Process and Policy

Process and policy – that sounds miserably dull, doesn’t it? The trick is, these two things can free up so much of your life, you don’t even know.

By their very nature, processes and policies are rules. Boring, have-to-follow-them rules. Right? Not exactly. Bad rules are sometimes dull and annoying – but good rules work their magic by taking thought and emotion out of doing the right thing.

When you have a process to follow, you don’t have to think about it. When you have a policy about something, you don’t have to get all emotional or indecisive about choosing what to do. There’s a path there.

Create processes and policies wherever you can. Leave lots of room around them for the fun parts of life – but use them to make the boring stuff as mindless as possible.

• You won’t get caught without food if you always stop for groceries and then cook for the week on the same days each week. I do Sundays for both, myself.
• You won’t overbook yourself if you know you need at least one night in a week. I know one couple who won’t make plans on Sundays, because that’s their time for themselves.
• You won’t fuss about doing chores once you get accustomed to doing the same things at the same days and times. I know one very busy household full of tiny people whose evening routine moves like clockwork. Everybody involved knows how the hours between 5 and 8 go, and what happens in what order. Routine isn’t only good for kids – it helps big people too.

What processes and policies make your life easier?