The alarm went off at 5 am. It was Saturday morning, and he wanted to get up and get going before the hot sun made its glaring impact on the rest of the day. He had laid his running clothes out the night before along with his energy bar, gels, and hydration handhelds filled with water and some Gatorade, strategically placed in the refrigerator to be properly cooled and ready for his long run. He put on his running clothes, ate an energy bar, and downed a quick cup of coffee before heading out the door for today’s journey: an 18 mile run.

What drives someone to get up early on a Saturday morning and run 18 miles? For this unique individual, it was all part of the process of becoming his best on that day and continuing to take one step closer to his goal of another PR in his latest marathon endeavor. He knew that marathons along with other ultra endurance runs reveal the work you put in. Minimal training may suffice for shorter races, but the longer distances tell the true story of whether you have put the work in to achieve the results you desire.

This concept applies in other aspects of our lives as well. You can’t expect to just go through the motions as a parent and hope that your children turn out okay. You need to be engaged and embrace this role every day. In your relationships, you have to invest time and effort in order for them to thrive. In your career, you can’t repeat the same experience every year. You have to learn, grow, and step into new opportunities if you want to be in a different and better place somewhere down the road.

Your journey and growth are revealed in the details of your life. Simply put, your routine determines your results. Here are 5 tips for developing and maintaining an effective routine:

• Plan the Week – A key component to developing an effective routine is developing the right game plan. Take time on Sunday night to plan, prepare, and schedule activities that directly relate to your goals and priorities. Schedule things strategically throughout the week versus all on one day. Your week is your game plan, and each day provides an opportunity to execute it and make adjustments as necessary. As Stephen Covey said, “Don’t prioritize your schedule; schedule your priorities.”
• Prepare the Day – Think strategically and tactically about your day. Lay out the clothes you need to wear for that important meeting with a client the night before. Gather your workout clothes for the morning or afternoon workout. Schedule meetings and activities that are related to each other to facilitate synergy in your routine.
• Get Up and Get Going – Make sure you get enough sleep in order to hit the ground running as soon as your alarm goes off. If you snooze, you lose. Momentum is achieved through leveraging moments, and the way you get up reveals a lot about your approach to the day. The other key is to have a pre-day ritual that puts you into a rhythm for the rest of your day. I have found that consistency in my daily routine sets the right tone for all of my activities and allows me to create momentum from the beginning to the end of my day.
• Learn to Say No – The most successful people I know and have worked with have a clear understanding of what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. Don’t try and be all things to all people, and don’t try to do it all. Do the things that you are uniquely qualified to do, and only say “yes” to the things and people that fit within your mission, calling, and goals.
• Debrief Your Results –  Learn from each day what worked, what you could have done better, and what you are grateful for. Growth comes from being self-aware and becoming clear about how you invest your time. It is just as important to identify time multipliers – ways that you managed your time well and improved your capacity to get things done – as time wasters.

Remember, you have a choice on how you invest your time. When you develop a routine that works for you, you will be more productive, more impactful, and more mindful of how to achieve the results you desire.