Against Routine: How Embracing Flexibility Fuels My Self-Employment Journey
View of Kayte’s laundry-sorting system. (YES! Perhaps one of the rare millennials who color sorts! But always washes on cold 😉)
Confessions of the Self-Employed
I don't know if this is true for others, but I can't stand routines. I get bored very easily with repetition. It's one of the reasons I love the marketing research and insights industry and the variety of projects and challenges it brings. (Sound familiar? This is a longer post that coordinates with a LinkedIn post Kayte shared a few weeks ago!)
Don't confuse that with disliking consistency - I do enjoy having expectations, but I'm not a "every Sunday is laundry day" kind of person. I didn't realize when I launched TSQ 3 years ago that I'd be thriving in this environment - transitioning from employee to business owner mentality was challenging at first.
Last week I wrapped up one of our larger influencer collaboration studies (topic was on moving!) and was going to soon be inundated with responses to some Instagram questions. It's my favorite form of data, yet my brain cannot begin to formulate themes or focus on insights when my physical space is a mess. I find this is a struggle often, probably relatable.
So the night before a big work day, on a random Wednesday evening, I sorted laundry to anticipate a middle-of-the-week Thursday wash day. What I love about doing chores during the work day is how it makes me crack down on focus. I've got 56 minutes before the next load - what can I accomplish in that time? Now, 23 minutes. Etc.
As a self-employed person, I can manage my time more efficiently when I mix work and home responsibilities. I can't be rigidly ON and OFF. Setting up my work day like this feels like creating little games for myself. We talk about gamification a lot in research, but I don't think we gamify our professional tasks enough.
Routine vs. Consistency: Understanding the Difference
It seems like every productivity guru out there is preaching the gospel of routine. "Successful people have morning routines." "Stick to a strict schedule." "Always work on specific tasks at specific times." But what if that approach simply doesn't work for you? This advise is not helpful for everyone and is not a one-size-fits-all approach to time management and goal setting.
There's an important distinction between routine and consistency that often gets overlooked. Routines are about doing the same things in the same order at the same times. Consistency is about reliably meeting expectations and delivering results, regardless of how you get there.
I've learned that I can be incredibly consistent without being routine-bound. My clients know they can count on me to deliver high-quality research insights by agreed deadlines. They know I'll be responsive and professional. What they don't know (and don't need to know) is that I might be analyzing their data at 11 PM one night and 6 AM another morning, or that I took 12 micro breaks during the day to switch the laundry.
Why the Research Industry Works for Anti-Routine People
I didn’t start this post with the intent to push this industry on people, but I really do love it. The research industry has turned out to be a perfect fit for someone like me who craves variety. Here's why:
Project diversity: From testing new product concepts to understanding influencer impact to deep-diving into consumer psychology, no two projects are exactly alike. Even if you work on the brand or client-side, there’s so much to LEARN.
Methodology range: Qualitative, quantitative, ethnographic, digital, traditional - the approaches are endless and often need to be customized to the specific challenge. The industry is also opening up to new formats of data like our social media methods.
Expertise expansion: The field demands constant learning and adaptation. One month I might be becoming an expert on coffee consumption habits, the next on fitness technology adoption. One year I learned SO much about immunotherapy and cancer treatment it’s helped immensely with family members and their diagnoses.
Unique challenges: Every client brings different needs, contexts, and obstacles, forcing me to think creatively rather than rely on formulaic approaches. There’s comfort in similar-enough situations that helps build experience and exposure, but there’s always something to learn on every project.
This environment creates natural boundaries and expectations - deadlines, deliverables, client meetings - while still providing tremendous freedom in how I structure my days and approach problems.
Swimming Against the Productivity Current
Open any business or productivity book and you'll likely find advice about establishing firm routines. Wake up at 5 AM. Exercise before breakfast. Block your calendar for specific tasks. While this works wonderfully for some people, it can feel suffocating for others.
I've tried forcing myself into strict routines because that's what successful people supposedly do. The result? Frustration, decreased productivity, and a sense of failure when I inevitably broke from the schedule. BOREDOM. What I've come to realize is that my brain simply doesn't operate optimally under those conditions.
Instead, I've learned to embrace my need for variety and developed a different approach to productivity:
Time-boxing with natural interruptions: Using the laundry timer as a focus deadline creates urgency without rigidity. I do utilize calendar blocks for some tasks, but in a way I can slide or move that time block with flexibility.
Task batching by energy, not schedule: I group similar tasks based on my energy levels, not the time of day.
Environment shifting: Sometimes I work at my desk, sometimes the kitchen table, sometimes a coffee shop - the change of scenery keeps my mind engaged. I find when I need to be hyper focused (grading papers, writing blogs, etc. I do best from the comfort for my bed!)
Gamification: Racing against arbitrary timers or creating small challenges makes mundane tasks more engaging. I’m also a total “little treat yourself” girl, too! (Which can also be a 5-minute romantasy reading break reward!)
The Unexpected Benefits of Mixing Work and Home
When I first started working for myself, I tried to maintain strict boundaries between "work time" and "home time." In hindsight it was pretty easy to convert how I spent my time, but going from employee to business owner was uncomfortable. I report to ME, can me be mad at me? Will me be upset if I don’t do this task right now? Do I need to write myself an excuse? I soon discovered this binary approach was draining. Now, I weave work and home responsibilities together in a way that energizes rather than depletes me:
Physical movement between tasks helps reset my brain
Home chores provide natural breaks that prevent mental fatigue
The variety keeps my chaos brain stimulated
I can capitalize on productivity spurts whenever they happen
So that's my hack for you. Have a to-do list a mile long? Try throwing in some laundry and racing against the machine on who can finish things first 😂
You can also:
Break down cardboard boxes that have piled up
Change out air filters
Fold and organize your current obsession of saving packaging materials because your brain is telling you to SAVE THE GOOD STUFF
Finding Your Own Anti-Routine
If you're someone who also chafes against rigid routines, know that you're not alone, and it doesn't mean you can't be successful or productive. The key is understanding your own brain and working patterns, then designing a flexible system that plays to your strengths.
For me, that system involves embracing the beautiful chaos of mixed responsibilities, using time constraints as motivation rather than restriction, and allowing myself the freedom to approach each day differently.
In a world obsessed with routines, sometimes the most productive thing you can do is give yourself permission to break them.
(To be clear, I’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD, but many close family members have. I *personally* think we all (in some ways) have natural tendencies that make it hard to focus sometimes, and I also believe some social media accounts over-promote self-diagnosing ADHD. If you have a hard time focusing (which can change with age!) don’t not seek help. In some ways my hacks are “self-medicating” yet I know won’t work for everyone.)
