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Routine Machine: How successful people improve their morning routine, daily habits and guarantee themselves results

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ORDINARY PEOPLE + EVERYDAY HABITS = EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS

How does a “normal bloke from Plymouth” achieve more success than he could ever have dreamed?

By becoming a Routine Machine. This book will show you how you can follow a simple, everyday plan to achieve your goals without requiring superhuman effort or natural-born talent.

IN THIS BOOK YOU WILL LEARN:

● How to cure an “incurable” disease using just a book
● How one sheet of paper 10x’ed John’s business
● Why John is building a £25million snowball
● Why morning routines don’t need to start at 5 am
● The ONE routine that makes everything else easier
● How ‘90s TV show Gladiators can cure your procrastination
● Why John goes dog walking with Arnold Schwarzenegger
● How Anneka Rice can help you grow your business
● How staring at a wall earns you gold medals
● What Mr Bull from Peppa Pig can teach you about personal development
● Plus insights from hundreds of other Routine Machines, including Rik Mayall, Warren Buffett, Sir Richard Branson, Hulk Hogan, John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Sir Bradley Wiggins, and the 1993/94 Plymouth Argyle squad.

JOHN LAMERTON is a self-styled “lazy” entrepreneur and investor, and the “King of Routine”. He balances running an ambitious lifestyle business with raising two children. A former “hustler”, he now mentors fellow ambitious lifestyle business owners; showing them how to design their businesses around the lifestyle they truly desire.

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2019

63 people are currently reading
125 people want to read

About the author

John Lamerton

4 books9 followers
John Lamerton has been described as both a "normal bloke from Plymouth", and a "Routine Freak".

He launched his first business - an Internet Marketing Company, despite:

1. Not knowing ANYTHING about running a company.
2. Not knowing ANYTHING about marketing.
3. Not even owning a computer, let alone knowing ANYTHING about the internet.

Armed with a copy of "Internet Marketing for Dummies" and his girlfriend's parent's computer, John worked hard, made a lot of mistakes, and a little money (he earned £13.51 in his first NINE MONTHS!).

He kept learning, and kept working harder and harder for years, and made more money.

And then he read ONE line, in ONE book that changed EVERYTHING.

John's "lightbulb 💡 moment", when he discovered the ambitious, lifestyle business.

When he realised that you can design your business to deliver the lifestyle YOU want.

That a "lifestyle business" doesn't mean scraping a living, and that you can merge ambition to grow, with being there for your kids.

To have amazing holidays 🏝️ (and leave the laptop at home).

To knock off early, and play golf. ⛳

John has been running ambitious, lifestyle businesses ever since - and his businesses exist PURELY to deliver the lifestyle he wants.

Work to live. Not live to work.

After exiting his business in 2016, John wanted to pass on everything he'd learned to small business owners who are struggling to succeed, and whose only strategy is to "work harder".

He wanted to show them that there IS another way.

That a "normal bloke from Plymouth", with NO experience, NO money, NO contacts, and NO knowledge of what he was doing, can achieve more than he ever dreamed - by becoming a "student of what works".

John wrote his first book - Big Ideas... for Small Businesses as his blueprint for running a successful, ambitious, lifestyle business.

John's second book, Routine Machine shows you how to turn consistency into your superpower, and how simple daily habits and routines can GUARANTEE you success.

John is currently writing his third book "Evergreen Assets", which will be released in late 2021. 📚

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5 stars
84 (42%)
4 stars
68 (34%)
3 stars
31 (15%)
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13 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Stephen.
626 reviews181 followers
March 9, 2021
This was one of those books that just clicked in every way. It had references to two of my favourite books Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams and The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It and loads of ideas to help with common problems like working excessive hours, looking at your phone too much and opening emails as you receive them, all of which I suffer from. Also mentions that 20 minutes is the optimal time to exercise for (after that you still benefit but get diminishing returns for your effort) which was good to hear when I have been doing 20 minute exercise classes on Zoom since the latest lockdown.

It is about finding routines to not only work more efficiently but to also apply them to your personal life too. The underlying premise is that small incremental improvements over a long time are the way to succeed. It is full of references to other great books and also useful apps that I hadn’t heard of before. Best of all, I attended a Zoom book club meeting while reading it, where we got to chat to the author John Lamerton about the book!

The book itself says that unless you follow up books like this, you are just wasting your time - you may as well read a novel instead. So I fully intend to do that. After all, we have all adapted to an entirely new routine during lockdown which proves that it can't be that hard to change!
36 reviews
April 26, 2020
Wow. A weekend well spent. A must read for everyone, not just business owners. Cannot wait to see where mine and my little girls routines will take us. Very excited, full of ideas, already on them. Dont just read the book, make sure you follow the instructions.
Profile Image for Hamza.
9 reviews
September 18, 2021
I really liked the book it covers many aspects of daily life and teaches through excellent storytelling. Consistency is key to success so routines are also the true key to success.
Profile Image for Alžběta.
640 reviews1 follower
May 27, 2021
Wow. What a book! No other growth/self-development book has resonated with me as much as 'Routine Machine.' I've read both 'Atomic Habits' and 'Tiny Habis' (both excellent books), but something about John Lamerton's writing style and narration really impacted me.
If you want to change your life, read this book! If you want to get inspired, read this book! If you want to know how to make profound and long-term changes, read this book!
No amount of words can express how brilliant this book is and how grateful I am to have read it. Thank you so much, John!
Read this book!
Profile Image for Joe.
521 reviews
July 1, 2021
Some great advice in here but for a reader like me I’ve read it before

Reduce to eliminate distractions
Have clear long, medium and short term goals
Do the most important thing first
Make time for the big rocks
Have routines and habits
Use processes and systems to remove yourself as a bottleneck
14 reviews
May 28, 2020
Great easy to read book. Lots of practical advise to change your habits. Wrote in a down to earth humerous style. This is the second book I’ve read from John Lamerton and they never disappoint.
Profile Image for Joe Emery.
152 reviews3 followers
March 6, 2021
A down to earth book that will inspire you to change your life.
Profile Image for Bekah B.
297 reviews10 followers
February 23, 2022
I've been looking for a good motivational self help type book that would goce me some ideas on improving myself and my business, and Routine Machine hit the spot. It was great how there were practical ideas that I could implement almost immediately. I really like the idea of a time audit and can see it being really enlightening and interesting. This is one of the things I will be implementing straight away.
I have a tendancy to plan to do way too many things with my time and so I never seem to get to the end of my to-do list and end up consistently feeling like I've failed. One of the big themes in the book is time management and prioritising which gave me some really interesting things to think about.
Sometimes the book strayed a bit into being more how you can market your business and how to do effective email marketing rather than about the routine which then became irrelevant and not what I wanted. But this was only a small issue to be honest.
The author narrates the book and he did a really great job. The narration was easy to listen to and kept my interest throughout.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest opinion
Profile Image for Jakub Dembiński.
72 reviews4 followers
August 20, 2022
Najbardziej z książki spodobała mi się idea "Could do list", czyli nierobienia listy "To do", która stale rośnie i wprowadza nas w jeszcze większe zakłopotanie jak na nią patrzymy. Taka lista rzeczy daje nam prawo do wybierania faktycznych zadań, które chcemy zrobić. Tych najważniejszych, popychających nas do przodu.

Dodatkowo książka zawiera wiele nawiązań do innych biznesowych książek, jak Miracle Morning, czy The E-Myth Revisited. Można sobie przypomnieć tamte koncepcje oraz spojrzeć na nie przez pryzmat autora.

Jak zwykle najwięcej możemy zyskać, opierając się na nawykach i działając długoterminowo. Na początku wyniki nie będą spektakularne, ale z czasem będą się nakładać na coraz większe osiągnięcia.
1 review
May 2, 2024
Routine Machine Book Review

Routine Machine by John Lamerton was a masterpiece. The book itself, I felt, emulated the messages that John was trying to push to the reader. By no way has John broke the mould on a long lost Egyptian secret to how routine led to the building of the pyramids, but instead, he puts into perspective how building positive routines can change your life. The book was a condensed version of years of John’s routines that have acquired him knowledge, stability and success.

The book consisted of numerous anecdotes and direct comparisons to what 90% of Britain must be able to relate to in one way or another. I do believe that this book is for everyone despite there being a lot of underlining messages about business (this is John’s niche). The humorous undertone and light-hearted approach makes it a very easy and fun book to read.

Thanks John!

P.S. I loved the Mr Bull impression.
Profile Image for Georgina Green.
6 reviews
Read
December 17, 2021
I loved this book! It fits really well with the way I work at the moment. I love a routine. But this book taught me a lot about managing and making the most of my time with routines.
My favourite tip is planning the specifics one day at a time. I tend to overplan, and then not stick to it. Now I fill in the important things in my calendar, and add in the specifics the night before, plus one big goal for the day. Not only is it more manageable, but it makes me much more productive when I try to do less!
Definitely recommend reading this book.
Profile Image for Victoria.
454 reviews
August 6, 2024
This book was great. I listen to it on audible and the author/narrator was really easy to listen to. It’s not ground breaking but it is a very sensible, idiots guide to sticking to routines. And so far, so good. I’m sticking to the routine I started at the start of the book and the one I’m doing for the 30day challenge. And if John reads this (he claims he reads all the reviews), his John, great book and thanks for the easy to follow instructions and your little anecdotes along the way.
Profile Image for Vince.
156 reviews2 followers
May 9, 2022
A slow and samey start, but stick with it.

This book starts with regurgitated information you should have already read elsewhere in Atomic Habits and the Chimp Paradox- so much so that it’s first chapters read like a rip off of those row books.

But then it grows into something more and gives genuinely useful tips that are delivered in a down-to-earth and amiable way by the author.
17 reviews1 follower
November 26, 2021
One of those books you read and read again

Full of very practical down-to-earth wisdom, an easy read but with some great suggestions, definitely a handbook for building good routines rather than a one-off read.
Profile Image for Radostina Tsvetkova.
143 reviews13 followers
February 6, 2022
THE BOOK OF THE BOOKS... compiles a lot of great practices (really, like 10 or 20, or more... who counts??) you can read about in a separate book each.

But my 5 stars were already won right at the point where Lamerton disses the 5 AM and "no time for sleep" BS. Loved that! 😍
1 review
January 12, 2022
The aggregation of marginal gains and description of the "write stuff" were my favourite bits.
Profile Image for Ben Fish.
108 reviews23 followers
July 27, 2022
Nothing groundbreaking, but good solid advice which- if followed- would really improve your life.

I now need to go away and try and follow the advice!
Profile Image for Emma.
27 reviews
July 14, 2023
Some really nice ideas to help you get things on track. Good tips and tricks. Would recommend if you're struggling with routine.
10 reviews
December 6, 2024
Loved this. Simple and effective five. No BS or ego!
46 reviews
September 16, 2025
On The Right Road

Phenomenal book. Engaging, funny, practical. Will help you get untangled with great stories and show you how to ‘get YOU started for YOU’!!!!
6 reviews
January 19, 2020
Enjoyed Johns writing style, didnt find the book as good as the first one.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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