5 Tips to Get Back into Routine

Today’s the first day back into reality after a long, two week, Christmas break. Without the structure of school and work, it’s easy to fall out of normal routines and healthy habits.

I’m always disappointed in how hard it is to make a good habit stick, and how easily you can fall back into habits that don’t serve you well.

While it’s great to relax and let go of your normally structured schedule, it can be hard to get back into those routines.

Over the last two weeks, I found myself scrolling my phone first thing in the morning instead of working out, watching “just one more episode” instead of getting dinner ready, and making sure no chocolate went to waste instead of having one or two treats a day.

As fun as this all sounds, I was really looking forward to getting back into my routine where I felt more in control of my time versus giving into the little impulses my brain kept feeding me.

But it’s not always easy to hop right back into a routine. In fact, vacations, long breaks, or unexpected life stuff can throw you off your routine for good.

I’m happy to report that I was back up at 4:15 this morning and worked out instead of scrolled my phone. And after going through my morning routine, I felt much better mentally and physically then I have the last few weeks.

If you struggle to start back on your routine after some time off, check out these 5 tips to get yourself back on schedule in no time.

5 Tips to Get Back into Routine

Tip #1 – Practice Ahead of Time

When my kids were young, and summer break was coming to an end, I would hold “practice” days before school started. One or two days before the start of school, I would wake them up at the time they would be waking up for school, and we would go through the whole morning routine. Myself included. This made it easier for them to ease into the morning routine when school started.

A few days before Christmas break ended, I started waking up earlier, reading, and then working out. Starting up some of these habits again, even though it wasn’t my exact morning routine, made it easier to get up early this morning.

Tip #2 – Give Yourself Flexibility

When getting back into routine after a break, you might find that you’re frustrated with your lack of motivation. This is totally normal. Your brain doesn’t always want to get on board with something that isn’t “fun”. Especially if you’ve been having a lot of fun while out of routine!

If you’re hard on yourself and criticize yourself, it’s going to be even harder to get back into your routine. Critical self-talk can seem like a no-brainer to get yourself motivated, but it’s the opposite. When you’re negative toward yourself, it creates negative emotions. And when you’re feeling negatively you’ll probably want to zone out to avoid feeling negative. Zoning out often leads to procrastination and doing things that go against your best intentions.

Instead, go easy on yourself. Recognize that doing one or two things in your routine is better than throwing everything out the window. It may take some time to get back to your regular routine, but you will get there.

This goes for your kids also. Allow them some flexibility and grace. Going back to school after a long break is not their idea of fun. Chances are they’ll be cranky and push back, more than usual, about going through their routine.

Tip #3 – Write Out Your Routine

It’s much easier to get back into routine if you have your routine written somewhere to follow. Routine checklists work great for this, and you can find some here:

Writing your routine out will save you mental energy. If your brain has to work hard to remember what to do next, it will put up a fight about following the routine.

When I’m starting a new morning routine, or getting back into my morning routine, I always use a checklist. When my kids were little, we used these routine checklists to help build good habits and create consistency.

Tip #4 – Plan Ahead

Depending on what takes you out of routine, you can plan ahead so that returning to reality isn’t so difficult.

Here’s some things you can do to set-up a successful return to routine:

–Order g roceries on your last day of vacation so that you can pick them up/have them delivered, your first day home. This way you can continue with “normal” eating after vacation.

–Immediately go through school folders/papers/mail. If you’re entering a break from school or heading off to vacation, have the kids empty out their backpacks and go through their school papers. This way, when it’s time to return to school, this is one last thing you’ll have to deal with.

–If you have the time, plan your schedule for your return. The Sunday before break was over, I planned out my week. I am a consistent planner anyway, but it makes it so much easier to get back into routine when I have a plan for how the day will go.

–The night before returning to your normal routine, give yourself and your family plenty of time to wind down and get ready for bed. Often, kids aren’t tired after spending many nights going to bed later than usual and sleeping in. Same goes for you. This means that bedtime may take a little longer for everyone.

Tip #5 – Focus on What You’re Accomplishing

Your default mode is most likely to focus on what you didn’t get done. But this will only keep you in a negative mindset that will make it more difficult to get back into routine.

Instead, no matter how your day went, give yourself praise for the things you DID do! This is so important. Reflecting on what you accomplished leads to feelings like gratitude and pride. These emotions will lead you to want to keep up the good work.

A reflective mindset on what you accomplished leads to feeling more abundant about your time, instead of feeling like there’s never enough time because you’re always focusing on everything you couldn’t finish.

As I’m getting back into my routine, I’m praising myself constantly for the things I’m getting done.

Use These 5 Tips to Get Back Into Routine

If you find yourself struggling to start back on your routine after some time off, check out these 5 tips to get yourself back on schedule in no time:

Practice Ahead of Time
Give Yourself Flexibility
Write Out Your Routine
Plan Ahead
Focus on What You’re Accomplishing

Remember, don’t let a long break ruin all the time and effort you put into good routines.

What’s one tip you’re going to try when you’re struggling to get back into routine? Let me know in the comments below!

Before you leave, grab The “Type A” Moms Guide to Feel Organized + In Control of Your Time, for FREE. You’ll find it here.

5 Tips to Get Back into Routine