Ready, Set, Routine!

I love habits and routines. Small consistent steps can get giant tasks accomplished! Sometimes people quickly dismiss establishing routines because they’ve tried it and it didn’t work.

But, we are here to encourage you to approach routines with a different mindset! Think about how setting up daily routines can help you reach your current goals. Download the Free Routine Worksheet to follow along with us!

We can’t thank you enough for all your support with reviews and feedback! If you haven’t already, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review.

Also please share A to B Podcast with a friend! Here is a quick guide about how to listen to our podcast you can share with your friends. You can subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play AND now on Spotify.

We hope to continue growing A to B Podcast, but we can’t do it without your support! *This post may contain affiliate links — the cost is the same to you, but we might get a small referral fee.

Be sure to schedule a FREE 20 minute phone/ skype consultation to see if a virtual organizing session is the right fit for your project. Space is limited! 

If you Could Only Keep 3?

Before we get full blown into creating routines, we have a game to play! Thanks Simplify Style on Instagram! Play along with us.

Bethany and I share our top 3 we couldn’t live without. Which 3 would you pick? Let us know on Instagram @AtoB podcast or Facebook!

One thing I couldn’t live without is dry shampoo! My absolute favorite is Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo. The toasted coconut scent is heavenly!

The Importance of Routines

Have you ever stepped into a classroom and wonder how the teacher did it all? Yes, me too!

I found the secret from watching many excellent teachers when I was studying to become a teacher, it’s routines. Good teachers use multiple routines throughout their day and practice them often with the students.

The good news is you don’t have to be a teacher to reap the productive benefits of routines in your daily life! This is where I sing the praises of routines. They are such an important part of organizing!

• Routines allow you to get simple things done quickly because you create habits, which means your brain doesn’t try to procrastinate. 
• Routines help you stay focused and not get sidetracked.
• If you are interrupted during a daily routine, you can get back on track relatively quickly. This happens often with young kids at home!
• Routines help you become more efficient with your time and have extra time for the things you enjoy doing!
• With routines, kids learn what’s expected of them and move towards more independence. 
• Routines helps you easily delegate tasks to others if you are not there (sick, traveling, etc.).

I feel like many of the disorganization problems we discuss on A to B Podcast can be helped through consistent routines. Wow, strong statement! 

Now before you dismiss the idea, telling yourself that, “This isn’t for me,” or “I’ve tried it before and it didn’t work.”

Stop. Take a minute to listen with a new perspective. Think, “How can this work for me?“

Not everything we mention will work for you, but if you focus on tips you can apply to own life you might be surprised that routines will work for you even if they never have before!

Have we convinced you yet?!

I often say a 10 minutes Tuesday project (only 10 minutes!) can make such a huge difference in a space or in your mood.  But 10 minutes of planning can also make a huge impact in the direction of your day. 

Just 10 minutes spent making choices about what you will do at the beginning and end of the day can make a huge impact on the flow of your overall day. Less time spent fretting about what to do next, leaves you with more time for the things that matter most! Do you have 10 minutes to spend on creating a smoother day?

I explained a little about my own morning routine in this earlier post, but today let’s spend 10 minutes planning your own daily routines by following these simple steps.

Creating Daily Routines

Step 1: Focus on your current goals

It might seem strange to start with goals but remembering why you are following routines will help to  maintain your routines even when your motivation wanes.

Step 2: Identify the Problem Area

Once we have focused on our current goals, ask the question, “What’s not working?”

Establishing routines around problem areas is a good place to start. A common issue for moms is after school so you could create a routine for when kids get home from school.

So it doesn’t matter whether you are planning for a specific time of day or for your whole day.

Have you downloaded the worksheet? Do you have a pen and maybe a warm cup of coffee or a glass of wine? Commit to 10 minutes and let’s get started!

Step 3: Brainstorm (3 minutes)

Write a list of all the things you would like to get done in a day.

Include simple items as well as preventative “maintenance tasks”. Take these 3 minutes to empty your brain. Be sure to use the full-time here, don’t stop early, more ideas may come!

No really, write it all down. There is something about writing things down that really lets your mind relax and get everything out. Remember there are no wrong answers in brainstorming! Ready, go.

Here are a few samples to get your creative juices flowing-

Your list might be huge and overwhelming! Don’t worry, this is only the brainstorming phase. Your ideas and visions of productivity can be as lofty as you like during this part.

Step 4: Divide and Conquer (2 minutes)

Spend another 2 minutes labeling each task with either:

• Morning/pre-breakfast
• Afternoon/after lunch or before dinner prep
• Evening/before bed
• Weekly

As you categorize each task, you can begin to see a skeleton of your daily routine forming.

Also as you sort through your list, there may be tasks that are better suited as weekly tasks instead of daily to-do’s.  Label those for sorting later, so you can be sure to limit this list to your daily tasks.

Step 5: Put the Pieces Together

Now is the part where you get realistic. Your brainstormed list could have dozens of to-dos in each group. As difficult as it may seem, weed through these items and choose 4-5 tasks that are most important to you and put them in order to create a simple flow.

Try to limit your routine to 4-5 tasks for each period of the day.  This keeps the routine manageable and repeatable which provides quick transitions to the rest of your day. Be ruthless if you need to drop tasks. There will always be maintenance items to get done, focus on only the most important tasks.

For example, you could have a long evening list that includes: mail processing, cleaning, laundry, craft time, catching up on reading, etc. If your routine looks overwhelming you won’t want to actually do it.

The goal is to pick what’s most important now. You can always rework your routine as your priorities shift. 10 minutes a day of paper sorting means that soon that monstrous pile of paper will be gone and you can change it to 5 minutes of paper maintenance and add in another element to your routine to mix things up.

Also, stay motion minded and order your tasks by area of the home.  For instance, for the morning routine list your bedroom tasks first and then all your kitchen tasks to avoid wasting time pacing throughout your home.

Step 6: Keep it Simple and Stay Realistic (1 minute)

Look at your list of 4-5 tasks for each period of the day and then try to let go of perfection! As you know things don’t always go as smoothly as they look on paper.

Sometimes no matter how much you plan, things will go wrong.  But having a plan in place will give you a landing pad to go back to and prevent you from doing non-essentials or completely losing track.

Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two. You don’t have to get 100% on your daily routines. One or two off-days will not decrease your chances of making your routine a daily habit (as long as you return to it right after those few bumps in the road).

Remember also that you can make a different routine for your days off just like we did in Ep 76 for our Listener Questions.

Step 7: Repeat and Tweak as needed (daily)

It will takes some time for your routines to become a habit.  It can become even easier to form a habit if you remind yourself of the rewards that go along with it, like days running smoother with more time in your day!

If you stay focused on your goals and the positive rewards of your routines it can make it easy to continue to repeat them during the month or two before they become an ingrained habit.

That is exactly what we want; mindless, productive habits! This doesn’t mean no work went into creating them, but it does mean that once they are a part of your day, you won’t have to spend unnecessary energy getting through them.

As you are getting the rhythm of your new routines, post them nearby, or keep the list on hand. Soon, you’ll have the routine memorized!

As your repeat your daily routines, remember you can adapt them as you discover what works best.

Is it missing something? Set a timer and get a sense of how long it takes. Is it too long? Can you remove a task? It’s also fun to look back after a month or two and see how much faster you are able to get through your routine.

If you would like to see some more examples, you can check out my morning routine here.

I would love to hear what you do to keep your day flowing as smoothly as possible. Is there one thing that you feel can make or break your day, like an unmade bed? Do you have daily routines already? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Share any questions or where you are in the process in the comments section. Happy planning!

Links Mentioned:

• AtoBpodcast.com/virtual
• My favorite Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo
• My Daughter’s’ Morning Routine and Evening Routine
• Carol S. Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• Ep 76 Listener Questions

Let’s Connect!

We love listener questions! If you have a question for us, you can send us an email Hello @ AtoBpodcast.com or you can leave us a voicemail (858) 480-7722.

You can also find us hanging out on Instagram @AtoB podcast or Facebook.

Don’t forget to help others to find our podcast too! Please leave us a review on iTunes AND please share the podcast with a friend.

**If you are new to podcasts, follow our podcast guide to get started.