Last week my blog post was about the importance of creating routines. If you missed it, check it out here. This week I want to discuss HOW to design a routine that is customized to YOU and your unique needs. We learned last week that routine provides structure, promotes efficiency, and ensures that everyone in your home is getting their needs met. Now let’s explore the process of assessing your family’s needs and priorities and creating an ideal daily routine that works for each individual in your home.
Assessing Your Family’s Needs and Priorities:
Begin by assessing your family’s unique needs and priorities. Consider factors such as work schedules, school requirements, individual interests, and personal preferences. Discuss with each family member to understand their specific needs and aspirations. This assessment will serve as the foundation for designing a routine that caters to each individual’s well-being and specific goals. Below I provided an assessment sheet to help you get started. If your routines need an upgrade print one for each family member, write their name at the top and fill in accordingly.
Creating a Daily Routine That Works:
Once you have assessed your needs as a family, it’s time to create a daily routine that accommodates each individual in the household.
Some things to consider….
- Establishing consistent wake-up and bedtime routines to ensure everyone gets enough sleep and knows what is expected of them at both these critical times of day. A well rested family is more likely to be in better moods and have more enjoyable, productive days.
- Dedicating specific blocks of time for schoolwork and study as well as taking into account each family member’s academic and extracurricular commitments. This helps promote focus and ensures that everyone stays on track with their educational goals while still participating in sports, music, etc. Make sure to allow for travel time and any necessary preparation or practice for extracurriculars.
- Setting aside dedicated periods for quality family time. This can include shared meals, game nights, or outings. Prioritizing family time strengthens bonds and fosters a sense of togetherness.
- Allocating personal time for each family member to pursue their hobbies, interests, or simply relax. Encouraging personal time promotes self-care and individual growth.
Below is an example of a daily routine for the kids. You could use this or customize your own.
Daily Planning Just For YOU:
Here is one just for you! I like to fill these in daily and at the end of the month pull them all out and make assessments. Things like how my mood correlates to my eating, exercising, and sleeping habits or maybe even the weather. This provides a great snapshot of your life. Individually they provide focus and allow you to see productivity. Together they allow you to make connections. See your strengths, identify your challenges, and help you to see changes that need to be made. If you want to up your personal growth game, I highly suggest taking a few minutes to use this valuable tool each day.
Implementing:
Now that you have the tools you need to succeed, set aside some time in the near future to fill these forms out with your family members so you can begin creating your foundation. Start small so you don’t become paralyzed by the task. Each day spend a few minutes with one family member to get started. When you finish with one move onto the next until you are finished.
Once you have gathered all your information start planning. To give you some insight, here is how I plan for my family. I plan my months as I get dates for sports, plays, school happenings, appointments, vacations, outings we want to do, etc. My weeks get planned the weekend before because things change rapidly in my family and my husband’s schedule is never the same. Finally, my days are planned the night before or first thing in the morning. Use my examples as inspiration and plan your months, weeks, and days in a way that works with your lifestyle.
Balancing it all:
Now that we have the basics of the schedules down we need to ensure that there is balance between work, school, extracurricular activities, and family time. This is fundamental for a well-rounded routine. Consider the following strategies.
- Identify the most important activities for each family member and ensure they receive adequate time and attention. This may involve making choices and sometimes compromising on less essential activities.
- Teach family members effective time management skills to make the most of their schedule. Encourage them to prioritize tasks, set realistic goals, and be open to adjusting the routine as needed when you see something is no longer serving your needs. Things change and when that happens, reassess the situation to stay on track.
- Maintain open lines of communication with your family members. Regularly check in to ensure that everyone’s needs are being met and make adjustments if necessary. Encourage them to express their feelings and concerns about the routine. Maybe they can even try some problem solving skills and make suggestions on what may work better.
Designing your ideal routine requires thoughtful consideration of your family’s wants, needs, and individual priorities. It’s no easy feat but I promise it is time well spent. I like to think of it this way. You can either spend the time on creating and implementing now or you can struggle everyday trying to get back on track due to lack of systems and routines. Both are hard. Choose your hard! I personally prefer hard work up front and smooth sailing after that. The choice is yours to make!
Remember, flexibility, open communication, and adaptability are key to maintaining a harmonious and dare I say joyful routine. With a well-designed (and implemented) routine, your family can thrive.
Looking to improve your daily routine?
Join my 30 day Thriving Through the Holidays Challenge. Each week of the challenge we will focus on a different aspect of wellness. Week 1: Mindset, Week 2: Body, Week 3: Soul, and Week 4: Getting our homes ready for the holidays. The goal is to create some healthy habits and routines before the busy holiday season is upon us. Last call to join. Challenge begins tomorrow Oct 22nd and runs through Monday Nov 20th. Join here.
Wishing you much love, health, and happiness,
Christine
