Over the weekend my hubby and I watched a few installments of the HBO series Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic (and by watching I mean I had my laptop and was catching up on Facebook, drafting e-mails and getting a jump start on my work week).

At one point the Capitals coach (I think it was the Caps coach) said, “Routine is essential for maintaining focus.” The phrase made me perk up and I immediately jotted it down in the Word document I had open at the time.

I am a firm believer in routine. If I don’t have one, I feel lost. Yesterday, for example, my hubby was enjoying one last day of vacation, which made me totally forget my son had gymnastics at 9:45. I remembered as I was fixing dinner.

Today is the first day we’ll be on a normal routine since Dec. 16. After two weeks of a free for all, I’m ready to get back into a groove. I’ve already knocked out two amazing interviews for a story due later this week, caught up on e-mails (mostly) and read my must-read blogs for the day. Yes, routine is good.

As we get into 2011 I’m eager to review my routine, see where I can streamline processes and try to bring more order to our days and weeks. The start of a new year always brings new ideas and my head is spinning with all of the things I want to tackle this year. I figure I can get a lot more in if I can squeeze a little more time out of each day. Since it isn’t possible to create more hours in the day, I think finding the right routines is one of the only ways to get more from the precious time I have. Wish me luck.