Why I Love Having a Daily Routine

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive. You’ll be able to check out all the posts from this series here.

You might be thinking: Michelle, maybe this should have been your first post on the subject of routines.

Well, when I originally outlined this series, I had it first—then I decided to save it for last. A lot of the reason was because I wanted to offer solutions for those who were looking for more structure in their lives. A secondary reason was, however, that having a reason for a routine is extremely personal—and in many cases, why I choose to have a routine might be completely different reasons from anyone else.

There are so many benefits to having a routine that works for you—but that’s also not what we’re here to talk about. We’re talking reasons why: why I started developing a morning and daily routine; what makes it work for me; and why I keep doing it (even if sometimes I do get tired). Let’s talk it out.

I’m not a spontaneous person.

Plain and simple: I have never been that friend that people describe as “so spontaneous!” I am indecisive; it takes ages for me to decide to do anything. I am very easily distracted and I have trouble focusing. So while I’m not spontaneous, I do get off track and in the zone very easily.

Part of the reason I love having a routine is because it eases those decision-making moments for me; instead of waking up and deciding what to do, I have my routine. I don’t have to make one decision that will make me just a little bit more fatigued when I have to make a decision later. I’m not spontaneous and making decisions on the fly simply isn’t my thing—so, routine it is.

It helps ease my stress level.

I’m fairly high strung. This is a descriptor that has always eaten at me: I hated hearing myself described as “sensitive” or “high strung”. I know a lot of people don’t necessarily know what this means, but here it is: it means I’m nervous a lot. Like, most of the time. If you meet me in person, my number 1 vibe is “nervous.” I’m basically this meme:

It sucks to have that be a part of my personality, but it just is. I’m fairly frequently nervous. Which means I’m highly prone to experiencing fairly severe stress levels. It’s something I’m working on, but having a standard routine, with a standard way of doing things, helps me feel less nervous, stressed, and highly strung.

It gives my day structure.

Days when I don’t have anything to do are a nightmare. If my to do list is empty, and stay-at-home orders are still in place, I turn into a monster. I have trouble deciding what to do and I start feeling more and more anxious.

My day needs structure. So even if I don’t have anything on my to do list, I will go through my routine: showering, getting ready for the day, drinking my coffee, going through the motions. Just to keep my day having that backbone of structure. Then I’ll fill it in with activities as I can: picking up those little tasks I’ve been putting off, working on future planning, or more. I need the structure of a routine. I need it to survive, otherwise I will be the nervous dog in the vest even more.

It is comforting.

There is comfort is ritual, in knowing what to expect. For me, that’s what made March, April, May (I have completely forgotten the months of April and May, to be honest, I had trouble writing this list??), and early June so hard. Stay-at-home orders completely changed my days and their routine. I was a mess for a while and I had trouble finding comfort. It’s because I didn’t have my routine anymore, I felt completely adrift. But being able to find a new routine and settle into something is incredibly comforting. If you find yourself frequently adrift and feeling unsure, I cannot recommend routines enough.

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I hope you’ve loved my blog series on routines! I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

As an exciting update, I have just launched my new Freebies page! This page is not accessible from my home page—it’s only for the ones who stick around to the end of this post (or who find it on Pinterest, hint hint!). You can access it HERE and grab 15 FREE products I’ve made over the years—including some I made and ended up abandoning the blog post for. Thanks for reading and I hope you love the freebies!

The Essential Pieces You Need For Your Daily Routine

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive. You’ll be able to check out all the posts from this series here.

I love daily routines.

I’ve read a lot of posts about daily routines.

I’ve read a lot of listicles about daily routines.

Planners that work perfectly. Systems that make is easier to stay on track. Methods of taking breaks and working and this and that.

The truth is: those things might work. But when it comes down to the essentials, there are 2 things I think you need:

• A personality type that makes sense with a daily routine

• A system that works for you.

If you don’t have the kind of personality type that thrives on routine, on doing the same thing every single day… I don’t think it’s for you. And that’s ok! There are tons of ways to be successful and to get your work done each day. For me, that revolves around a daily routine. But it might not be the same for you.

If you don’t know that for sure yet, however, and you want to give developing a routine a try… you’re in the right place. I want to help you create a system that works for you. And here are my essentials for making that happen.

1. A Planner That Works for You

Yes, you hear me: a planner that works for you. Right now, I’m using a combination of a weekly notepad (basically just a notepad with the days of the week on it) and a Daily Habits planner I impulse bought at Walmart, plus my 52 Lists Planner that I bought nearly a year ago. I use the 52 Lists Planner primarily for the monthly pages; the Daily Habits planner to keep track of my non-work to do lists; and the notepad for my daily priorities.

That’s my system. Part of my routine is checking my calendars every morning, copying down my various to do lists, and keeping everything organized.

That might sound like hell on Earth to you!

Find a planner that works for you. But my advice is you need a planner of some kind—an online to do system, like Check Up or monday.com, a physical planner, a notebook, whatever—to help you keep track of your daily schedule and what you need to get done.

2. A Calendar

Following the same line of thought, pick 1 calendar to keep everything on. I use my iCal synced to my Google Calendar to keep everything organized. Since I have multiple work-associated emails with their own separate calendars, I make sure that those sync to my iCal as well. If I have a deadline for anything, it goes to iCal. If I schedule a meeting, it goes to iCal. If I do anything, it goes on iCal. I keep it organized and it is my main place to look for my daily schedule: what I need to remember is time specific, what is coming up, and more.

I am normally highly in favor of paper calendars. However, for keeping all of these various dates organized, I would probably be lost without the option to sync things up! However, once again, pick what works for you.

3. Willingness to Assess What Works

At the end of every day, I ask myself one important question: did my system work today?

And then: if it didn’t work, what needs fixed?

I didn’t wake up a year ago and decide, “Well, I’m a freelancer now, I need this specific note pad and this planner.” I’ve been playing with my routine for months. I have always found that starting each day writing down my list of things to do was one way I kept myself on track. But how I did that, and how I made a routine out of it, took trial and error, reassessing what was and wasn’t working.

A prime example of this was, during the summer, I started each day by writing down a full timed out schedule. This felt like a good idea at the time, but I find it very hard to determine how long each task I do will take. Will my morning journaling session take 10 minutes or 30 minutes? Sometimes, I just write more than others! Will it take me 1 hour to write this blog post for a client or will I end up needing to do 3 hours of research, thereby throwing off my entire schedule? It just depends! That didn’t work for me so I stopped doing it. I found something else that worked.

For right now, I find keeping my “home” tasks separate from my “work” tasks works best. I try to focus 6 hours of my day purely on work, if I have that much work to do. Then, I start working from my other planner. It makes it easy for me to better block out my time—even if I can’t necessarily determine how long each individual task will take me.

There you have it: the 3 essential pieces to starting to create your daily routine. Next week, I’ll be sharing a few tips for actually piecing out your daily routine. Thanks for reading!

3 Sample Routines for Working from Home with Kids

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive.

When Forrest was very young (like… a newborn), I remember spending one entire day reading other people’s routines and schedules with their baby. I was trying to find a way to make my day work a little better, to feel a little more sane and more human. I sought out examples of other people’s day because I needed ideas of what everyone else is doing.

That’s why I’m here today. We are all in a new, exciting world: one where school is all online, there is no more daycare or preschool, and the refuge of the park no longer exists. No coffee shops, no malls, no nothing.

It’s not all negative, though. If you’re here, then that means you’re still working, even if it’s from home, and that means we’re both in highly privileged positions! We are navigating these times in a different way than other people and as long as we acknowledge that, we’re golden.

In the course of writing this blog post, I found myself comforted by seeing other people’s routines! Alongside my own, I’m sharing two of my friends routines. I tried to pick a variety of careers, lifestyles, and situations. I’ll explain a bit more about each one later, but I hope you can use these example routines to make space for yourself in your day and streamline your time a little bit.

If you have questions about creating a routine that works for you, stay tuned! I have more posts coming. If you have a specific question, don’t hesitate to drop it in the comments below!

1. Marketing copywriter with 1 child

Oh hi, it’s me! I’m sure you’re all a bit tired of my daily routine at this point, but I wanted to share a quick breakdown of a day where I’m home with my son, Forrest. Here’s a rundown:

• Wake up at 5:30 am. Let out my dog and feed him. Make coffee.

• Morning routine: Check all my work emails and Slacks, check my calendar, create a master to do list for the day that also include my daily habits. My morning hour is usually spent scheduling for clients, as these is tedious work that I can’t be distracted from.

• When Forrest wakes up, we get dressed, eat breakfast, and do morning journaling together.

• After that, it’s quiet play time for him and I settle in to my to do list and tackle as much as possible.

• We eat lunch together, then more quiet play time while I work.

• We have TV time together from 3-4, then make dinner together at 4pm. My husband gets home around 5pm most nights.

• Evening routine: I finish up any outstanding work tasks, then do chores (dishes, laundry, etc). Then, I wash my face, put on a face mask, and either read in bed with my heating pad or play Animal Crossing. This is the number one way I de-stress right now and I do not miss it. While I’m doing this, my husband plays with Forrest or Forrest has quiet play time while my husband works in his office.

Things I rely on: my do list and planner; calendars and reminders; the clock; Forrest’s independence. Some days, it’s easier than others! Our challenge is that Forrest can be very anxious and moody right now; if I notice he’s struggling, I drop everything to take care of him. That’s what he needs from me and I try to be there for him at those times. If you’re a parent, don’t hesitate to do that. One of our other challenges is that my husband leaves for work every day, as he is an essential worker.

2. Lawyer with 2 young children

This is my friend, who we will call A. A has 2 younger children: a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old. She and her husband are both working from home right now. She works as a lawyer. Here’s her routine:

• Wake up with children around 7am, make coffee, and make breakfast.

• Husband watches kids while she answers emails and has meetings.

• Husband makes lunch and they swap: she watches kids while her husband works.

• Whole family makes dinner together and goes on a walk.

• Kids watch a movie while they both answer emails and finish up any work tasks.

• Kids go to bed and they both work. In the evening, she has a routine to clean up the house, do a quick yoga video, and do her skincare routine.

Things A relies on: An online to do app that sends her reminders on her computer and her phone; her husband trading shifts with her; her backyard for picnics, playtime, and more; Amazon Prime kids TV offerings. A has a great routine that works for her and her husband—it is no nonsense and they are both able to power through their individual work times thanks to trading who is watching the kids!

3. Project manager with 3 children

This is my friend, who will call C. C has 3 children: a 7-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 13-year-old. Her husband is a nurse and so, isn’t living at home right now, as their 9-year-old has an immune disorder (Celiac’s disease) that puts him at high risk. They made the tough choice for her husband to stay at his brother’s home for the duration of stay-at-home orders. She works from home as a project manager for a marketing agency. Here’s her routine:

• Wake up at 5am, make coffee, and call husband. This is an important part of her routine, as her husband is usually getting ready for work around the same time and they connect without interruption. After this call, she takes a shower and gets ready for the day. She doesn’t feel like her day starts until she showers.

• Wake up kids at 6:30amish, get them ready, and have them help prepare breakfast.

• All kids start school by 8am. C calls into her morning meeting with her team and checks her email and Slack for the first time. She then prioritizes her tasks for the day and delegates to her team. (This part of the day is frequently interrupted by her youngest, who needs more help with school!)

• C takes a break after working for a few hours to make lunch, check in with all her kids and fix any issues they need help with. After that, they all start working again.

• At 3pm, school is over and C lets her oldest head to his room with his tablet to have a Zoom call with his friends. The youngest 2 get TV time while C has a final meeting with her team.

• Around 4, C’s brother-in-law drops off groceries for them. Because her middle son is high risk, they don’t go to the grocery store. He leaves groceries on the porch and waves from the driveway.

• The youngest 2 help C prepare dinner. They all sit down to eat together.

• At 6pm, they have a family Zoom call with C’s husband, who fills them in on his day. Afterwards, the kids pick a movie to watch together while C cleans the house, does dishes, and makes a list for the next day.

• In the evening, as the kids are winding down and heading to their rooms to get ready for bed, C picks a TV show to watch on Netflix by herself. She also likes to scroll through Instagram to decompress.

Things C relies on: Her team to help pick up the slack when she needs it; her brother-in-law and family for helping keep her son safe; online school to help occupy her kids’ time; and a running to do list that she re-prioritizes everyday. C is in a tough situation where, not only is her husband an essential worker still outside the home, he is currently living away from the family to keep their son safe. It’s a stressful situation, but she has help from her family and friends and support from her team. Her routine is pretty slow and even, and she gives herself permission to take a break frequently, as she needs it.

What can we learn from these routines?

• No two routines look the same. It depends on your profession, what you have going on in your life, where you live, and more! Don’t feel pressured to take on certain things if you aren’t able to. A prime example is I reversed on my intense homeschooling after 2-3 weeks—it just wasn’t sustainable!

• Give yourself grace. It’s ok to take a break, to take a moment to rest or relax. In my case, my job involves a lot of community management and social media response; this requires a lot of mental energy on my part and sometimes, I really need a break. I see a lot of grief and listen to a lot of woe and it can be taxing!

• Find systems that work for you: For me, I use a combination of calendar-planner-notebook to keep everything organized. I also have a specific notebook for each client to keep meeting notes and write down things to remember. For A, she uses a to do app that she keeps pristine (she showed it to me and honestly, it’s a beaut—she is not the blogging type, but I was very impressed!); for C, she uses a written to do list on an old school legal pad (retro!) and keeps it running day-to-day (which is equally as impressive, honestly).

• Make time for you! Your day needs time for you too. Working from your home, parenting 100% from your home… it gets exhausting fast and burn out is real. Make self-care a part of your routine, whether it’s simply picking a show to watch on Netflix or taking a bubble bath. Make that time and stick with it!

• Have a goal in mind. Your routine should be designed around a goal. Right now, for so many of us, that goal is simply to remain safe and to keep others around us safe. However, thinking of the larger picture, we all have certain goals: for me, I’m trying to build my clientele, hopefully, to keep working. I can’t speak for A and C’s goals, but I know they are goal-minded women! My routine is designed to make space for me to work and grow, while also take care of myself and Forrest. If you’re thinking of adding a daily routine to keep yourself on track, think of the ways it will contribute to your longterm goals!

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I’m so excited to kick off this series about routines. I hope you love it too! Don’t forget, if you have questions or want to chat about your routine, leave me a comment or reach out to me on Instagram.

Join me next week for an article all about routine essentials!