Rut VS Routine – Where Do You Find Yourself?
By Jeff Whitaker
This time next week almost all of the kids will be back in school, and for parents that always means a shift of sorts. Whether you are a two parent home and you both work outside the home or a single parent and work outside the home or are home all summer long with your children, September and back to school means change.
The way I see it, Back to School is either a chance to get into a new rut or a new routine. It’s really your choice. There is nothing positive about a rut. The name alone says it all.
But when it comes to routines, I think we can get into good routines or routines that become, well just ‘routine” or monotonous. Just like New Year’s Day, for me there is something fresh about the fall. It’s a chance to wipe the slate clean and begin again. And when it comes to getting into routines, there is a great deal to be said for taking a break sometime this weekend, sitting down and planning out what routines need to begin or begin again now that school is back in session. And if you don’t have anyone in school in your home, don’t stop reading because there is plenty to take away for the rest of you as well.
The dictionary describes routine as a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program, a pattern, a regiment. When I think about routine, I also think of the opposite, which in my mind amounts to chaos or clutter. Here is my suggestion to practice the former and avoid the latter.
- Decide what routines are necessary for everyone in the family to thrive.
- Get “buy-in” from all of those affected by the routine(s).
- Make a plan. Put your heads together and decide the most effective way to see that any routine you put in place is clearly planned out, able to be understood, practical for everyone involved, and results oriented.
In other words, the routines we come up with must have a purpose beyond just being a routine. The idea is to find ways to help things run smoothly in the household with everyone doing his or her part. Routines don’t have to be boring and monotonous. They can help lift the load for the entire family, to make things a whole lot easier for getting back to school or whatever else the new season brings your way.
