5 Tips to Stick to a Routine (When You Don’t Feel Like It)

Let’s be real—sticking to a routine sounds great in theory. You picture yourself waking up early, sipping coffee in peace, and tackling the day like an organized, well-disciplined mom.

But in reality? The kids wake up before you, someone can’t find their shoes, you forgot to start the dishwasher, and suddenly the day is off the rails before it even starts.

If you’ve ever set up a routine and then completely ignored it, I want you to know: you’re not failing, you’re just human.

Life happens, motivation fades, and sometimes you just don’t feel like following the plan. But the good news? You can always start again—without guilt or overwhelm. In fact, the quickest way to make routines a habit is to keep trying!

In this post, I’m going to share with you how I’ve learned to get back on track when my routines fall apart and how I teach other moms to stick to their routines, even when they don’t feel like it.

But first let’s talk about the benefits of routines, because when you have an understanding of how something helps you, you’re less likely to ignore it.

Benefits of Routines

There are many benefits of following a routine, but here are just a few:

You create more productivity using less brain power. Once you have a good routine down, you move through it without having to think too much about it. Therefore, you’re saving precious mental energy.

For example, as part of my morning routine, I unload the dishwasher, then make school lunches without having to question when I will do it. I automatically go from task to task.

Incorporates good habits so they stick. If you’ve been trying to create a new habit, one way to help it stick is to make it part of a routine.

One of my goals for 2025 is to take a 5-10 minute walk each day. By incorporating this into my morning routine, it makes it easier to complete. I’m currently on day #100!

Gives you a sense of control. In those moments when you don’t know what to tackle next, you can feel overwhelmed and out of control. Having a routine can help gain control over the situation.

The after school hour used to feel chaotic with the kids returning home from school. Once I created a good after school routine, I felt much more calm and in control of my time.

Ensures important tasks are complete. I hate the feeling of not having a “home” for things. From paperwork to time to write. If you want things to get done, attach the tasks to a routine.

• Make your bed every morning as part of your “getting ready for the day” routine.
• Put gas in your car weekly, as part of your weekly “grocery shopping” routine.
• Empty out the school folder and put it back in the backpack each day as part of your “after school” routine.

If I didn’t attach these boring, but effective, tasks into a routine, I would be overwhelmed and always trying to remember what needs to get done next.

Now that I’ve shared a few of the benefits of routines, let’s talk about how to stick a routine when you’re brain is yelling like a toddler, “I don’t want to!”

How to Stick to Routine When You Don’t Want To

#1 Start Smaller (Like, Way Smaller)

I used to think that getting my life together meant overhauling everything at once. I’d create the perfect morning routine, plan out every meal, and convince myself this time I’d stick to it. And then… by day three, I’d already fallen off track.

What finally worked? Starting ridiculously small.

For example, instead of forcing myself to wake up super early, I started with just 20 minutes earlier. Making this small change eventually evolved into my super early, extensive morning routine, that I now follow.

Instead of trying to clean the whole house, try to do a few chores that take 5-20 minutes a day. This cleaning routine feels really doable, and I no longer spend hours on the weekend cleaning.

My current meal planning routine evolved from simply rotating 7-10 meals throughout the month. This made it super easy because I didn’t have to put much guess work into what we would have to eat for the week.

And you know what? Small wins build momentum. When I let myself start tiny, routines stopped feeling overwhelming—and they started sticking. When I work with moms to help them implement new routines, we always start ridiculously small so they can build up their confidence and discipline when it comes to being in control of their time.

#2  Attach New Habits to Something You Already Do

If you’ve ever driven somewhere and realized you barely remember the drive, that’s your brain on autopilot. We want to use that same trick to make routines automatic. The more automatic the routine, the less likely your brain will fight you about following it.

Here’s what helped me:

When I’m done getting ready for the day, I grab laundry (assigned for the day) and start a load in the washing machine.  

Before heading to bed for the night, I make sure there’s no clutter on the kitchen counters and they are wiped down.

While I’m going through my morning journaling routine, I fill out my habit trackers.

Pairing a habit with something I already do makes it so much easier—because I don’t have to think about it, therefore there’s less internal resistance.

#3 Let Go of the “Perfect Streak” Mindset

If you’re a bit of a perfectionist, you might get excited about the idea of doing something perfectly for a certain number of days…you probably crave that structure and discipline.

However, this might work for a bit, but eventually life will happen and your “perfect streak” will be thrown off.

I used to think that if I missed a day, I’d ruined my routine. But here’s what I’ve learned: one off day doesn’t undo all your progress.

Some days, I nail my routine. Other days, I totally wing it. But the key? I don’t quit—I just pick back up where I left off.

In fact, being inconsistently consistent is how I’ve stuck to my morning routine for years, fitness routine (I’m currently on a 123 week streak), budget routine, and so many other routines in my life!

If you skip a day (or a week), don’t beat yourself up. Just start again—no drama, no guilt.

#4 Get a Little Accountability (Even If It’s Just to Yourself)

Sometimes, you just need help holding yourself accountable in order to do things you really don’t want to do.

If you’re working to start a new routine, but struggling to work your way through it, here’s some ways to hold yourself accountable:

Find someone in your life that your comfortable with, then let them know that you’re working on implementing a new routine. Ask them to check in with you every few days. This could be a simple text that just says, “How’s your new routine going?” When you know someone will be “checking up” on you, you might be more likely to stick with your routine.

Use a simple checklist. Your brain will be less resistant to working through a routine if it knows what will come next. Use a checklist to write out your routine, then have it in a space you can easily reference. Plus, you get a little dopamine hit each time you get to cross something off the list.

Write it down in a planner. The act of just writing down your routine makes it more likely that you’ll follow it.

#5  Give Yourself Grace (Because Life Happens)

Look, some days will be a mess. Someone will wake up sick, the baby won’t nap, or you’ll just feel over it. That’s okay. You are not a robot — you’re a human and a mom.

If a routine isn’t working, ask yourself:

• Do I need to simplify it?
• Can I shift the timing to make it easier?
• Is this routine actually helping me, or does it need tweaking?
• Is this routine reasonable for my season of life?

If things don’t go as planned, give yourself grace and remind yourself you can try again. When you keep pursuing your routine (even if not perfectly), the more likely it will become a habit. Once it’s a habit, you’ll feel less resistance to following the routine.

Your routine should make life easier, not harder. If it’s stressing you out, change it.

Final Thoughts

If you’re struggling to stick to a routine, know this: you are not failing, you’re figuring it out. Start small, make it easy, don’t aim for perfection, and drop the guilt when life doesn’t go as planned. Keeping these tips in mind will help make your routine a regular habit in no time.

What routine are you the most resistant to? What tip will you use to turn the routine into a habit? 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.**