Schedules and Routines

I am a list maker and a schedule junkie. I love looking at other peoples schedules to see how they manage their time and organize their days.
BUT I don't actually have a schedule. NOPE! cant block myself into one, I just cant function in blocks of times. I am, however, great at checking things off my list and sticking to routines,
Whats the difference between a routine and a schedule?

A schedule is set into periods of time. Such as 

9:00 Breakfast

10:00 Laundry

11:00 Clean Bathroom

etc.

A routine is a habit, a flow, a way you go about your day. For instance, I know that I need to do 3 loads of laundry a day to stay on top of mount washmore. I know my day goes smoother and I'm more motivated if I take a shower and get dressed first thing in the morning. I know that if I tidy up the bathroom while I'm in there, it's more likely that the bathroom will get cleaned then if I try to go back and do it later.
By paying attention to your household needs, the way your home flows, and when your most energetic, you can set up your own routine. Start one habit at a time. For me, I started by making sure I got in the shower first thing in the morning, before coffee (if I sit down with a cup of coffee my day gets away from me). Know yourself and be honest with yourself about your weaknesses and strengths. Next I added making my bed and sweeping my bedroom floor. There really is something to seeing your bed made that is super motivating. I just continued adding one thing at a time. When it became a habit I would add another. Of course, I still had to do the other things in my home but in time it was less of a chore and just a habit.
I created a morning, afternoon and evening checklist. I wrote down everything that I wanted to accomplish or that had to be done in the morning, afternoon and evening. Some things like feeding the kids are at set times and obviously can't be put off. I tried to list things in the order that I'd like to get them done. But because it is a list/routine and not a time blocked schedule, there is no guilt or loss in flow of my day from moving things around or skipping over somethings if need be.

Morning Routine

• Take a shower, get dressed, do hair and light makeup
• Tidy bathroom,wipe down sink and toilet, give the toilet bowl a swish with toilet brush
• Take out laundry from laundry basket and start a load
• Make coffee and wake kids
• Get kids started on their morning routine, make my bed and sweep my bedroom floor
• Everyone outside to do animal/garden chores
• Everyone eat breakfast and tidy kitchen
• Math, Reading, writing,phonics
• other studies based on day of the week 
• Start another load of laundry, Everyone folds and puts away

Afternoon Routine

• Lunch and tidy kitchen
• Baking and dinner prep.
• Outdoor time or projects
• Start another load of laundry, Everyone folds and puts away

Evening Routine

• Dinner 
• Clean Kitchen including dishes, stove top, sweep and mop floor,
• Clean living room including floors
• Start another load of laundry, Everyone folds and puts away
• Kids take baths 
• Take out last load of laundry, Everyone folds and puts away
• Kids Bed at 9:30

I like to have my night time routine set me up for a good morning the next day. It is much better to wake up to a clean kitchen instead of waking up to yesterdays mess. Do I sometimes wake up to yesterdays mess? Of course I do. I have learned to give myself and my family grace. I try not to make it a habit though. Remember what you do most frequently is the habit you have created and its hard to break old habits so set yourself up for success by creating good habits, one habit at a time. Once you have a good habit try to keep it.

Kids Routine

My kids also have routines. And like myself I started them one habit at a time. I started with a good bed time routine. A set bedtime and a predictable flow. Even though we are a very relaxed family I think children really do thrive with routine and predictability. Next I added a mourning routine for them. They wake up and make their beds. Then they get dressed for the day, tidy their room and everyone heads out for some fresh air and animal/garden chores. My son feeds and waters the chickens, turkeys, goats, dogs and cats. My daughters share the milking chores and make sure the goats have their minerals and baking soda. I water the garden and do any weeding with the littlest one and we all share coop cleaning and run raking. If there are wood chips that need moved or fruit trees that need water we just split those up between each other. For the most part we do all the outdoor and in door chores together as a team. One might wash dishes while the other drys and puts away. Someone else will put the leftovers away and clear the table. We have really gotten to the point where we all just know what needs done and everyone just jumps in and does it. I think by doing it as a team and a family has encourage everyone to help, no one wants to feel left out. We try to have fun and play around. Do we sometimes have someone who doesn't want to join in? Of course, sometimes you just aren't in the mood, but like myself, I don't want them to make a habit of skipping out on their routine so at times I do have to step in and enforce the habit.