Why having a Routine helps you get some Me Time
When you're juggling lots of things having a routine can really help.
In the summer holidays, or any time the kids are home such as in covid lockdowns, you've got even more on your plate than usual.
So it's great to have a structure to the day and week which helps you feel more capable, in control and more able to fit in some healthy habits too.
Introducing self care practices is important. I'd say essential! But it doesn't always feel easy to fit in for Mums.
Anything that enables us to get the important chores and tasks done and have time for ourselves is worth trying isn’t it!
The Benefits of Having a Routine
Routines play an important role in helping people to manage stress and anxiety and overcome the overwhelm so you can show up as the best Mum you can be. You'll feel more at ease knowing you can balance everything you want to do in a day. Everything has a time or an order.
Having a regular routine can help you:
Lower stress levels knowing you're able to get everything done
Take better care of your health by making time for you
Feel more productive and satisfied with what you've achieved
Feel more focused and present with each activity
Getting any necessary and important tasks done helps you find more time for healthy behaviors like exercise and leave you more time to enjoy self care, fun activities and hobbies.
The secret is to create a routine that is a basic structure for when you will wake, eat, work, do activities, and sleep so you don’t waste time and energy working out what to tackle when.
Take a step back and think about how you can get some time and energy back for you each day. How do you make life more simple, more automatic for everyone. So they can manage part of their day without needing you? What can you do to empower the kids and your hubby and use that time for you?
Once you and the rest of the family all know what to expect there’s less questions to answer such as 'when can I have my tablet?', When can I have a snack?' There's less you need to explain or dare we admit to it - "nag them" on. Everyone can just get on with their daily routine tasks, like getting dressed and brushing their teeth, automatically. If they do it all themselves they can choose an activity such as screen time or go for a fun day out.
There's so much more time and energy to have fun together afterwards.
If you have younger kids then this needs to be translated into how another adult can automatically manage things for your children for a period of time instead of course.
What to include for a healthy daily routine
Your family situation and what you personally are coping with will affect how easy or hard it is to do all the ideas I offer you here. But here are the things to make a part of your daily routine to help manage your stress levels:
Making sure that you are well-rested (as much as you can with children)
Eating healthy meals on a regular schedule
Staying hydrated
Setting realistic goals of what you can get done in a day
Tools to stay positive
Staying in touch with friends and family members
Setting aside time for activities that you enjoy
Staying active and getting regular daily exercise
The important thing to do is take a step back, gain a fresh perspective and positively question your current daily decisions and your choices. What small things can you tweak here and there to make a big difference. It may be hard to recognise at first but have a really good think over the next couple of days. See what you notice. I’m here to help you if you need some assistance with this.
Let's get focused and productive, get our day-to-day responsibilities and our work done so we can make time for self-care.
1. Start by Making Your List
Make a list of the things that you normally do during the day. Include everything from work to meal preparation to household chores. Once you have an idea of the basic tasks you need to accomplish, you can start creating a general outline for what you might need to accomplish each day to stay on track.
While its important to get the essentials done, be sure to find things that you can look forward to as well. Whether it’s watching a favorite television show or calling up a friend. By making these little rewards part of your routine you'll stay upbeat and focused when you are working on a task. Even the ones you might not enjoy as much. For example treat yourself to a snack after making a difficult phone call
2. Find What Works for You
Is it better to have a structured daily schedule or just a general to-do list for the day? Some people might thrive with a highly structured daily schedule that outlines activities in specific blocks of time, while others might do well with a loose list of things they need to get done in the day.
If it is something of high priority and importance and needs to get done on a specific day, then scheduling it into your routine and carve out that time to make sure it happens on time. Knowing that you have that time set aside for those tasks will leave you free to focus on using the rest of your time effectively.
Scheduling things that you may not be motivated to do can overcome the urge to just keep putting them off too.
3. Remember It Takes Time and Practice
Just like trying to create a new habit, starting and sticking to a new routine takes some time and effort.
You know yourself best, so if something doesn't seem to be working, try tweaking your it to make your routine work for you.
I find I personally work best with a weekly routine as I don't do the same things everyday. I have different amounts of child free time each day too. There's often appointments to fit in too. But I ensure I have a weekly list of what needs to get done and spend some time at the start of each week to plot it in my weekly planner. Once I know it’s all scheduled I can relax and enjoy each task and know I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day.
I pay attention each morning as to how I feel and flex things accordingly. If I’m feeling tired or unmotivated and lethargic I choose tasks that are less brain intensive and I take more breaks if I need to. I do what I feel most called to or enjoy as that takes less effort and less energy. I'll enjoy my lunch or a snack or my yoga or a walk instead of more intensive work tasks.
Its important to allow yourself to think about what you might need to feel better and get motivated. Then allow yourself to do that thing even if it’s a hobby as it gives you an outlet. Time and space away from work helps you to relax and think about things differently. It definitely pays to be kind to yourself rather than push yourself.
So it's time to give it a try.
Create a routine for you and try it out. Remember it may take some time to get used to it and you may need to tweak it over a couple of weeks to get it right. But do persevere as a great routine helps you to feel a sense of satisfaction and helps you to trust that everything will work out. You'll get rid of the overwhelm and start to feel there's a time for everything you really want to do.
You'll soon find a way to get your life back but better. And that's something all Mums want and need!
If you do find this to be a tricky task, get in touch by email to [email protected] to find out how I can help you with some coaching tools and techniques.
Take care for now,
Rebecca
