4 Weekly Routines that Will Make Life Easier

If you’re like me, you likely wear the same few outfits over and over again. Week after week. Right?!

And why is it we do this? Because it’s easy. We’ve become so comfortable with certain outfits that we now reach for them on autopilot. We know what works so we repeat it. Week after week. No decisions necessary.

This is exactly what happens when we create routines in other areas of life. We know exactly what needs to happen and have a plan in place for getting it done. No decisions necessary. Life becomes easier and runs on autopilot.

What are routines and why do they matter?

A routine is simply an action – or series of actions – done regularly. Generally on the same day and at the same time. Simple as that!

Building a routine around a recurring task eliminates the stress of having to remember what needs to be done and constantly having to find a spare minute to actually do it.

In other words – use of routines can be an incredible way to stress less, stay organized, and make life easier. Who doesn’t want that?!

Stress less and make life easier with these 4 weekly routines

1. Meal Planning

Deciding what to eat day-after-day, week-after-week can be overwhelming – especially when trying to make these decisions at the end of a busy day when you’re hungry.

The easiest way to eliminate this overwhelm is to create a Meal Plan during your Weekly Planning Session (see Routine #4 below). Simply follow these Simple Meal Planning Tips.

Now, you can come home at the end of the day and know exactly what’s for dinner and have all the right ingredients ready and waiting. Far less stressful than having to run to the grocery store every day!

2. Laundry

“Laundry’s my favorite thing to do” said no one ever! If you can relate – the best way to get to the other side is to create a weekly routine for getting it done.

Depending on the size of your family and how fast laundry builds up, it may be best to take care of laundry more than once a week. Regardless, have a plan for what your ideal laundry week looks like and try to stick with it.

Some things to consider when creating your ideal laundry routine and schedule:

• On average, how many loads of laundry do you do in a given week? You may need to take a week or two and track this.
• Is there a certain day of the week, or time of day, that will be less bothersome … running a loud washer during routine work calls or naptime may not be the best plan!
• Are there certain clothes that must be clean on a certain day? For example: work or sports-related.
• Who’s going to actually do the laundry? And when is this person most available to hang, fold and put laundry straight away from the dryer? Hint: If you put clothes away straight from the dryer there’s no chance of them getting wrinkled or mixed back in with dirty clothes. Plus, you’re done … and that’s the goal!

Keep towels and linens neat and organized with these
14 Tips for Creating a Well-Organized Linen Closet

3. Paperwork

Handling paperwork can be another dreaded task – right up there with doing the laundry. Again, the best way to take control and prevent papers from taking over your desk and countertops is to schedule a weekly paperwork session.

First, be sure you’ve set up a central spot to gather paperwork as it comes in each day. If you don’t have a home office or other central spot, I recommend you start here:

How to Set Up a Family Command Center

Then, schedule a block of time each week – ideally the same day and time – to sit down and process everything that’s accumulated during the previous week.

I know this may seem overwhelming at first – especially if there’s a backlog of paperwork to deal with. But, once you practice this consistently for several weeks, there’ll be less and less paper to deal with. The process will become easier and easier … and that’s the magic of Routines!

Each week be sure to:

• Take care of bills and banking.
• Take care of any correspondence.
• Handle any other to-do’s, or move into some form of tickler system to be dealt with later.
• Add any important dates to your calendar.
• Recycle or shred anything you don’t need any more.
• File everything else.

4. Weekly Planning

In my opinion, the best way to stress less and make life easier is to sit down once a week for a weekly review and planning session. Great days for this are either Friday (as a way to wrap up the week) or Sunday (as you prepare to start a new week).

Here’s a sample of what I do each week during my own ‘Sunday Review’:

• Review my planner from the past week and make note of any incomplete tasks, etc. that need to be addressed in the coming week. I add these to my calendar and new planner pages.
• Take a look at next week’s calendar so there’ll be no surprises. Confirm any appointments, make any adjustments, etc.
• Review my Master List to see if there’s anything I need to add to my schedule for the coming week.
• Create a Meal Plan for the week.
• Decide my Top 3 Priorities for the week and plug any action steps straight into my calendar.

Your own weekly review may look quite different and that’s ok. What matters most is to do it. Consistently.

Incorporate these 4 routines into your week and watch life become just a bit easier!