I do not naturally follow routines. But, the more I look around the internet and at my very organized friends, I realize routines are necessary for a tidy house, getting one and one's family out the door on time daily, and having a well-run and less stressful life in general.
Routines are the backbone of the FlyLady program, which I first discovered several years ago. As much as I love her positive attitude and fun vibe, I just couldn't jump on the bandwagon completely.
Recently I discovered Unclutterer, whose August 2 post has lots of links to great ideas for creating personal routines to make your life run more smoothly.
Even Gala Darling has tips for creating a daily routine you love.
Just the idea of a routine makes me want to rebel. But, I know they are all about planning ahead and doing things ahead of time instead of at the second they need done (like scrounging today's clothes out of the laundry basket, or finally cleaning the bathroom when it looks like a biohazard).
Do you use routines?
I know what you mean - at first the thought of a routine seems limiting & claustrophobic, but I have to admit that the other side of that coin is the peace of mind and stability that comes from them.
ReplyDeleteYou may not be able to control what life throws at you, but you can control how you'll handle it. I find my daily/weekly/monthly routines really help me maintain my balance.
Maybe it's all in how you choose to look at them?
I do indeed use routines (or at least try to). In fact, I have weekday routine printed out that I keep in my planner on the back side of my weekly to do list so that I can reference it often to help me keep on track, and to make adjustments as necessary.
ReplyDeleteYv and Helz, thanks for the input (and encouragement!). As you can see from my subsequent post, my life is about to get a lot busier. And, I think parents of school kids need to use routines a lot in general, to keep life running smoothly.
ReplyDeleteHelz I like the idea of having your weekday routine in your planner! Sounds like something I could use to keep myself on track.
My life is a constant adjustment! Moving on to the next phase, where I embrace routines and enjoy a smoothly-running life! :)
Sometimes I feel like my life is one big routine! (Though not really.) I don't have my routines in my planner like Helz (though I like that idea, too), but there are plenty of things that I do routinely throughout the week. One of the things that helps me the most is to constantly think about tomorrow at every stage of my day: make lunch the night before, choosing my clothes the night before, etc. Then there are the things that I do once a week - plan our family dinners, make a list of what I need from the store, do the shopping for the entire week; plan my schedule on a weekly basis, etc. I find that although sometimes my routines bore me, they do indeed help keep me on track. It's the un-routine things that make it all so interesting.
ReplyDeletekanalt, this is exactly what I need to do, especially the night-before stuff with setting out clothes and making lunches. It's the only way I'll be able to get everyone out the door on time in the mornings! :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely plan to do weekly meal planning, I think that will simplify things a lot with food issues. I hate staring into the fridge at 5:30 pm wondering what I'm going to make for dinner! My super-organized neighbor who has 5 kids gave me some pointers. She does meal planning for the whole month at once, which is a little ambitious for me. But one idea I will incorporate is that Wednesdays are Kid's Choice, with a rotating schedule (in my case, alternating) as to which kid chooses that Wednesday's menu. I love that idea, and I think my kids will enjoy choosing whatever they want for dinner (within reason: chocolate cake for dinner won't fly!).