Have you ever been in a room full of children without any plan and it just feels like it is a completely chaotic environment? Have you ever felt this same feeling in your own home? One thing that I have learned over the years is adolescents function better when there is a routine. Having a routine helps both adolescents and their parents be more productive and creates an overall calmer environment. Day to day life can be very hectic between preparing meals, going to work, getting children ready for school, baseball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, cheer, football, showering, and the rest of the list that sometimes seems to never end. When thinking about it, it can be exhausting and doing all of it every day can be even more exhausting. But, if you plan your day ahead of time and train yourself and your children to follow the schedule, I promise, it will not be as exhausting.
When I think about my daily life and what I would like to do, sometimes the last thing I want to do is clean my home, prepare a meal, and gosh, sometimes showering feels like a task. I have found it very useful to set a schedule for myself and try to follow it as best as I can so that my chores are spread out and my days are balanced with chores and self-care. I have afound meal prepping on Sunday’s helps for the week and even my daily meals are for the most part pre-planned. When they are not, sometimes I find myself wasting 30 minutes trying to figure out what I want to eat and trying to find the energy to make it. But, when I follow my schedule, that problem does not exist. I admit, I even pre-plan when I am blowing out my hair on nights I am not working as late so that I stay on my sleep schedule. It may sound silly, but it really helps a lot and keeps me happier because I am keeping up with my self-care.
Sometimes scheduling sounds militant to others, but it truly is not meant to be. I always try to give my clients the same day and time appointment weekly so it becomes routine and fits into their schedule. I have noticed that those clients miss less appointments because it is just something they are now used to doing, every Wednesday, at 5:00pm, just like how they are used to going to work at the same time, taking their children to practice at the same time, and waking up in the morning at the same time. Our life to a degree is scheduled and it is up to you to determine how scheduled and smoothly you would like your time to be. Scheduling for me, especially when being with children and adolescents helps everyone to know what their expectations are and when, when they will have free time and fun (which is a reward for doing what they are expected to do) and when they are supposed to get ready for bed to help keep a routine and healthy sleep schedule (which makes life easier for us as the adults and them not being cranky in the morning).
With school being around the corner, this is the perfect time to think about the upcoming year and how you would like to see it kick off and go. Think about your daily responsibilities and the amount of time you have to do them. Plan ahead a little bit to see if maybe changing your routine could make your life easier. Try setting up a schedule for the day for both you and your children (or even just you if you do not have children) and follow it for a week. Compare your days following your schedule and days you may not and see which one worked better. Remember there are no rules for a schedule. The purpose is to create a schedule that works best for you and your family and sticking to the routine. If you find yourself struggling with making a schedule that works or are struggling following it, contact us to set up an appointment to help you create something that works for you!