Routines

People with dogs also know the value of routine. If you have a dog, the secret to getting it housebroken and becoming a well behaved dog is routine. Dogs, like children, thrive on routine. Cats don’t care as they are in a world of their own, although it does matter to them that you regularly feed them, change their water and clean their litter box.

Kids and dogs, however, are not the only things that thrive on routine. Adults also feel a sense of comfort at enjoying routines. It does make them have a more organized life as well as a healthier life. If you go to bed the same time each night and wake in the morning at the same time, it is better for your body. If you watch a certain program on TV before you go to bed, you will feel as though you have something to look forward to each night. Most of us all have an innate desire for some sort of structure in our lives.

Routines, however, are not etched in stone. There are times when routines are broken. This happens now and then and you should not get anxious about it. Simply fall back into the routine when whatever situation that drove you out of the routine has calmed down. For example, my bedtime routine for my kids was broken on many occasions such as holidays, parties, overnight trips and vacations. While you want to establish a routine that will make everyone feel more secure and yourself more organized, you also do not want to feel like you are running a boot camp. Becoming so rigid in your routine that you cannot alter it now and then will not make anyone feel more relaxed as you will be so worried about the routine that you skip things that break into your schedule.

Remember earlier when I talked about the Saturday cleaning schedule? Well, there have been times when I have been out of town or had something to do on a Saturday where I couldn’t adhere to the schedule. So what did I do? I just did the same thing on Sunday.

One time, I skipped cleaning for an entire week because I was out of town and the house didn’t fall apart. So, while the secret of good organization is routine, it should not be one that is so rigid that it defeats the purpose and actually causes anxiety. Learn to try to stick with a routine as much as possible, but do not “tweek out” if something happens to upset the schedule. Just go with the flow and get back into the groove when you can. The routine should be a tool you use to stay organized, not a prison that confines you to a rigid schedule.