Routine: The Key to Survival and Success
If I had to pick one thing I could share that would make the biggest difference in your life, it would be routines.
As a teacher, there were no excuses for being late. I had to be on time to receive the children or the parents would then be late themselves! Not only did I have to be on time, but also I really needed to be there early to attend to a few things before the students were walking through the door. Oh, and I had to get 2 small children dressed and ready for school as well. I conquered this challenge with this beautiful thing called a routine.
Routine = sequence of actions that you do repeatedly.
Simple. You repeat these few things every day. It takes discipline at first but you can do it!
There are 3 times that routines should be in place to make your life less chaotic.
Morning-as easy and as simple as you can make it.
Afterschool or work-do the things necessary to start tomorrow strong.
Evening-reset your home, check for last minute to-do’s and put things in place.
Here are some examples of daily routines for kids and adults:
Morning:
Get dressed
Brush teeth/hair
Eat breakfast
Get lunchbox, backpack, purse, wallet, etc. (items that have a “take with me” home) and walk out the door.
After-school (young kids):
Snack (in a designated spot so the children can grab without your assistance)
Homework
Repack backpacks
Make lunches(this can be part of the evening routine if needed.)
Play
After-work (Routines aren’t just for kids):
Hang up work clothes
Start laundry
Pay bills/answer emails/take care of “home business”
Start dinner (check weekly meal plan)
Pack lunch (unless it’s dinner leftovers)
Homework help/sign any paperwork that the kids have and have child put back in the appropriate space.
Re-boot laundry
Kids evening Routine:
Mary Poppins called it, “Tidy up the Nursery” time. Aka: Clean up your mess! Setting a timer (2-3 minutes per child’s age. A 5 year old should get 15 minutes of time. If it takes longer, you will need to reassess the amount of toys they are allowed to pull out) and turning on music makes this task more fun with smaller children. Supervision is best with this step because kids love to hide their messes in their closets, under beds, in hampers and anywhere they think they can get away with it. No, your kid’s not a jerk, this is normal.
Get out school clothes. If this is a nightly struggle, try getting out a weeks worth on Sundays. (I used a 5-tier hanging shelf that hooks to the closet rod.)
Baths
Books (quiet time)
Bed-as in lights out because Mom and Dad need some grown up time.
Evening routine:
Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This step is huge because so much time is wasted in the AM on this one step!
Put your purse, keys, wallet, mail, backpacks and everything else that goes with you in the AM in one place. This place should be it’s designated home every single evening. (No more searching for things in the morning!) Having a phone charger in that place would be smart so it’s all there together.
Check the weather. Do you need to leave a little early due to fog, rain, snow? (Well, not so much snow in south Louisiana, just hurricanes.)
Check the calendar. Do you need anything besides the usual items? Valentines Card? Mardi Gras beads? LSU shirt?
Reset the house in 15-30 minutes. For me, this is making sure the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher, sofa cushions and sofa pillows are straight, extra blankets are folded and in the basket, toys (dog toys for me) are put in their home. I usually throw the dirty kitchen towels into the dirty clothes basket as well and wipe counters. This is also the time to put away all the items that are not in their home. Remember to be a good example and put away things when you use them so this is not a daunting task.
Make a list of your routines and post it until it’s memory. You can hang them in sheet protectors and have the kids check them off with dry erase markers as the job is done. You are there to supervise the children, not do the job for them.
Not sure where to start when making routines? Give us a call and let’s set up a consultation to get you on the right path. How much time will you gain by implementing these routines?
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