Establishing family routines will help you to stay organised. Routines are well planned, regular and predictable actions. We all incorporate routines into our day, many of which will become habits over time. You may have daily routines that you already follow and aren’t necessarily aware of. For example, you walk the dog at 5 pm every afternoon, or you go to the gym at the same time every day or your family has a BBQ lunch every Sunday. Your routine has become a habit.
Why routines work.
Establishing family routines is certainly a great way to help us navigate through the busiest times of our day. Early mornings before school and work as well as afternoons and evenings can benefit from having an effective routine in place to help reduce stress and decision making during these times. Family life becomes smoother and furthermore your family can create new healthy habits.
Additionally having routines in place for household chores will help you to stay organised and in control. Tasks can be completed quickly, leaving time for other things.
Family life functions better with routines in place. Each family member knows who does what, when and how often.
Establishing Family Routines
Daily routines can consist of family morning and afternoon routines, exercise routines, children’s after school routines, as well as bed and bath time routines. Weekly routines can include things like clothes washing, household chores, children’s chores and cleaning tasks.
- When you choose to implement a new routine into your family, first of all write down a list of all the tasks you wish to include in the routine. For example it may be all the cleaning chores you need to do during the week or an after school routine for children’s homework, play, meal, bath and bed time.
- Also add the time frame for the routine. Is it Monday to Friday or between the hours of 3.00 pm and 7.00 pm.
- List the tasks or activities in order of when they should be done.
- Review the list. Decide if any tasks would be better moved to a different time or day to make the routine easier to follow.
- Place your new routine somewhere that it can easily be seen and referred to.
- Finally, refer to the routine each day.
Adapt your new routine to fit your needs.
When establishing family routines, be flexible. It’s ok if you cant get everything done. If it seems like your new routine is not working, don’t give up. Make adaptions to the routine so that it fits your needs better and works for you.
It takes at least 21 days for a new action to become habit, therefore stick with it and give it time.
My family’s morning routine has been in place for many years. We alter it whenever life changes, so that it always suits our current needs. These days our mornings run on autopilot and we no longer need to refer to a written routine.
Below is a sample of two morning routines. You can use these samples to inspire ideas on how to set up a routine for your own family.
SAMPLE OF A FAMILY MORNING ROUTINE
- MORNING ROUTINE
- 5.00 AM – 6.00 AM
- EXERCISE
- SHOWER AND DRESS
- COMPLEXION CARE
- TIDY BATHROOM
- 6.00 AM – 7.00 AM
- MAKE THE BED
- TIDY BEDROOM
- PUT ON THE COFFEE
- MAKE BREAKFAST
- PACK LUNCHES
- 7.00 AM – 8.00 AM
- WASH BREAKFAST DISHES
- CLEAN KITCHEN
- PUT ON A LOAD OF WASHING
- CHECK EMAILS
- 8.00 AM
- LEAVE FOR WORK/SCHOOL
CHILDREN’S ROUTINES SHOULD HAPPEN ALONGSIDE YOUR OWN MORNING ROUTINE
- CHILDREN’S ROUTINE
- 6.00 AM – 7.00 AM
- BREAKFAST
- MAKE BED
- TIDY ROOM
- FREE TIME
- 7.00 AM – 8.00 AM
- SHOWER AND DRESS FOR SCHOOL
- CLEAN TEETH
- PACK SCHOOL BAG
- FEED THE PETS
- TAKE THE RUBBISH OUT
- 8.00 AM
- LEAVE FOR SCHOOL
I prefer to limit chores for children on school mornings. It’s also a good idea to space children’s chores throughout the day, rather than expecting them to complete everything at once, which can be overwhelming especially for young children.
We follow a similar routine every morning and it gets us out of the house on time every day. We each know what we need to do in the morning and when it needs to be done. My family’s routine is not the same as it was 10 years ago as our family and life has changed and we have created new routines as needed.
Suggested routines for your family and home.
- MORNING ROUTINE
- EVENING ROUTINE
- CLOTHES WASHING ROUTINE
- HOUSEHOLD CLEANING ROUTINE
- CHILDREN’S AFTERNOON ROUTINE
- EXERCISE ROUTINE
Try establishing family routines to suit your lifestyle and needs and experience a less stressful family life and an organised home.
Read more about home organising: About Organising Your Home.
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