5 Reasons to Establish a Good Routine

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I’ve got my sweet friend Jordan here on the blog again today to continue sharing about motherhood! Jordan is a dear friend of mine and lives with her husband and baby girl, born in September 2015.  We became close friends in college and she was my matron of honor at my wedding! I admire her for her gentle spirit, her desire to serve the Lord in all she does, and most recently, her beautiful mother heart. She shared what God has been teaching her in her recent post Hope For Midnight Mamas and I’m thrilled to have her here again, this time talking about establishing a good routine!

Making the jump to homemaker was a giant leap for me. Before I got married, I was in school full-time, working 30 hours every week, trying to keep a social life, and seeking to keep up my home & health all at the same time. Needless to say, things were crazy. I managed to maintain a level of balance with a carefully regulated routine, and by the time I graduated from college and got married, I had time management down to a science.

Flash forward a few months. I was now married and still working 30 hours per week, but the 18-credit course load craziness that was college was far behind me. I had all the time in the world! I felt like the queen of England!

Also, everything fell apart.

Suddenly, I, the time management guru, could NOT find time to wash dishes, help my husband with a project, or even get around to go for a jog or enjoy a hobby. There just weren’t enough hours in the day! Even the smallest addition was prone to stress me out.

Then, it hit me. I had gone from a highly structured (true confessions: overly structured) life to one with virtually no structure at all. Thus began my love for written routines. At this point, I’m home full time with our baby daughter, and I have found that, even with a little one at home, “not enough hours in a day” is no longer my prevailing mindset. I would encourage anyone, whether working full time or home full time, to take the time to establish a basic routine.

Excellent Reasons to “Routine”

1 // Stress Less. A routine tells you when something is going to get done. No more looking at the to-do list with deer-in the-headlights eyes. Just like it’s good to have a “place for everything, and everything in its place,” a routine allows you to have a “time for everything, and everything in its time.”

2 // Hate to clean your oven or mop the floors? Have a hard time taking a break during the day? A routine sets a time aside for you to do those nagging things you’ve been avoiding.

3 // My routine is not a military-precision schedule without room for interruption. With a baby at home, interruption is kind of the name of the game. However, by having a routine, even if I get off track a few times each week, my bathroom will still get cleaned regularly. Dinner will be ready when my husband gets home regularly. I will get to work on my sewing projects regularly.

Jordan Blog Pic 2 copy

4 // When you have children, a routine provides them a measure of comfort. They know, generally, what to expect. Even my sweet little baby has an idea of what her day will hold. As I said under “regularity,” things do get off track – routines with children tend to be more “Jazz” than “Bach”. Growth spurts happen, doctor’s appointments throw things out of whack, but we have a “normal” that we can all return to.

Jordan's Schedule for Blog Post

5 // Priorities stay priorities. I want to keep prioritizing my husband, even though other things keeps me pretty busy! So, it can help to add a “husband projects” time, when you can do something you know he would really appreciate. I’ve patched pants, run errands, or baked a special treat during that time. If your husband appreciates a picked-up home, a “quick clean” at the end of the day can be great. You can have an all-out circus with your little monkeys, and then do a quick zip around the house to at least create a feeling of order – a bit of an oasis for your man to come home to.

If you’re interested in learning more about setting up a great home routine, I absolutely loved Managers of Their Homes by Steven & Teri Maxwell. It is available at www.titus2.com.

Mamas, what’s your story? How have schedules and routines helped you? Do you find they bring you more productivity and peace?

5 Comments

  1. You are so right. I hate cleaning and have successfully avoided some of the less important tasks because they aren’t in a routine! I do find that building habits helps with those pesky chores– it’s the process of building those habits that can be tough!

    1. That’s so true! Especially at the beginning, I found that I had to “parent” myself. I’d be relaxing with a cup of tea, and I’d have to say to myself, “okay, Jordan, it’s time to mop the kitchen now.” Self-control is a beast! haha

  2. I’m not a mother, but I like having routines in place. I find that when I have a routine I feel more settled than if I don’t. I think I’d like to have a set “nighttime” routine and may have found exactly what my nighttime routine was missing this week. I’ll have to write it down and see if it’s a routine that fits. 🙂

    1. I agree, Crystal! I don’t think I’ve ever written down my nighttime routine – that’ll be something I’ll have to do, for sure! It really helps us reflect on where our time is going and what we could change! I’m glad you enjoyed Jordan’s post! 🙂

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