Wouldn’t it be nice if things always fell into place, sans all the hard work? What if I told you, it’s possible? The power of routines and automatic systems enhance the quality of our lives greatly. They take away some of the anxiety we have concerning everyday unpredictable things such as people, events, and circumstances.
Routines Help Anxiety
We live in an anxiety-driven society. Most of that anxiety stems from what we cannot control. I was once a victim of this. I like to define anxiety like this” I’m moving too fast, nothing is moving fast enough. How would you define the feeling of anxiety? Put it in the comments below.
I wanted (scratch that-I needed) to be in control of EVERYTHING. Whenever my husband was in the driver’s seat, or when work hours weren’t moving fast enough, or when the children were being children, I wanted to take the wheel, control the clock, and make my children act the way I needed them to so that I would be okay.
Fed up one day, I said, “this is not how I’m supposed to live”, then I turned to God for help. I will tell you how He helped me later.
God delivered me from anxiety. I didn’t even notice it until months later when I realized I wasn’t having anxiety episodes. What a relief! I am forever grateful.
Routines Help Disorder
However, even after anxiety, there was still disorder in my life that I was not happy about. The sad reality is, we do not know that we are living in disorder until we experience order. I’m not saying that your whole life is out of order, but likely, there are one or two or three or four things in your life that are out of order. And if you implemented order for some of these things, your life would drastically change for the better.
For example, when my stepdaughter was in kindergarten, as a new stepmom, I hadn’t established a set bedtime for her. I was accustomed to coming home, eating dinner late and going to bed at a decent time (late); I weaved my 5-year-old into that dysfunctional routine.
Then I learned that my friend with three kids, fed her children early and they were in bed around 8 o’clock each evening. I loved that. But how was that possible for me- working a 9–5 outside the home every day? My mommy brain couldn’t fathom it, so I asked for advice.
I found that I was cooking dinner too late. I came home after work, unwind for a couple hours, then I would get dinner going. What I needed to do was start preparing dinner almost immediately after I got home, then unwind. It was so simple, yet my mind was blown away.
In response, either my husband or myself got dinner ready early, as my daughter began to get ready for bed. She ate early or we all ate together, then we tucked her in at 8:30 p.m.
The Power of Routines on Your Peace
With that adjustment, my husband and I gained two or more hours of alone-time. How much time is being stolen from you because you are doing things how you’ve always done it?
When you really think about it, you already have routines in your life that add peace to your life. These are things that do not change very often. For example, your children go to school at the same time every day for the same number of hours (except days like early-release and holidays), while you are at work. You have peace knowing where they are, and they have peace knowing where you are, and they know what time you will pick them up.
Related Post: 12 Secrets to Living a Peaceful Life Everyday
The opposite of routine and order is inconsistency and chaos. The thing about chaos is that you can get used to it, but that life of confusion, whirlwinds, and untidiness is wearing on you more than you know.
Other routines in my life include, going to church on Sundays, doing the dishes everyday even if I only clean a few plates, and — recently — feeding, reading and having my youngest child in her bed by 8:30 p.m. every night.
Example of Routine
Routines once seemed so pointless after I had my baby in September 2018. No matter what I did, my baby had a mind of her own and controlled the dynamic of our household. When she was about 11-months old, I talked to another new mommy and she told me how she and her baby go to sleep early — a routine. She said that when she begins to dim the lights and head towards the drawers to pick out pajamas, her baby knows bedtime is near.
Since then, I have been giving my daughter a meal in her highchair at around 7:30 p.m., putting her in her crib between 8:15 and 8:20, reading her a book, passing her a bottle, and cutting the lights off by 8:30.
With any new routine, there is a transitional phase for everyone involved. My husband helped to have her dinner ready by 7:30 p.m., I had to make sure I was free around her bedtime, and as for my baby…she cried. For many nights she cried and woke up in the middle of the night because she was used to going to sleep much later. But now, she gets excited whenever I start reading her bedtime story. She happily grabs for her bottle after the story, and she knows that in a few seconds the light will go out as mommy walks out the room to eat and watch TV. Kids and adults need structure.
The Power of Routines in Health
Routines are made to make life easier for you. It will not always be perfect or right on time and that’s ok, but for the most part, you know what you are working towards, instead of aimlessly functioning in confusion. A million different things try to interrupt us every day, but with routines, you are always ready to make room for yourself.
Routines allot overall wellness: good health, your happiness, and better relationships. The best thing about routines is that you are in complete control of making them and sticking to them. You can break the rules and do what works best for you. Routines are not set in stone, and you can adjust them as needed until you find the right fit.
For more on Habit Building: Check out The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Conclusion
Do people know what to expect of you? Do they know your boundaries such as: “My family and friends know not to call me after 9 o’clock at night”?
What’s one (1) thing you can make a habit of in your life to make room for other things to grow. For example, going to church consistently, means people get to know me better at church, and in turn, we can build Godly relationships. Or waking up 1 hour early everyday to get in the Word of God.
Other words for routine include regimen, habit, practice, schedule, system, a groove, order, and consistency. Here are other ideas of things you can routinize: budgets, spending time with God, calling your mother, girls’ night out, meal prepping, exercising, reading books, and screen time.
Please let me know how routinizing just one thing has added value to your life. I would love to hear about it in the comments.
One last major point. The power of routine is in the freedom it brings. They are not to constrain you or make you feel like you are in a straight-jacket, so make it work for you and not against you.
Love,
Shawandie Beale