Maybe You Need a Weekly Routine, Not a Daily One

As summer winds down, a different way to think about where, when, and how we work best.

There's something about the end of August that makes September feel a little like a second January.

Maybe it's all those years of back-to-school conditioning, but suddenly a fresh notebook

seems appealing. Calendars start filling up. Vacations wind down. And after a summer when routines may have gotten a little loose around the edges, getting back into a groove sounds pretty good.

I've been thinking about my own routines lately, and about the people I work alongside at Good Company.

And I'm wondering if we sometimes think about work routines too narrowly.

We tend to imagine a good routine as something we repeat every day.

Start at the same time. Take lunch at the same time. Close the laptop at 5.

All good ideas.

But what if the more useful question isn't: What should my ideal workday look like?

What if it's: What should my ideal workweek look like?

For people who work from home, that distinction can be especially useful.

One of the great gifts of remote work is flexibility. We don't necessarily have to work in the same place, in the same way, five days a week.

But sometimes flexibility quietly turns into sameness.

Monday at home.

Tuesday at home.

Wednesday at home.

You get the idea.

Maybe the goal isn't to perfect that daily routine. Maybe it's to create a little more rhythm across the week.

A quiet day at home. A change-of-scenery day for focused work. A day for meetings. A day around other people.

Your version might look completely different.

That's the point.

A little intentional variety can also create some of the boundaries that remote work tends to blur.

When you go somewhere to work, there's a transition built into the day.

You get ready. You leave the house. You arrive somewhere with a purpose.

And at the end of the day, you leave.

That somewhere doesn't have to be a traditional office. It could be a coworking space, a library, a coffee shop, a client's office, or a standing work date with a friend.

What matters is choosing an environment that supports what you need that day.

And that's not only about productivity.

A good work routine should support the person doing the work, too.

Maybe a good week includes a reason to leave the house. A walk to get lunch. A conversation with another human.

And maybe another day when staying home and working in complete quiet is exactly what you need.

One of the things opening Good Company has made me curious about is how differently people work.

Some thrive on routine. Others need variety.

Some are energized by conversation. Others love the quiet focus of working alongside people without needing to interact much at all.

Most of us probably need different things on different days.

So as summer winds down and schedules start shifting again, maybe we don't need to build the perfect daily routine.

Maybe we need to look at the whole week.

Where do you want to focus?

Where do you want to connect?

When do you need quiet?

When would it feel good simply to get out of the house?

Your routine doesn't have to be rigid to give your week structure.

Maybe it just needs a little rhythm.

One More Thought

We often think of a routine as something we have to make ourselves follow.

I'm more interested in building one that makes the things we want to do a little easier.

Sometimes that means changing a habit.

Sometimes it means changing the scenery.

I'm Curious...

If you could design your ideal workweek from scratch, what would it look like?

Would you work from home every day? Get out once or twice? Set aside certain days for meetings or focused work?

I'd love to hear what your ideal rhythm looks like.

Until next time,

Harmony Larson

Founder, Good Company Workspace

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