Stop. Are you running around feeling stressed and busy all the time? After all, we love to add more and more to our day. Have you ever paused to pay attention to the actions that you do routinely? Do you find yourself doing the same steps in your day? Such as getting ready in the morning to what you do before you go to bed and everything in between. How do you clean your house? Also, my personal favorite is a meal planning routine. These are perfect areas to create mindful routines. If you’re thinking, heck no, Michele, I’m a hot mess, it’s time to consider adding a few mindful routines to your life.
Why I love to create routines
As a matter of fact, what I love about creating mindful routines is it cuts down on the number of decisions you need to make. You’ve invested the time upfront in creating the routine. All you have to do is repeat all the steps, so you’ve already done the planning and deciding ahead of time. I don’t know about you; it makes me happy to cut back on decisions.
You see, when you sit down to create a routine for cleaning, meals, any weekly or daily repeatable activities, you are no longer required to make decisions around this. Instead, you kind of go into auto-pilot.
Daily Routines
It’s funny; my morning routine was pretty extensive. In the past, it made me stressed and overwhelmed. You guessed it; I based it on what others said they did in the morning instead of tapping into what felt good to me.
After that, here are the things in my morning routine that do not change from day to day: time with the LORD and drinking a quart of water when I awake. I get ready for the day, a quick walk outside with the dogs, which I refer to as my daily commute to the office. Once in my office, with my first cup of coffee, I spend time journaling. This simple routine allows me to feel centered.
Of course, this works for me. You do you, create a routine that allows you to feel at ease and centered.
Just in case you’re wondering, when do you exercise if I do not exercise in the morning? The answer? In the afternoon, specifically at 3 pm each workday. When I worked in corporate, I did this during my lunch break. As a work-from-home entrepreneur, I’ve played around with this time, and 3 pm is my magic time. You see, this is when my mind begins to lose focus, and I get antsy. Oh, and so do the dogs! You may have seen my Reel on Saylor if you follow me on Instagram. She knows it's time for a walk. What do you think your magic time is to exercise?
Let’s look at a typical evening routine if we are at home and not sitting in a bleacher. Accordingly, I’ve created a habit of setting myself up for a morning that feels at ease.
The coffee maker is ready to go, my first-quart jar of water is sitting on the counter to grab along with my iPad, I’ve filled the dogs’ food dishes before I head off to bed, a quick mind sweep of all the random thoughts and to-dos in my mind.
I think you’ll agree with me that a morning that feels at ease sets the tone for the day. Do I have you wondering how you can create an evening routine that provides for a stress-free morning?
Create A Sunday Routine
Sunday is a big routine day for me. This routine is when I set myself up for the whole week. To be honest, if I do not get this, my Monday doesn’t go very smoothly until I get organized. Of course, if I know my Sunday will be chaos, I’ll map out at least Monday, if not the whole week on Friday afternoon.
Here is how I lay out my Sunday routine.
Clean all the bathrooms.
Clean the kitchen.
Plan the meals for the week, and the grocery order is put in for my son to pick up on his way home from classes at the community college.
I write out the week's schedule and meals on the kitchen chalkboard. You may agree with me; I do not have enough decision-making power for this dreaded question after making decisions all day. Mom, what’s for dinner?
Review the work week and create a schedule and a list of to-do items.
These routines create space in my mind, I know when it will get done, and I do not have to decide or think about it.
Yes, preparing for the week ahead is what I consider Sunday Funday.
After all, having an organized and clean home allows me to feel calm and at ease in my mind.
Little Side Note
A routine can be a simple checklist with a few notes on ideas to make it go smoother.
How about a laundry routine?
Let’s discuss creating a laundry routine. Without a system, this may cause the feeling of busyness. This laundry system works for me; it may not work for you. Create a strategy and routine that meets your needs.
My laundry routine:
Tuesday is for washing my clothes. Because I’m a work-for-home entrepreneur, this day works for me. Since I use the Pomodoro Method, I can fold and put things away during my five-minute breaks. I race to see how much I can get done in my five minutes.
Thursday is for washing towels.
Sunday is for washing bedding.
Everyone else in this household washes their laundry.
My husband always has washed his laundry.
Once our children were in fourth grade, I showed them wash laundry. My oldest daughter documented the process for washing laundry with photos the first time she washed her laundry. If you’re wondering, when my kids were younger, I traveled for work 50-75% of the time. When you’re only home two days a week, you figure out how to get things done. Basically, my husband was a single parent, and I looked for ways to make his life more manageable when I was gone.
I know that you’re ready right now to ditch your crappy thoughts of overwhelm and busyness. I can 100% help you! The link to apply for private coaching is below.
Private Coaching
Why do I believe in the power of private coaching?
Because it is truly life-changing. When your coach asks you that mind-blowing question that suddenly allows you to see what you've been missing all along that was literally right in front of your face.
You just need someone with a different perspective to help you see it.
Are you ready to experience life from a different perspective?
