Transitioning Back Into Family Routines After Summer [Episode 278]
After a summer of different activities and routines (or maybe no routines), I get excited about settling into a new rhythm as we transition into the school year and fall. In this week’s episode, I’m sharing the process I’ve used for years to help our family get clarity about what matters to us right now and how to make sure we make time for it in our daily life. I’m really great at thinking of the ideal in every area of life. But the reality is that things are going to change, balls are going to drop, and we let go of things as our enthusiasm and energy fade. So what matters most that you want to make a top priority and invest time and energy in? What is the thing that you can go big on this fall? This can be your vision for the fall to help you know what to say yes to, say no to and to structure your days and weeks around. Here are some other tips to transition back into family routines: Write down your schedule as it already is - not as you want it to be. Decide the one thing you want to go big on for the next few months. Pick an anchor you can pair that thing with. Go slow; make it stick. For example, when my kids were little, and we were just beginning this journey of establishing routines, I knew I wanted to go big on scripture study with my kids. We had one clear anchor at the time: breakfast. So I paired my one priority with my one anchor, and now we’ve been doing our scripture study with breakfast for almost eight years. Once you have established your one anchor and one routine, you can pick another priority and another anchor. We now have each meal and rest and read time as an anchor in our day that we’ve paired with some of our daily priorities, and we have routines that go with our anchors. We’ve also attached routines to weekly and monthly anchors. Start small and every few months, add on another thing as your family continues to learn, grow, and change together. If you want to learn more about getting your family rhythms established, I would love to support you in my Made to Soar: Next 90 Days program.