Are your routines in need of a major refresh?
Well, today we’re going to talk about a plan to start a new routine from scratch so you can have smoother and easier days.
Now, I had to pretty much start our routines from scratch this year. So we had just come out of a busy season. I had a baby last fall, and then we went right into the holidays with a newborn and a three-year-old. So right now I have a four-year-old and a five-month-old. They were a little younger when we started the year, but I needed to completely recreate our days so that it would work with two kids.
My husband is working evenings and I’m working from home, and we also started some homeschool preschool with our older son. So trying to get all of those things to work together, not to mention managing our home was the challenge.
Start Your Routine Slow and Steady
So one of the major keys I want to share with you is to start slow. Trying to implement a brand new big routine and schedule for the entire day is just going to overwhelm everyone.
So as you get started, remember, you don’t have to turn it around overnight. This is a plan that you can build on to get things running a lot more smoothly.
Map out Your Ideal Day and Week
I want you to start off with kind of plotting out your ideal day. What would a great day look like? Don’t forget to take into account weekly appointments, kids naps, sports practices, etc.
So just think of it as a draft. It’s probably not what it’s going to look like once you actually start implementing things, but it will give you a great starting point.
Start with a “Bare-bones” Routine
And then once you have your kind of ideal day and week mapped out, I want you to start with the bare bones schedule, just to start getting everyone into a new routine.
So for mine, we woke up, did our morning routine, got everyone fed and dressed and mama some coffee, of course. And then we would move into our little preschool time. And after that, I wanted to do more of a structured activity with my older son, something more sensory like Play-Doh or kinetic sand. Then by that time, we had free play, lunch, rest time, our afternoon, activities, getting ready for dinner, then dinner, and then our bedtime routine.
That was just the bare outline of what I figured our day would look like with my work times worked in and some chore times, but those I just did whenever I could and added the more structured routine a little later.
Evaluate Each Week
And then from that bare bones routine, I would evaluate each week and add or delete what was working or what wasn’t working. And when it was time to add some more in, for example, I added more structured chore times. So that way I had kind of a particular point in my routine to get things done around the house.
Add to Your Routine Using Habit Stacking
And to do that, you can use habit stacking. That’s a really great tool because once a bare routine is in place, you can stack on things to it.
You have a point in your routine that’s lunch, maybe you add in after lunch is that chore time where you give yourself 20 to 30 minutes to wipe down the kitchen and bathroom and switch laundry – just as an example.
And we then know that rest time for the kids is also my major work time and with the table structured sensory activity, we know that that’s right after our school time.
So as you can see, adding things in becomes a lot easier when you have that bare routine in place.
One of the main keys I want to reiterate is to evaluate each week. See what’s working and what’s not, what you need to add to your routine and what you maybe need to delete from your routine.
Let’s kind of recap this whole process real quick.
So remember to start slow, this isn’t something that can change overnight. So don’t put pressure on yourself to rush it. Just let it be slow, smooth, and easy to get yourself to smoother days.
One of the first steps is to map out your ideal days and your ideal week. And then once you start implementing, start with that bare-bones routine. And then each week you can evaluate and start adding things in using habit stacking.
This process will help you refresh your routines or even start new ones from scratch. Can’t wait to hear about your new routines!
