Money Saving Mom®

So, if you did your homework yesterday, you now have a written routine created for your family. Way to go!

A Routine Only Works if You Follow It

Just having a routine written down on paper is not enough. You actually have to stick with it!

Now, like I said yesterday, you don’t have to follow your routine perfectly for it to make a big impact. But you do need to use it as a guideline on a daily basis. Even just following 75-80% of it almost every day can mean a world of difference in your home and life.

Here are four suggestions to help you stick with your routine:

1. Add One New Thing Every 3 Weeks

If the concept of a routine is completely new for you, don’t try to overhaul your life all at once. Slow and steady changes in the right direction will result in much more lasting and long term changes. As I’ve often said, moving in the right direction–even at a microscopic rate–is still moving forward.

I recommend adding one new habit every three weeks. Start with a morning routine and stick with that for three weeks. Then add in an evening routine and stick with it for three weeks. Finally, add in an afternoon routine and stick with that for another three weeks.

Once you’ve got your routines down, try filling it in by following your entire written routine. If that’s too much to add all at once, go back to just adding in one or two new things to your routine every three weeks.

2. Create a Checklist

I’ve found it really helpful to print a new routine for each day of the week to follow and check off as I complete each task. This might just be the Type A in me, but there’s something about checking off things from a list that helps to keep me on track.

If you don’t want to mess with having a new page for each day, you could print and laminate your routine and use a dry erase marker to check it off. And then just wipe it clean at the end of the day.

Or, if you’re more of a techy person, you could use some type of online program on your computer or smartphone. I use the To Do App for my daily to-do list (this is separate from my standard routine) and think it could easily be set up to have a standard routine to check off each day if something a bit more high-tech appeals to you.

However, don’t try to make it more complicated than it needs to be. A simple list printed on scrap paper with a pen to check it off can work just fine. What matters most is not how high-tech or elaborate your system is, but that it inspires you to follow through with your routine!

3. Get An Accountability Partner

If you feel like you’re not disciplined enough to stick with a routine on your own, find an accountability partner to help keep you on track. Maybe it’s a friend who checks in with you via email every afternoon. Or a neighbor who pops by every afternoon. Or your spouse who checks in with how your day went at dinner. Maybe you form a group of online friends on Facebook to keep each other accountable. Or perhaps you do something entirely different.

Think about what would most motivate you to stay accountable and then get that accountability system in place. No excuses; just do it!

4. Reward Yourself For Sticking With It

Create milestones to celebrate along the way. This inspires you to keep at it when you don’t feel like sticking with it. Plus, life is just a lot more enjoyable when you make time to celebrate your successes!

What ideas do you have for motivating yourself to stick with your routine?

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Before I get into this post, I wanted to remind you that I share this to help those of you who are struggling with organization in your life. If however, life is going smoothly for you or you just don’t need something else added to your life right now, just skip over this post, okay? The last thing I want to do is heap guilt or more things to do onto your plate!

Once you’ve determined your big rocks and mapped out the basic framework for your day, it’s time to plan the Time Blocks in your routine. Here’s how I recommend doing that:

1. Start With a Time Budget

Take your list of priorities and follow the instructions in this post to come up with a time budget for the 24 hours in your day. (See my time budget from 2010 here for an example of how this will look.)

2. Arrange the Order For Your Day

Once you have your time budget created, take those blocks of time and put them in a set order for the day. Do not stress over doing this perfectly, just think of how to order the time blocks so things would flow fairly smoothly in your home.

For instance, here’s what my current routine looks like:

My Current Routine

Up, Bible, coffee
Run
Shower, dress
Clean up bathroom/bedroom, start laundry
Blog
Children up, baths, hair fixed
Breakfast, Bible Time, clean up kitchen
Chores, switch laundry, dinner out from freezer
Homeschooling
Reading together
Lunch, read alouds
Afternoon Routine
Homeschooling
Blogging
Free hour
Dinner, Bible Time
Evening Routine
Time with Jesse, read

3. Make Sure to Include Margin Time

If you’ll notice, I have an hour of free time built into my routine. This gives some “padding” in the routine to allow for the inevitable interruptions and things that come up throughout the day. Plus, it also provides a time block for extra projects.

4. Keep It Simple

Don’t make the mistake of trying to pack your day so full that you end up overwhelmed and burnt out. It’s better to do fewer things and actually finish them, than to attempt a massively-long list and end up frustrated. Stick with the basics and don’t forget to focus on the big rocks first.

5. Don’t Worry About Following it Perfectly

We never follow our routine exactly. I view it as a guideline, not a strict slave master. It’s there to keep us moving in the right direction, but it can be shifted and rearranged somewhat depending upon how the day is going.

Now, if you start shifting things too much, you’ll defeat the purpose of having a routine, but do give yourself some grace and don’t feel like you need to follow it to a tee or you’ve failed. Good enough is always better than doing nothing at all.

6. Keep Tweaking It

A good routine is like a good budget: you keep tweaking it as your needs and life changes. If something isn’t working, change it!

Practical Application

1. Sit down and create a time budget.

2. Take your time budget and your big rocks list and develop a simple routine for your day. Type it up so you can easily tweak it, as need be.

If you create a routine or already have one, I’d love to have you share yours in the comments section.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to stick with your routine, now that you’ve created it! 🙂

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