Welcome back to 31 Days to Less Stress! Can you believe it’s already Friday? The week goes by so fast. It’s time to plan next week again. I hope your planning has helped you stay on track and cut down on stress. Now, we’re going to add in a little routine!
What do your mornings look like? Crazy? Hectic? Do you wake up groggy because you haven’t had enough sleep? Establishing routines can help you better manage your mornings. Having an evening routine can set you up for success and a morning routine can get the day started off right. Maybe you already have routines, but they aren’t really working for you, or you have trouble following them. Today, I want you to take some time to think about what you need to get done to have a successful day.
So what are some things you can include in your routine? Here are a few ideas:
Evening Routine:
- Clear off the kitchen counters
- Organize your landing space
- Create a to-do list for tomorrow
- Get in bed at a decent time!
- Know what time you have to be out the door in the morning so that you can plan accordingly
- Run the dishwasher
Morning Routine:
- Wake up early (or at least try!)
- Morning Prayer
- Bible study
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Take your vitamins
- Exercise
- Start a load of laundry
These are just some ideas of what you can include in your morning routine. Develop a routine that works for you! Maybe you need to walk the dog. If you have kids, you might need to add things like check backpacks or pack lunches. Think about everything you would need to do to start the day off right.
If you don’t currently have a good routine that is working for you, decide to start now. Begin with only a few tasks and then build on those. I recommend starting with bedtime/wake up time. Continue until you have a set routine that you do without even thinking about it. The benefit of a routine is that it launches you into a new day and it helps calmly close your day. I encourage you to challenge yourself, but don’t add so much to your routine that you can’t get it all done or it becomes a point of stress. Set aside time to read a book or catch up on the news. Or maybe morning isn’t the best time for you to exercise.
Remember to play to your strengths. I am NOT a morning person so I try to do as much as I can in the evening to be able to start my day well. If you are a morning person, beef up that routine. If you’re not, add to the evening routine.
If you have kids, it’s good to help them develop routines as well. I framed morning and evening routines so that the kids could check them off with a dry erase marker. Now they don’t even think about it, they just do it.
Create routines that work for you, and don’t forget to plan for next week!
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