In light of the New Year, I thought it would be fun to share some thoughts on routines and a list of habits that I’ve implemented over the years.
I’m passionate about this topic because my daily routines are the glue that holds me together on long days of balancing full time motherhood and this “side hustle”.
Living in Discipline
It may sound cheesy or nerdy–and it probably is–but I find that the seemingly boring, everyday rituals that form a life are often the means through which the big, swelling moments of creativity or magic happen. In other words, living a life of discipline allows me the freedom to create and be spontaneous in a sustainable, meaningful way.
I know everyone is different, but I have noticed that I enjoy life more when I take the time to recharge, reset, and reflect on a daily basis. Not only that, but I am a more present, patient person for my loved ones. It’s a “strap on your own oxygen mask first” situation.
This is something I’m really proud of: we are setting an example for our kids of what a healthy, full life can look like, as opposed to a white-knuckled, restrictive approach to wellness. I do the habits for me, but I also do it for them.
This list is kind of a mix of personal and family/household habits, but to me, they are one and the same.
I know we all have different schedules and life circumstances, so there may be things on this list that don’t make sense for anyone but me. I just love reading stuff like this and am hoping it’s helpful.
One more thing–there are many days where I, for whatever reason, miss a few or many of these. I’m not a robot, after all. We have plenty of messy, weird, and chaotic days, and that’s just life. These routines are simply a framework and at the front of my mind when we are planning out our weeks.
My Daily Habits in 2024
Here’s a list of my daily habits that keep me sane, soft, and centered:
Waking up before my kids
It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I saw the value in becoming a “morning person.” For most of my life, I was really more of a “midnight oil” girl. Becoming a mother, of course, changed that. Staying up late on purpose and sleeping in are just not in the cards of parenthood. Once the girls started sleeping through the night consistently, Tyler and I started working towards a routine that would allow us to start the day off on the right foot. For us, this looks like us waking up sometime between 5:30am and 6:00am to have some peace and quiet and get our minds right before the girls wake up.
Devotion and journaling
I typically use this early morning time to read through a devotion and complete my daily “Morning Pages” journaling practice, essentially 3 pages of “whatever I feel like” freewriting. I’ll use the pages to pray, brainstorm, worry, talk myself out of a worry, make a gratitude list, put together a to-do list, you get the idea. (More on that here).
Ice roll and eye pads
Going to get hyper specific for this one. The very first thing I do in the morning is chug a bunch of water and ice roll my face. I usually ice roll while I’m reading my Bible and devotion. Then, I’ll place a set of eye pads under my eyes and sip my coffee while I write.
The reason I am describing the exact order of events is because I think this is a good example of habit stacking, a principle I learned from Atomic Habits.
Make the bed + AG1 + aminos + electrolytes
Once everyone is up and moving, I’ll start making the bed, picking up the house, and getting ready for my workout. While I do this, I’ll sip on my AG1 greens which I’ve come to absolutely love and swear by. (Use my link to get a free bottle of vitamin D drops and 5 free travel packs in your order!)
At this point, I also mix up my little workout cocktail drink which lately has been Thorne aminos powder and LMNT electrolytes. I take this out to the garage with me for my workout if I’m doing weights, or I’ll leave it ready out on the counter for myself if I’m heading out on a run.
(Another example of habit stacking. I do this mostly all in the same order every day. Muscle memory is what we are going for here, lol).
Exercise
We’ve gotten into a really good routine the last few years where I’ll head out to workout around 7:30am while Tyler feeds the girls breakfast. Then, when I’m done, we’ll switch. I’ll come in and get them ready and either get them off to preschool or start our day at home together while Tyler goes outside for his workout. He’ll start his work day shortly after that. This rhythm has worked really well for us.
Another micro habit I swear by: I always start my workout with a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood. It’s a light warmup and a way to psych myself up. Once I’m done with the walk, I’m usually like, “Ok, may as well lift some weights while I’m out here.”
For workouts, I still use the Peloton app for strength workouts a few times a week, and the other days I’ll run or occasionally do a cycling class. I decided recently to sign up for another half marathon, so I’ll be focusing on adding mileage now while maintaining strength and STRETCHING as often as possible.
Family walk at 5pm
I am jumping ahead now to the end of the day because every day in between that looks totally different. On preschool days, I work in the mornings. On non preschool days, I either leave them to their own devices while I clean the house, or we’ll go out for an adventure. Between Tyler’s job and side hustles, our Turo side hustle, my side hustle, preschool pick up, ballet class, and trying to make it to the sauna at the Y a couple of times a week, we are very much GO GO GO during the week.
No matter what the middle of the day looks like, though, Tyler and I always try to wrap up the day with the girls with a family walk at 5pm. It’s a silly tradition we started when Char was a baby and have intermittently practiced since then. The girls have gotten REALLY into it this year, and it’s *hands down* my favorite part of the day. We usually do a 30 or 45 minute stroll around the neighborhood, and it’s so much fun. I also feel like the girls fall asleep faster on the days we do this?
Read with the girls
We’ve read to the girls since they were born, but since reading The Read Aloud Handbook earlier this year, we’ve started taking it even more seriously. I always try to read anywhere from 2 to 4 books with the girls at some point in the evening before bathtime. They are starting to really get to the age now where reading together sparks great conversation which is so exciting to me. Also, it’s the only time they will sit still and snuggle with me, so that’s a huge added benefit too.
TV off by 8:30pm + read in bed
I often get asked how I read so much, and my biggest tip is to turn the TV off with enough time for you to reasonably get in bed and have energy to read for an hour or so. For us, our TV cutoff is 8:30pm usually. We’re not super strict about this on weekends though—what Friday night is complete without a Mike and Harvey pizza party??
Deleting social media on the weekends
Okay, the last few here are more weekly routines as opposed to daily habits.
The first is that I started deleting Instagram and TikTok over the weekend. I realized about halfway through this year that I was absolutely addicted to my phone and social media. Deleting the apps on the weekends has been so, so helpful for me. First, it allows me to actually relax over the weekend because I’m not constantly checking my phone or thinking about posting a reel or whatever. Second, it’s provided a sort of natural detachment to the apps. I’ve noticed that since I started taking two days away, I’ve been less attached to them even on the days I do have the apps on my phone.
Private Sunday walk
This is a fun one. A few months ago, I started going on a nice long walk BY MYSELF on Sundays. The important thing is that I do this at the most chaotic time possible, usually right when we get home from church, in that blurry, frenzied hour where we have to feed the girls and get them down for quiet time. I’ll pull stuff out for the girls to eat and peace out.
Sauna twice a week
In all honesty, the sauna is the first thing to go on a crazy week, but I’m mentioning it because it is a “nice to have” and I feel so amazing after I do it. We use the sauna at our local YMCA which is, in my opinion, absolute highway robbery for what we get for the monthly fee–a state of the art gym, gorgeous pool, child watch, sauna. There are numerous health benefits to regular sauna use–check out Dr. Huberman’s breakdown here.
Nature once a week
This is another “nice to have.” I try to get out in nature at least once a week. A visit to the ocean relaxes my nerves, gives me a burst of creative energy, and almost always slaps me in the face with a nice big dose of “remember how big God is?” It’s also good for the kids.
To wrap things up, I’ll leave you with a couple of book recommendations.
I have talked about this book 1 million times, but I can’t in good conscience speak about this topic without mentioning Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book is as popular as it is because it isn’t just inspiring–it’s unbelievably tactical, full of practical tools and tricks to implementing positive habits and eliminating bad ones. If you read one book this month, make it this one.
Also, Tyler is about halfway through Habits cof the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley which was recommended to us by a few different friends all around the same time last fall. This book provides a framework for practicing Biblical rhythms and the story of God within the chaos of everyday family life.
