Selecting a day to preform regular checks on your building’s high-traffic areas throughout the day will lead to an answer. That answer might even surprise you.
I admit that I am a person who clings tightly to a regular daily routine. I rarely deviate from my regular, predictable schedule. This is because I feel that I have control over my day from the beginning, I feel organized, and I know I am prepared for what I need to tackle in the day ahead of me.
Routines can be effective in increasing productivity and developing a solid strategy. However, I recommend taking time to evaluate your day-to-day routine to ensure its effectiveness. It could be possible that your routine is holding you back, and needs to be readjusted.
Here is what you should be looking for:
1. An exhaustive work load
At some point your routine probably worked really well for you. You may have gone to and from work feeling optimistic, accomplished, and well-prepared. But things change.
Your routine needs to adapt and change as the other things happening around the building, or in the lives of your team members, change. What was once a great system could slowly become exhaustive and cause you to leave the workplace feeling completely drained.
When one day is particularly demanding, consider why. Do you handle responsibilities that could be delegated to someone else on your team? Is there another day of the week that you could take care of a list of tasks that are nearly too much to handle on the current schedule?
2. You are more concerned with your routine than the results
When the process is more important than the results, your routine becomes counterproductive. Sometimes we find ourselves in the same groove for so long that any other way of approaching something is too foreign.
A member of your team may suggest an approach to something that is different than what you have ever done before, and you are resistant. Why? It may not be a bad idea, in fact it may even be better, but it doesn’t fit into your preconceived format for your workday. Does this sound familiar to you?
It’s true, not every new idea is going to necessarily going to be a good one or make your life easier. However, it is important to at least consider new approaches to the tasks around your building. Change is inevitable. Rather than resisting the new ideas presented to you, try them out or give them some thought.
3. Emergencies throw a wrench in the whole system
Whether it is a burst pipe moments away from causing catastrophic damage, a broken HVAC system, or anything in between, emergencies will always come up from time to time in the facilities maintenance industry. Your regular schedule needs to accommodate the unpredictable.
If an emergency situation arises in your workplace and causes you to panic or extends your shift by a few hours, then it is time to make some adjustments to become more flexible. If this sounds like a familiar situation, it may be an indicator that your regular routine is no longer working for you.
4. When things become uncertain
As the world has been navigating the ways to cope with the changes that were brought on by COVID-19, experts have been encouraging people to establish consistent daily routines.
Your routine may be the same as it was before, or you may need to develop a new temporary routine in this situation—especially if you have been managing your building’s needs remotely. Routines offer certainty, and that’s something that is not easily found during a pandemic.
Again, things will always change. It’s hard to prepare for an unpredictable situation because, well, it’s unpredictable.
If you have been working remotely, it is important to create a designated workspace that will allow your brain to distinguish between work time and off time. A recommended method for working from home is the Pomodoro Technique. This process recommends staying focused for a solid 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break to stretch, get some water, or just think about something else.
You may find yourself feeling complacent or in a bad mood when your routine is no longer working well for you. Evaluate your workplace responsibilities and build a routine that will limit the number of decisions that you need to make throughout the day.
Mental Health Awareness Month begins on May 1. Building a routine that you are comfortable will benefit your mental health by reducing your stress levels. Taking care of your stress levels and your mental health can lead to increased productivity and might even help you live a longer life.