Every night before bed
One thing I’ve never been good at is routines. After a few days I usually end up deciding that I didn’t REALLY need to do it in the first place. Walking or working out, taking care of my skin (I’ve been shamelessly sleeping in my makeup for most of my life), vacuuming (ok, I REALLY hate this one), making the bed, watering my houseplants - I’ll do it for a while and then I just quit. What went wrong? Why wasn’t I able to stick with these new routines?
Well, I was listening to a podcast this morning during my walk about dedication and I realized that there ARE a few things I do pretty religiously every evening to make tomorrow easier. It’s all about finding what works for you and creating routines.
So here they are - 3 things I do every night before bed.
First, I create a checklist for the next day. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m sitting in bed creating this list right before my head hits the pillow. I’m not… I usually create this list at some point during the day. It’s nothing fancy. I truly just make a checklist for the next day.
Pay XX bill.
Finish logo for client
Vacuum downstairs (remember - I HATE this part)
Get fall decor out of attic (this one is on my list for today, actually)
Email Suzanne
Email Museum
Email School
Thaw chicken for dinner
Dig sweet potatoes and harvest herbs (also currently on my list)
Draw
You get the idea. I usually do this like a brain dump and just write my tasks out as fast as they come to me. Sometimes I carry things over if I’ve procrastinated and not gotten something done, but I usually try to make my list manageable enough to where I CAN accomplish it in one day. Then the next morning, I look at that list from the day before and categorize things into multiple lists: design, communication, home. You can make whatever lists you need. What I’m doing is essentially clearing my mind of things I need to “worry about tomorrow” so that I can relax with my family and wake up with a list of things to accomplish that day.
Second, I have a morning station set up in one corner of my kitchen where the magic happens!
There is a tray on the countertop with my coffee pot on it and the coffee, filters, and mugs are in the cabinet directly above. I set the coffee pot every night before bed so that we wake up to freshly-brewed coffee. Since I go to this corner every morning, I put other things here that I want to remember. Like I said earlier - it’s all about creating routines that make sense for you! In the cabinet right beside the coffee mugs, I have all of our vitamins and essential oils that I use daily. I usually lay our morning vitamins out the night before (when I set the coffee pot) and then I lay out lunch boxes for the kids and Steve and pack what doesn’t need to be refrigerated - spoons, napkins, chips, cookies, etc. The sandwich or thermos, fruit, and water bottle goes in the next morning and we’re out the door!
Last, set multiple alarms for my morning routine. On the weeks that we have the girls (they’re at their dad’s on alternate weeks), I have to get up super early to get them to school.
BEFORE you freak out - I know that looks super early, but the girls go to school 45 minutes away across the state line (different time zone) and we lose an hour driving to school in the mornings. BUT… we gain an hour coming home (we leave at 4pm and get home by 3:45) in the afternoon. LUCKY ME - I work from home and can take my work with me, so I drop the kids off at school and go to the park for a walk, then head to the public library and work until it’s time to get in the pickup line.
So daily routines are what you make of them. Some of them you stick with because they make you feel better (skin care, exercise, etc.) and some you stick with because they make your LIFE easier.
Mine fall into the latter category.
The KEY TO SUCCESS is all about setting yourself up to succeed. If you stack your routines (layer a new one under a well-established one), you are creating an environment conducive for success! By exercising discipline, tasks turn into new habits… which will turn into new routines.
What are some of your daily routines?
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