Creating A Daily Routine

It is so good to be back with you, thank you for taking time out of your day to join me. Last week we talked about the value of routines and today I will share with you how to to create a daily routine that reflects what is important to you.



The first step is to take a few moments to consider what makes you feel accomplished at the end of the day. For me, if my home is tidy, the children have been taught, people are fed, laughter is heard, and self care has happened, I  feel like I have checked all my boxes. As a homeschooling Mom my day is going to look different than the single woman who is working hard to start up her own business, or the newlywed who cuts hair by day and goes to nursing school at night, or the empty nester who is finally opening that art studio she's always dreamed of. As a person who struggles with comparison sometimes I see what others are doing and I try to fit that into my world when in reality, I know that won't work for me. At least, not during this season. Make sure your routine is reflecting YOUR reality and not someone else's.

Also, keep in mind that there are varying degrees to which we feel accomplished depending on the day. Some days are better than others, so be kind to yourself and give grace on the hard days.  When my insomnia has kept me up all night I know the next day is going to be rough. On those days a tidy house is equivalent to the dishes making it in the dishwasher, school looks like the children listening to an audio book together while eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and self care is a nap. It is important to remain flexible and to be able to tweak your routine from day to day (or even hour to hour if necessary) as  your time and energy changes.



After I have thought about what makes me feel accomplished when my head hits the pillow at night, I think about a normal day. What happens regularly? What do I  do day in and day out? What are the normal rhythms of our household?

 I make note of  what is working well and what I would like to change. When I first started creating my daily routine I was trying to exercise in the evening and it was not happening. By the time evening came I had zero energy. It is an important goal of mine to be more fit so I needed to move exercising into a realistic time frame where I had more energy, therefore, I bumped it to my morning routine which has been successful .

Sometimes just moving things around from one time frame to another provides the freedom we need to achieve our goals. Don't be afraid to adjust as needed as you figure out what works for you.

In our home, the way we tackle the day is to divide it into chunks. I am not a super scheduled person so my life revolves more around routines and rhythms than it does the clock. However, there are times of the day that are reference points for me.

We have a morning routine, chore routine, school routine, afternoon routine, and evening routine. Our weekends look a little different than our weekdays since I am not teaching school, but the basics remain the same.

Here is an example of my current morning routine:
Drink a glass of water
Make Bed
Coffee Time w Hubby
Work Out
Shower/Dress
Prep Breakfast
Wake up the minions
Start a load of laundry
Eat Breakfast and start chores

Then we move into our chore routine and so on and so forth.

Another tip is to be realistic. I used to have a “to-do” list a mile long and by the end of the day I would feel frustrated and defeated. Now I keep my list simple.  I choose the 3 most important tasks to complete for the day and number them in order of importance. That way if the day goes topsy turvy and I am only able to complete task #1, I know that I was able to get the most important thing done. Again, depending on the day, this can vary. If I didn't sleep well the night before then a nap might be my #1 or if I have an abundance of energy my #1 might be to tackle the budget.

  I think it is important to remember that you are in control of the routine vs. it being in control of you. Remain flexible . If I end up needing more sleep then I allow myself to sleep in and I adapt the routine. It’s all good. The overall basis is that I have set up healthy habits in our home that keep things running smoothly. Our goal is not perfection, our goal is “good enough”.

Each day I do what I can, with what I have available to me (my time, energy, and resources). Give yourself grace on the journey and know that every day is redeemable. If you veer off course from where you want to be just take a few deep breaths, refocus, and get back on track. Don’t do all the things that you missed… just pick up where you are at and keep moving forward. For example: if my morning went down the drain and it is now lunch time, then I pick up with lunch and move forward.  No guilt, no regrets, just acceptance that life happens.

Please, feel free to share what is working in your day to day routine or if you have any questions, give me a shout out in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

With love,
Dawna