Why Routines Are Important For Mothers

Motherhood and chaos go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. That is why it is imperative for mothers to have a routine for not only their little ones but also themselves. Having a stable routine and organizational skills helps moms survive the craziness that seems to surround their children.

To begin implementing a stable routine for oneself, it is important to focus on building one routine at a time. Many mothers tend to have the motivation to apply many changes to their routine simultaneously. While this is admirable, it can hinder the likeliness of their new routine(s) being sustainable. Having balance in motherhood means being intentional with creating routines that work with the mothers’ individuality. Therefore, we urge mothers to work on being consistent with one change at a time.

Why Routines Are Important for Mothers

The biggest benefit of creating a stable routine is that it can help mothers manage their life with ease. To expand, by doing these actions repetitively, mothers are able to create a structure that allows them to alleviate the stress of everyday life. That structure also helps mothers feel more comfortable because it can add an element of predictability to an already chaotic life.

In general, routines can help with life changes as well. When having a strong foundation where you know how to manage your day to day, it prepares you for life altering events such as the COVID pandemic, by helping you remain grounded. Overall, routines bring less stress and more peace of mind.

“In general, routines can help with life changes as well. When having a strong foundation where you know how to manage your day to day, it prepares you for life altering events such as the COVID pandemic of the 2020s, by helping you remain grounded. Overall, routines bring less stress and more peace of mind.”

The Biggest Challenges or Issues Mothers Face When Implementing Routines

For some people, building routines may be easier than others. For example, in The Empower Wellness Program, we had a client whose personality did not always allow her to create new routines with ease. However, she was determined to begin this lifestyle change. Through watching her journey, we saw that it was initially hard for her to implement these changes since it required extra energy from her. Over time, she started to realize that building these routines for herself and her family were helpful.

There are two main factors that contribute to the difficulty of starting a routine. First and foremost, one's mindset around their ability to be consistent with their routine can hinder them from even trying. Some may feel as if they are too spontaneous to stick to a routine. However, it is important to remind mothers on this journey that their routines should be catered to their capabilities. This ensures that an effort will be made to commit to these habits. Therefore, once these mothers implement a healthy routine, they dramatically see how beneficial it is. Getting over that mindset block of not believing you can commit to these actions will be one of the biggest challenges for moms

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Furthermore, routines give mothers freedom because the structure allows for one to complete tasks with ease. With that, moms will be able free up their time and allot that space for more important tasks such as work, playtime with their kids, and other activities. For example, a participant in the Empower Wellness Program explained that one of her goals was organization and time management. However, she felt that being organized or having a routine would be restricting since she considered herself a free spirit. Throughout the program, a big part of her progress focused on her mindset and helping her shift her thinking. She was able to switch from believing that these skills would limit her to instead having the intention of creating more freedom for herself and being successful with her routine. Once again, routines are not restrictive. In fact, they can be very freeing when done the right way.

Another challenge with starting a routine is the belief that doing so should be easy to implement. Routine building requires one to learn how to be adaptable. Like any new skill it requires a period of trial and error which can be discouraging for many people. It is important to remember that starting a new routine will feel awkward at first because your mind needs time to adjust to something different. However, if it begins to feel like more of a hindrance than an asset, it is more than likely that something is wrong with the process. When this happens, it is okay for moms to tweak, change, and alter the routine to suit their needs. Once again, this journey is based on trial and error. This allows moms to curate a dynamic that works with their uniqueness and individuality

Routines Every Mom Should Incorporate

According to Ashley Brown, Founder and Creator of Routine & Things, there are five areas where moms can begin to implement routines: children, cooking, cleaning, self-care and planning. Focusing on these categories help moms find a starting point for their routines.

To expand, with a children's routine, you may want to create a learning routine for them. With cooking, a routine may take the form of meal planning every week. Moving on to cleaning, a routine of that nature may need to be separated into multiple subcategories such as a laundry routine and a kitchen routine. In terms of planning, that may resemble taking the time to make daily, weekly or monthly plans. Finally, regarding self care routines, that can also take the form of creating a bedtime routine to help unwind. With those five categories as the foundation, it can be easier to create routines for yourself.

The most important thing is to be intentional about these routines. With these categories, it can help moms focus on customizing one habit at a time. For example, if the goal is to develop more planning routines, then within that category of planning, one must pick one routine to be consistent with such as creating a daily to do list. This will result in a decrease of moms feeling overwhelmed and encourage consistency with these habits. It will also add simplicity to the process.

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Three Tips to Help Set Routines

These tips should be able to help many moms who want to improve their routine:

Clearly define what values are important to you. A routine aligned with your values is a routine that will be easiest for you to follow through. Ask yourself, what is it that you value and how can you bring that to the forefront.

When creating routines, try to start small by building upon your current routines. Wanting to implement change is a good start, but it is important to ensure that you don't become overwhelmed from too many changes in a short period of time. Remind yourself that this journey is not a race. Small consistent steps make a big impact over time.

Do not compare your journey to others’ journey. When talking about routines, you'll often encounter conversations with other people on a similar path. It can be easy to lose your focus on finding what works for you when your attention is drawn to what everyone else is doing. Once you stop engaging in those behaviors, you will feel much more comfortable in your motherhood.

Conclusion

Routines are important staples for mothers in their motherhood journey. With consistency, they provide a level of structure that will counteract any chaos that may occur. By alleviating some of this stress, moms can then put their focus on more important factors such as connecting with friends. When beginning to implement these changes remember to ask yourself these questions: what is your intention? How are you feeling? What is your focus? It is important in routine building, especially during the trial and error phase, to ensure that the progress you are making still aligns with your current values and goals. Through this process, you will learn to manage life in a beautiful way and enjoy motherhood.

Hi there! I’m Dr. Amber Thornton.

I’m a Clinical Psychologist, Motherhood Wellness Consultant, wife, and mama to 2 amazing little ones.

My mission is simple: to help working mothers balance work, motherhood, and wellness. I want to completely change the narrative of what is possible for working mothers.

Learn more about how we can work together!