If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve probably seen the magic checklists:
“Do these 3 things to go viral.”
“Here’s the daily routine that guarantees success.”

It all sounds simple, right? Until you try it…

Rigid routines might work for a while, but they rarely account for the nuance of being human. And if you’ve ever felt guilty for “falling off” a routine or wondered why someone else’s formula isn’t working for you, it’s not because you’re failing. It’s because business growth isn’t one-size-fits-all…not to mention us as humans.

Sustainable success comes not from rigid routines, but from learning to work with your rhythms.

Routines vs. Rhythms

Routines are autopilot. They’re the daily checklists: wake up at 5am, post on social every day, send the weekly newsletter, check all the boxes.

Rhythms are flexible. They ebb and flow. They’re guided by your energy, your nervous system, your cycle, even the seasons.

That doesn’t routines are inherently “bad.” They’re not. They give us structure. But routines without rhythms create rigidity that leaves no space for humanity, creativity, or flow.

Why Routines Alone Don’t Work

We live in a culture obsessed with systems and formulas. Everything has been boiled down to “step-by-step” strategies.

But those strategies aren’t taking key things into consideration… Things like:

• Your nervous system.
• Your capacity.
• Your creativity.
• Your energy.

When you’re told success = following the checklist, and you can’t keep up with the checklist, it feels like you’re failing. But really, the system is failing you.

How Rhythms Changed My Leadership

I still have routines. For example, it’s routine for me to start my workday by checking client notifications and reviewing my to-do list. That structure helps me stay grounded.

But it’s my rhythms that guide how I actually accomplish that list.

Some days, I might only be at 30% capacity. Instead of forcing myself to push to 100%, I honor that 30%. And here’s the thing…that’s still me showing up fully for that day.

I also lean into rhythms like:

• Cycle syncing: noticing where I am in my cycle and adjusting my workload.
• Nervous system cues: recognizing when I need to pause or reset.
• Human Design experiments: learning how my Manifestor energy flows best.

The shift? I get more done when I’m in rhythm than when I force myself into rigid routine.

Flow-Based Planning in Practice

So what does flow-based planning actually look like? For me, it’s:

• CEO Days: stepping back from client work to focus on my own business vision.
• Batching in bursts: recording content or tackling projects when I feel inspired and high-energy.
• Adjusting workloads: aligning projects with my cycle phases instead of expecting the same output every day.
• Leaving white space: keeping margin in my calendar for creativity and rest.
• Daily check-ins: asking, “What do I realistically have capacity for today?”

Flow-based planning isn’t about throwing structure out the window. It’s about building systems that flex with you instead of against you.

An Invitation to Experiment

If you’ve been stuck in the rigidity of routines, I’d like to encourage you to try something different.

Start small:

• Track your energy for a week.
• Swap one rigid routine for a rhythm-based practice.
• Pay attention to how it changes your creativity, capacity, and impact.

You don’t need a perfect routine to be consistent. You need rhythms that actually support you.

Because the truth is, results don’t come from squeezing yourself into someone else’s formula. They come from sustainable, aligned effort — the kind that flows effortlessly when you create more spaciousness in your life.

Ready to build systems that support your rhythms (instead of fighting them)? That’s exactly what I help founders do inside my Vision-to-Execution Accelerator and Intensives.