Sunday, January 5, 2014

How to Have a More Productive Day.




Routines are very important. Even if you do nothing else all day, routines help you feel grounded and accomplished. 


After reading several blogs and books touting the wonders of a routine, I decided to start one in January, 2013. 


·         Why I needed a daily routine:

1)      I wanted to start and end my day with a plan already in place.

2)      It freed my mind to focus on other things.



·        What daily routines I have:

1)      Morning Routine

2)      Afternoon Routine

3)      Night Routine

4)      Homeschool Routine

5)      Children’s Routine

(The boys’ routine is posted in the hall. It helps them to be able to do things on their own and to keep focused. )




·        How I decided what to include in my daily routine:

1)      I made a list of what I thought would be great to accomplish every day.

My list includes things such as:

Bible Study

Prayer

Exercise

Laundry

Family Time

Reading a book

2)      Then I decided when it would be the easiest to accomplish each thing.  For instance, I knew I wanted to pray every morning and read a Psalm or Proverb so I assigned that to my   morning routine.                           

3)      Then I figured out how long it would take for me to accomplish my goals that I had set and adjusted my bedtime and wake up time accordingly.





·        How my days have changed:

1.      I am more intentional with my day.

2.      I get more accomplished.

3.      I have more energy.

4.      I have more patience.

5.      Our home is more peaceful.

6.      Our home has more consistency.

7.      Our home is more organized.




Extra Tips:

·        It is good to add fun and/or relaxing things to your routines.  For instance, I found that stretching a few minutes when I wake up and before going to sleep really makes me feel good.  So I added that to my routine. I also have lots of books that I want to read, so I added a few minutes of reading time each day. 



·        Make sure to write your routines and keep them in a place that you will see them. This will get you in the habit of doing it every day.



·        Try to schedule the same routine around the same time each day. This will help with consistency.



·        If you have a baby or toddler, you can still have a routine.  You just might have to be more flexible with it. I always felt better having a plan in place when I had little ones, even if I could not follow my plan exactly. You can add activities such as :

1.      Reading a book to your child

2.      Playing together with toys

3.      Free play

4.      Mommy/baby exercises

5.      Craft/or bake with your child


I am glad I decided to add daily routines in my day. Even when I do not get around to my to-do list for the day, I know I have accomplished a lot just by completing my daily routines. Also, with routines you are also living each day to its fullest potential!

What are some activities you will add to your routine?

14 comments:

  1. I love following a routine also. After a long time of thinking I was just perhaps anal on that, I have embraced it. It makes me feel grounded and steady. I doesn't mean I have no flexibility, but it does give me a framework to work from. I value rising at the same time, unloading the dishwasher, exercising and just starting my day in the same fashion every day. It makes tackling things for the rest of the day much easier. Thanks for sharing on this. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the *idea* of a routine...my problem is that I fill my plan so full of things to do, and then never seem to be able to wake up early enough to get it all done, so I start out behind each day and get frustrated. Thanks for the encouragement to get back to trying again...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment! I read a great article one time that said only put one important thing on your to do list. I know easier said than done. :)

      Delete
  3. I have routines too. My day goes better, my kids know what to expect and they are happy and better behaved than when we do not follow our routines.

    Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Learning that a routine was much different from a schedule completely freed me. I realized that we always had a routine. One thing follows the other but not always at the same time. A routine offers me some consistency. I love your linked schedules in the page protectors I could never figure out how to make this work.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Routines make our days go so much smoother. A toddler can sometimes change the course of the day but even if times for certain activities change we try to stick to our routine as much as possible. Mu daughter loves baking and cooking with me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aww!! I miss mine being toddler age!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good tips for being more productive! I needed this today!
    -Karen
    www.yourstylistkaren.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love having routines! They may vary a little day by day, but we always follow the same basic pattern. It really helps the kiddos know what to expect, and it helps me focus too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, What an Outstanding post. I found this too much information. It is what I was seeking for. I would like to recommend you that please keep sharing such type of info.If possible, Thanks. meezan car ijarah - ubl car financing calculator

    ReplyDelete