Schedules and routines

One major and important tool in our home is a routine. Having routines have helped to eliminate many day-to-day hassles, especially as our family has grown

I have generally been a fairly organised person, preferring to know what’s ahead rather than to fly by the seat of my pants, so to speak. It did cause some distress when I had a baby since babies have personalities of their own and don’t always follow the structure and routine we set for them.:)

That forced me to relax a bit. Then we had more children…now that really forced me to relax more and yet ironically, with that many young children under my care, I needed routines & schedules more than ever. It was a great tool that allowed me to run the household in a smoother manner. The children also enjoyed the predictability of things. 

In the beginning I had a fixed schedule which I really loathed to deviate from but with more than 3 young children, it was near impossible to run a home with fixed timings. There were a lot more interruptions – diaper changes, potty training, wiping up messes little people create, disciplining…. That’s when I moved from schedules (with fixed times) to routines.

Our routines have been tweaked many times to suit the needs of the family. When we started homeschooling, our routines had to change. And of course when we have a new blessing, we would have to juggle the timings all over again. We now have a rhythm to our lives. Things flow from one to another and not necessarily according to the clock. It is more peaceful.

An example : Every morning, we wake up, shower, have breakfast, clean up and do school. The sequence of things is always the same regardless of what time we (or me!) wake up. Even if we go out for breakfast, we’ll just do school when we’re back.

Living with a routine has also meant that we seldom have to fight with the younger children about meal and nap times. The toddler knows that she naps after lunch. Period. And she also knows that she can’t expect me to play with her when we are doing school in the mornings.

Routines have served us well.

If we should suddenly have to interrupt our routine, it is ok. Alright – I may not be happy, but it is ok We’ll just pick up where we left off.

How does one come up with a routine?

I will just cover this briefly. You can start with items that must be done and then work in the rest of the things that you would like to accomplish. Steve and Teri Maxwell explains it best in their book, Managers of Their Homes available locally at The Home Library. I have learnt much from the book and highly recommend it to young moms who are struggling to get a handle on their household, especially those without maids.

I started off with fixing meal and sleep times. Then I slot in what’s important and necessary to our family, such as schoolwork and chores. 

So, since I like us to eat our breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon and dinner at 6pm, they are what anchors our day. Bedtimes are staggered according to age, starting at 8:30pm.

The bulk of schoolwork is done in the morning when everyone is fresh and awake. Afternoons are for resting and playtime. That’s also when I finish grading their work and getting my internet fix Evenings are totally for playing. But as the children get older, I forsee that a part of our afternoons have to be set aside for schoolwork as well.

If you are feeling that you end each day having accomplished nothing, I would suggest that you set up a routine and write down all the things you have to do. Nothing beats looking at a list and seeing how many things you have done!

I understand that some people may have an adverse reaction to the word routine and stay far away from it preferring spontaneity. That’s fine if things still get done and your family loves it. If that works for you, great! But for those who are struggling to keep their homes in order and/or are feeling overwhelmed, give routines a try.

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