We are living in an age where our lives are becoming increasingly intertwined with technology. In recent times, technology has been used to create useful resources which make many of our daily activities easier, resulting in a number of mind-blowing discoveries along the way. Technological gadgets that connect to the internet have changed how we communicate, work, study, play, shop, and behave. We see it all around us in the form of computers, smartphones and iPads, just some of the devices many of us depend on on a daily basis. While technology has helped to make our lives easier in many ways, it’s all too easy to become a slave to its capabilities.

So how do we reassume control over our lives? Here’s one way: Set yourself a daily routine. Fortunately, many of the world’s great minds have recorded their daily routines to inspire us. We can learn a lot from the daily routines of some of the most successful people in the world, both in history and in present day.

Learn from the best

Rising at dawn has become a popular suggestion for starting the day in the right way, and one that came from the great Ernest Hemingway, who rose at around 5:30am. Beethoven relied on strong coffee, and studiously counted out 60 beans for his morning fix. Beethoven took “air baths”, a term he invented which simply meant sitting around without any clothes on in the morning. VS Pritchett enjoyed a midday cocktail. Freud had his wife put toothpaste on his toothbrush every day in order to save him time, and whilst that last one may be a step too far in this day and age, these tips are all noted in Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration And Get To Work.

Start your morning with a miracle

“journaling” (CC BY 2.0) by hang_in_there

Perhaps the single most important step you can take in assuming control over technology and ensuring that it doesn’t take over your life is to start the day with a morning routine. Meditation, journalling and exercise are all effective methods for putting you in the right frame of mind. Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning is a popular reference for morning routines and is full of great suggestions on how to start your day. There are other popular morning routines that have proved popular among personal achievement seekers, such as Tony Robbins’ world famous Hour of Power.

Plan for a restful night

One of the best moves you can make to ensure a quality night’s sleep is to turn off technology an hour before you go to bed. The blue light that emits from devices can prevent melatonin, which is needed to produce the effect of feeling sleepy. If you can’t afford to log off there are solutions, such as smartphone apps and blue light bocking glasses. Sometimes, however, its easier just to switch off technology so that our attention isn’t consumed by a million and one different things before we turn off the light. Reading is a great way to unwind and spend an hour before you’re ready to sleep, and removing all traces of light through blackout curtains is another way of letting our bodies know that we are ready to sleep. Sleep Smarter is a popular reference for a nighttime routine and works well with The Miracle Morning.

Manage your time
 

“New morning routine” (CC BY 2.0) by Johan Larsson

Once you have your morning and nighttime routines in place, you should look at how you are spending your time during the day. It can be all too easy to go to work and then arrive home in the evening, immediately a slave to the large box in the corner of the room. But that is an easy way to fall behind on those other tasks on your to-do list. For those who work for themselves, managing time during the day can be even trickier,as it’s all on you to set, and stick to, a schedule. The first things you should do after completing your morning routine is to look at your schedule and prioritise.

It can be tempting to concentrate on the smaller items first, but that can be dangerous as you may find that you have tin out of times to complete those all-important, larger tasks. Maintaining focus throughout the day is also crucial. We have far too many potential diversions, such as email and social media, all vying for our attention. One way to avoid being sidetracked by email istake a top from Tim Ferriss who checks his email twice just per day at scheduled times. Getting Things Done by Dave Allen is a great resource for tips and tricks for managing your time more effectively.