How to Create a Routine

Most of us always have tons happening in our lives. Maybe we're married with kids so we've got tons happening in our spouse and kids' lives or maybe it's just us but we've got tons every month on our own schedule. Even with all of our simplifying tools around us it can be tough to create a a good solid routine in our lives.

Kind of like how I keep trying to start my meal prep routine which sometimes last two weeks but then schedules intrude and make it hard. I am still working hard to create routines in our life. Do you have any routines that you follow? Or a specific schedule you follow?

Routines have become even more important the past several weeks of staying at home. Kevin and my normal routine the first two weeks was a hot mess and we felt that mess! The last week of March we sat down and talked through how we can bring back routine to our lives.

Routines benefit you and everyone who is a part of your family even your pet! Here's how to work on creating a new routine.

Use a planner & make time

You can't really make a routine if you don't even know what your schedule is like right? Of course right! This is where having a good planner comes in. I've mentioned that I go the digital route but there are so many great paper options out there if you're a paper person. One way I create a routine with my work calendar is that I block out the time I leave every day. Since I work 7-3:30 which is an off schedule for people at my work people kept booking meetings past the end of my day. When I realized I could put in the calendar that I leave at 3:30 it made the routine much easier! So don't just use the planner book time for those tasks you want to make into a routine.

Prioritize your time

It's easy to slip into routines that don't actually focus on things that really matter to you. Do you find yourself overly focused on the routine of cooking for everyone in your house but never getting to really enjoy the time with them once your done cooking? Is making dinner really the routine that you should be prioritizing? Or is it spending dinner with your family?

Hopefully it's the second one. Although I know we could all use a break from family every now and then ha! Take a look at why you're spending your time on these routines. Make sure they they benefit you, your life and the goals you want to achieve. 

Change up "routines" that aren't working

Sometimes we think a routine is working for us but it's really not. I was getting into the routine of looking through my email and Facebook while I was lying in bed waking up every morning. It took me a little bit to realize that this routine was eating up valuable time in the morning. It was a bad routine and habit! Do you have any bad routines in your life? It's a good thing to evaluate all your current routines every now and then to make sure they're actually benefiting you.

Say No

Right now that's pretty easy for us since we're all supposed to be staying in our homes but I know before and when things go back to normal most of have crazy schedules. Having so much on our calendars and our plates isn't always a good thing. 

Sometimes we fill up our schedules with so much that we're not really giving the right amount of attention to anything we're doing. It can make our routines so crazy it's hard to keep track. The past year I've been slowly working on saying no and making my routines and schedules simpler. 

It's been things like instead of serving on the board of my sorority alumnae group I'm just enjoying being a member and going to the events. It allows me to still enjoy seeing my sorority sisters every month but not taking up other random time throughout the month.

Create rituals

Routines and rituals are pretty similar but I think sometimes when we make things a ritual it's more enjoyable. Kevin and I have developed getting ready for bed rituals where we brush our teeth and get ready together, we make faces at each other and talk about silly things. It seems a little rom com-ish but turning it into a special ritual made a big difference in us sticking to a bed time and a getting ready for bed routine.

Are there any areas of your life that you can turn into a ritual instead of just a routine?

Thanks so much for stopping by! You can also join me on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. In addition to life-capades and doing it for yourself, I love all things 'real life' so use the hashtag #museumfanatic on social media so I can see your beautiful unstaged life. Oh and on the top of the side bar to your right, you can follow me on Bloglovin or on social media to be alerted to each new post!