The Benefits Of Having A Family Routine

What does your typical day look like? If it follows a familiar pattern, you’re doing it right. 

People are largely creatures of habit. Establishing daily rituals lends meaning to life while letting you attend to pesky pragmatic details — like that need to shower. Here are the benefits of having a family routine and tips for establishing a positive one.  

1. You Decrease Anxiety 

Think back to your first day at any new job. You probably felt nervous — and part of your anxiety stemmed from not knowing what to do. Now that you understand what tasks you should work on after sitting down at your desk, you enjoy greater confidence. 

Guess what? Your kids feel the same way. For your youngest family members, nearly every day is like their first day at work. Their little blank slates for minds won’t know what to do without your guidance. Giving them a predictable set of tasks — when we wake up, we brush our teeth and wash our faces — helps them navigate a strange, large and completely unfamiliar world. 

If you need any further proof of the anxiety-reducing properties of routine, consider the past year. Suddenly, children found themselves no longer seeing familiar faces at school or even waking up at the same hour. The ensuing chaos tested nearly every parent’s resolve at patiently guiding their children through the transition to virtual learning and safety restrictions. 

Routines soothe anxiety even if you don’t have a diagnosed disorder. However, those who do can significantly benefit their mental health by adopting certain practices into their routines. Starting the day with a brief meditation or yoga session can put you in the right mindset to overcome whatever obstacles you face in the next 24 hours without flying into a panic. 

2. You Embrace the Power of Habit 

Did you remember to lock your front door this morning? Chances are, you feel confident that you did, even if you don’t recall the physical act of turning the key. Why do you enjoy such security? The answer lies in the power of habit. 

One benefit of having a family routine is embracing this power to streamline those things you do every day. For example, many people tend to lose their keys not long after moving into a new place. This effect occurs because they lost the old familiar habit of hanging the fob on the same trusty hook when they come in the door — and they could end up with a headache if they didn’t remember to hide a spare. 

Plus, while the old saying about giving 1,000 monkeys a typewriter for 1,000 years to produce the works of Shakespeare might be fantastic hyperbole, you do get better at those things you do every day. Healthy habits like meal-prepping might sound like a pain in the derriere and might be the first few times. However, once you can chop carrots with the skill of Chef Jose Andres, you’ll wonder why you ever wasted precious minutes — and carbon emissions — sitting in the drive-thru line. 

3. You Save Time 

Saving time is likely the ultimate benefit of having a family routine. It’s vital if you’re in charge of getting everyone out the door and onto the bus every morning by zero hour. 

Again, go back to the first day on the job analogy. It probably took you considerably longer to do something as simple as composing an email to your supervisor at first. Now that you know the right tone and terminology for maximum effectiveness, you can communicate much more quickly and efficiently. 

The trick with creating an effective morning family routine is to make it intentional. Observe your current daily practices free from emotionally laden judgments. What do you want to do better, and how can you make it appealing to do so? 

For example, maybe you want to start exercising in the morning before work. Eventually, you’ll reap the rewards of increased energy and a sleeker, more toned body — but those perks don’t show up after the first workout. Therefore, giving yourself a small incentive for doing what you know you should, like treating yourself to a healthy tea beverage afterward, can help cement the habit. 

Use this method to get your children to improve their daily routines, too. For example, if you often battle with your little ones to brush their teeth, consider what incentives you can offer for doing so without prompting. Perhaps you could keep a bowl of their favorite snacks atop the fridge and let them drop one in their lunch box when they polish their pearlies without repeated nagging. 

Reap the Benefits of Having a Family Routine 

You can’t beat the time-saving, stress-relieving benefits of having a family routine. How will you choose to structure your clan’s day?