I’ve always made a schedule for myself – a way to manage the household. It changed with the seasons, starting with a fresh new back to school routine, which later faded into a more relaxed summer routine. Whether I was able to keep to schedule was the challenge. We showed up to every appointment but maybe not always on time. Things of less priority (like working out) were just that – less priority, not important. If I could fit it in, great – if I couldn’t, oh well.

And then, Covid happened. Everything changed. No one was working and all the kids were at home. It was effortless in how fast the days went by as we spent our time watching movies, staying up late, and sleeping in. It felt like the never-ending weekend. On weekends, we relax, enjoy time with family but come Monday, there was routine, consistency in each of our days. Only thing was that “Monday” was on hold until this pandemic was under control. I wasn’t productive with my work and the kids were turning into temperamental TV zombies.

The Importance of a Routine

I had to get back into a schedule; our health, such as, my sanity depended on it. I applied a routine into our daily life during Covid that looked very different from our typical routine. Everyone was at home so there was obviously more time to work with. It was successful in so many ways such as improving my productivity, providing consistency for the children and managing our time to allow for a variety of fun activities we could all enjoy.

Finally, children are welcomed back to school, and we, for the most part, are returning to the routines we left at the beginning of this pandemic. I impressed myself with my ability to keep to our “COVID” schedule, especially being able to incorporate and keep on track with my child’s online learning. I am determined to use the tips I learned (through a combination of helpful advice and trial and error) to achieve the same success with our new back to school schedule.

What Made a Successful Daily Routine?

It first started with consistency. Everyone woke up and went to bed at the same time every day. Nap times were as consistent as possible for the members of the family who needed them and the rest of us used this time for quiet activities and relaxation.

There was big difference in the days I was up and ready for the day before waking the kids. And bonus points if I got some housekeeping items out of the way too! All it took was starting my day an hour earlier. I would wake up and get out of bed immediately instead of lounging which made a world of a difference. Getting ready on my own apparently only takes 20 minutes whereas with 3 kids awake it takes almost an hour.

Meals were planned ahead and time was blocked out in my schedule for grocery haul, cooking, eating and clean up. I created a plan by browsing through flyers as soon as they came out, creating my plan of possible meals for the upcoming week and writing out a grocery list. Find out all you need to know about meal planning by checking out my article, Making a Meal Plan: The Guide You Need For Success.

How Did I Maintain Our Daily Routine?

Motivation is something I’ve always struggled with. It was important for me to stay motivated to keep to the schedule I created. To stay motivated I needed to continuously remind myself of the end goals. I also needed to stop assigning a level of priority to each of the events for the day. All things scheduled were important and should be treated as such. For truly flexible items in the calendar, I used a color code to identify what can be moved or rescheduled but not blown off.

I noticed that I felt my best on the days I worked up a good sweat in physical exercise so I affirmed my dedication and commitment to it daily. Prioritizing myself was a new concept because it was so easy for me to put the needs and requests of my family before my own. It wasn’t enough for me to schedule in a time to work out if I was just going to cancel it for something else anyways. I had to show up and show out. As they say, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”.

I was realistic about what could get done in the day and made sure to not overbook myself. This was successful because I learned how to improve my flexibility. I left buffer space between everything I had planned to accommodate for the unexpected, and believe me, with three kids, there is always something unexpected! I incorporated my to do list into my schedule at a pace I could keep up with.

So now, reflect on what your family schedule will look like as they head back to school. See below for my top tips to successfully manage a daily routine.

Top 5 Tips For Creating Successful Back To School Routines

• Be consistent with the time you wake up and go to sleep everyday. Sufficient sleep is key for just about all bodily functions. Your productivity depends a great deal on how well rested you are.

• Set aside time to prepare and eat your meals each day. Not only will it save you money, it will positively fuel your day’s performance. Minimize unhealthy food choices and meal prep the best you can to feed your body home cooked, nourishing food.

• Gradually wind down your day after dinner. Choose relaxing activities over ones that are stimulating. This creates a bedtime routine that will get everyone to sleep easier.

• Over crowding your schedule is setting yourself up to fail. Why would you do that to yourself? Be realistic about how longs things will take and how much can get done. My secret is to always add buffer time!

• Prioritize physical activity. Whether you’re going for a walk or jumping around with the kids. Stimulating your endorphins on a regular basis keeps you happy and feeling good. The likelihood of sticking to your schedule will increase exponentially with your mood and motivation.