From: alexhormozi
The “anti-routine” is a concept proposed by Alex Hormozi, which focuses on eliminating non-essential tasks and distractions rather than adding more to a daily schedule. This approach aims to maximize productivity by stripping away everything that isn’t the absolute highest priority, leading to outsized returns on effort [00:02:02].
Hormozi credits this anti-routine with transforming his life from near bankruptcy to earning over seven figures a month in 18 months [00:00:01]. He argues that many successful individuals, particularly those with nine-figure net worths, do not adhere to the “million-dollar routines” often promoted online [00:00:21].
The Problem with Traditional Routines
Most people assume that achieving success requires adopting new routines or rituals performed by successful individuals [00:01:25]. Hormozi contends this assumption is flawed. Often, champions achieve success not because they possess something others don’t, but because they lack something others have (e.g., an “off switch” or the tendency to stop) [00:01:41]. The key is to identify and stop performing unproductive daily activities [00:01:58].
Mindset Shifts for the Anti-Routine
The fundamental shift is moving from the belief “I need to do more things” to “I need to stop doing things I’m currently doing” [00:02:32]. This allows for clarity on what truly needs to be done and why current efforts might be ineffective [00:02:40].
- Priorities Mean Saying No: A true priority means two things cannot be equally important [00:02:45]. If equal time is spent on two tasks, neither is truly a priority [00:03:00]. The core of the anti-routine is the word “no” [00:03:13]. This concept is encapsulated in the season of no, a temporary period where saying no to everything not aligned with the top priority becomes the routine [00:03:22].
- Challenging Obligation to Reply: Any communication (text, email, call) implicitly carries an “implied ask” or a “take,” requesting a reply [00:04:10]. Most people conflate having the time to reply with an obligation to reply [00:04:47]. This obligation often doesn’t exist, especially at scale (e.g., 500,000 texts, which would make replying impossible) [00:04:54]. During his 18-month period of extreme growth, Hormozi stopped replying to people [00:05:12].
- Evaluating Social Engagements: Many events, masterminds, and coaching programs primarily serve social needs rather than solving specific problems [00:05:30]. Once the necessary information or solution is acquired, continued attendance can be a distraction from execution [00:05:51].
Tactics of the Anti-Routine
The anti-routine involves specific actions aimed at eliminating nonessential tasks for efficiency and maximizing focused work.
- Changing Phone Number: To reduce interruptions and implied asks, Hormozi changed his phone number, giving his old one to his assistant [00:06:12]. He only initiated communication with essential contacts, rather than constantly responding to others [00:07:00]. This created significant “blank space” in his calendar [00:06:41].
- Stopping Event Attendance: Once the required information was obtained, Hormozi stopped attending events and masterminds for 18 months, focusing instead on execution [00:07:11]. The principle is: if you know what needs to be done, anything that isn’t doing that thing is a hindrance [00:07:27].
- Implementing a Deep Work Block: He stopped taking meetings from 4 AM to noon daily, dedicating the first eight hours of his day to uninterrupted work on his top priority [00:07:35]. This is crucial when leverage (e.g., a large team) is not yet established [00:08:11].
- Consistent Sleep Schedule: Weekends were treated the same as weekdays regarding bedtime and wake-up times to maintain consistency for the morning deep work block [00:08:27]. This challenges traditional daily routine and productivity strategies that often differentiate between weekdays and weekends.
- Minimalist Health Approach: Workouts were reduced to twice a week—the “minimum effective dose” for maintenance—to avoid trying to make progress on too many fronts simultaneously [00:08:52]. Priority dictated where “growth juju” (energy/focus) was allocated [00:09:09].
- Strategic Fasting: Fasting one or two days a week eliminated interruptions from food preparation, eating, and cleaning, freeing up more time for work [00:09:24].
- Deleting Social Media: All social media apps were removed from his phone, as most posting functions could be done from a computer [00:09:43]. This eliminated hours of daily consumption, which Hormozi equates to modern-day television watching [00:10:08]. This directly supports avoiding distractions and shiny object syndrome.
The core principle of the anti-routine is that achieving significant results isn’t about finding a magic routine to add more to, but about courageously saying “no” to the vast majority of activities that currently consume time and energy [00:10:20].