Creating a Manageable Routine & Schedule as a Homemaker

on July 3, 2014 by Jami Balmet 0 comments

All summer long we are focusing on what it means to gain back control of your home and to stop living day to day in survival mode. Today we are going to be working with our family priority list and creating a daily, manageable routine to help you feel in control of your schedule!

Starting with a family priority list, we are going to create a daily, manageable routine to help you feel in control of your schedule!

Welcome to the next part of our online book study of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. It’s not too late to jump in and join the fun! You can read the introduction and see the full schedule of topics for the next 10 weeks. Or jump in with today’s discussion!

As a busy mom of two young boys (18 month old twins), I have to be very strategic in planning out my day. I have to determine what the most important things for today are, because in reality, I’m not going to get everything on my “to-do” list done.

While my everyday routine has very different demands, expectations, and priorities now that I’m a stay-at-home-mama of two youngins, I had to do the same thing when I worked full time. There are only so many hours in the day. Before we had kids, when I worked full time outside the home, I had to be very strategic about when I would grocery shop and how I would plan my meals, cleaning, spending time with my husband, etc. Likewise, when I was a new wife and a full time college student (while working 25 – 30 hours a week) I had to be extremely disciplined with where I spent my time or homework would go undone and we would starve.

Instead of strictly regimenting every minute of every hour of my day, I’ve learned to set priorities for the day. Certain things (like Bible study) are such a high priority that they need to get done first thing. Otherwise, the unexpected things of your day (especially life with little kids) will turn your schedule upside down and you may end up heading to bed at night feeling like you got nothing done…again.

Creating Your Personal Routine

Earlier this week we spent some time learning how to create a personal priority list for our lives and then we broke that list down into actionable, bite-sized pieces! If you haven’t done that yet, back up and go through those two steps and come back here.

1) Start with Your Priorities

Pull out your list of priorities, because you need to start with what is most important in your day (and remember, this list is personal to you and your family. Don’t try to mimic your schedule to look like someone else’s!!). You need to schedule these things into your day first, before you can say yes to anything else!

2) Be Realistic with Your Time

Instead of trying to cram everything into your day (and feeling burnt out and discouraged when everything doesn’t fit), first start with 24 hours and then add activities with realistic time’s assigned to those tasks.

For example (again, your schedule will and should look different than mine) here is what my typical day looks like:

30 minutes of Bible reading/study
30 minutes of exercise
2 – 3 hours of cooking/meal preparation
4 – 6 hours blogging/writing work
6 – 7 hours playing with/managing kids
1 – 2 hours cleaning/home management
2 – 3 hours relaxing with my husband
7 hours sleep

As you can see, many of my duties for each day are variable. Some days, when I’m working on a big project or have a writing deadline, I may put 6+ hours into blogging. Other days I’m on the computer for only 2 hours because I have a large cleaning project or I’m doing large amounts of freezer cooking. While my days are variable, it’s important to know that even though certain projects may come up (i.e. blogging, cleaning, organizing, decorating, large batch cooking, etc.), there are certain things that I have to get done that day regardless of my larger projects, such as Bible study time and focusing on my husband.

Also, because my twins are toddlers still and have each other to play with, I can often get things done like Bible study time, cooking, and cleaning while my kids play underfoot. So while they are up and need occasional attention, at this stage, I’m also able to cook dinner while they play with tupper ware in the kitchen.

3) Develop Your Morning & Evening Routine

Now that I stay home full time, it’s really important that I develop consistent morning and evening routines. Otherwise I wake up, wonder around for a while and before I know it, it’s 11 and I haven’t accomplished anything! Likewise, developing and sticking to an evening routine has really helped me to prepare for the next day. I’m able to shut down my house for the night and plan for tomorrow.

If you need help developing a morning and evening routine, then I highly recommend you read chapter 2 of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode if you haven’t already! Crystal gives some really good advice, encouragement, and examples on creating a routine for your mornings, evenings, and throughout your day as well as time saving tips and how to get more sleep! But here’s some advice to get you started:

“If you don’t have any structure in your life right now, I encourage you to start with a morning routine. Write down the five things you need and want to do each morning. Things like exercise, read and pray, clean up the kitchen, wake and feed the kids breakfast, and prepare lunches or even dinner. Whatever those give things are, commit to getting up and going them consistently for three weeks.

Once you’ve consistently stuck with your morning routine for three weeks, add an evening routine for three weeks. At the end of six weeks, you should start to feel some significant order in your life just by following these simple routines.” – Crystal Paine, pg 40

Once you’ve created your daily routine, come back here and share what you came up with! It’s so encouraging to see what other homemaker’s are working on!

Get instant free access to my Finding Joy in Your Home video course.

Creating a Manageable Routine & Schedule as a Homemaker

Creating Your Personal Routine

1) Start with Your Priorities

2) Be Realistic with Your Time

3) Develop Your Morning & Evening Routine

Read More In This Series:

5 Keys to Planning a Successful Day