load
- Increased mental clarity and cognitive bandwidth
- Increased creativity
- Increased energy and focus
The results are not the same for everyone. Some people prefer to use checklists over scripts. This works too. Rather than writing out when you will do each activity or task, you simply make a list of the things to get done.
Whether it’s day scripting or checklists, I would encourage you to employ a tactic that will help you in gaining momentum during uncertain times, increasing clarity and focus, and improving your overall performance.