Inside: Daily routine can feel stale and boring, but recently I learned what living life without rhythms really looks like. Here's what I discovered:

We were on the precipice of something new. In August my oldest would start kindergarten, so the next three months were going to be all about cuddling and reading books, sunny bike rides, and adventuring to new places. 

I turned down opportunities to be involved in Bible Studies. Flyers and emails about Vacation Bible School programs were ignored. Calendars were cleared; the summer was ours. No routine, no commitments. Freedom. 

Then August came, leaving behind a summer that looked nothing like the picture I had painted 3 months before… 

The enticement of living life without routine

Routine can be stale. And boring. And who wants to be bound by a schedule when life is to be lived? Life can't really be enjoyed when it's lived within a structure, right? 

Bucking the normal rhythm of life can feel exciting and adventurous. 

Life without routine can seem:

• Spontaneous
• Less restrictive
• Full of more possibilities

Until suddenly the "freedom" becomes suffocating - like you're trapped in a cage with invisible walls. 

This summer I found myself in such a cage. 

The reality of living life without a daily rhythm

While I had the best of intentions for our last summer before kindergarten, my vision wasn't realized.

Some days I’d let the boys plan out the entire day with their favorite activities. 

Those days always ended with bad attitudes. 

Other days I’d wake up and feel almost paralyzed by the options - go on a favorite hike? ride bikes? stay home and cuddle? meet up with friends? try a new lake we've never been to? Planning the perfect day carries a lot of weight, and I didn't like the pressure I had put on myself. 

Not only did I buck weekly rhythms with the kids, but I also found myself letting go of some of my own personal daily routines. I slept in more often, grabbed my phone more incessantly, stopped carving out time to write, and ended most nights in bed zombied out watching some show with my husband.

And the kicker is I didn't realize how much I missed (and needed) those routines until my lack of routine was the new routine. Getting back into a normal rhythm felt like walking up a slippery rock. 

The spontaneously fun summer I had expected didn't happen. Instead the days ended up feeling more like untethered wandering. 

Benefits of A Daily Routine for SAHMs

While bucking a routine can feel exciting and free, those feelings are short lived. There are far more benefits to having a structure to your day, week, and life. Here are 10 benefits to living life with routine:

1. Routine helps us focus on what really matters

Do you have an organized friend? I do. It's so freeing to open her pantry and be met with straight-lined bins and beautiful tags instead of being pummeled in the head with a stray jar of peanut butter.

Man, those pantries look great. But more importantly, that organization ensures pantry staples have a place, and stay stocked.

In the same way, having a routine gives space to those things that mean the most to us - otherwise it’s easy to get lost in the chaos of the untidy pantry day.  

2. It keeps our days purposeful and intentional

The years of our life are made up of individual days. The choices we make today are bricks in the life we are building. With thought-out routines and habits - routines and habits that make room for the things that matters most - you inject purpose into your days. Life lived without routine can too easily become a life lived without direction. 

3. Our kids feel more secure with the boundaries of a day

Our kids need routine. But kids also thrive when their parents are living with a routine. They can feel the difference between us living in chaos vs. flowing through our own personal habits and rhythms. 

4. We save decision making power for the important decisions

The yellow light was already on as I pulled out of the driveway to take my son to school. The florescent "E" was glaring at me, reminding me of the consequences of procrastination. 

Our cars can only hold so much gas. And when that gas is gone, they have to be refueled. Likewise, our decision making power also has limits. After being the primary decision maker all day, we are weary and decisions tend to not be as clear when evening comes.  

You can get better gas milage with a little something called: routine.

Routine = less decision making = more power for the important things in life. 

5. Helps alleviate anxiety

Every time you make a decision, you add a little stress into your life. When you have routines and rhythms set up in your day, you have fewer decisions to make. 

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that routine and daily habits reduce anxiety because they are calming and repetitive. You know what to expect. And with so many unknowns around us, routine can help calm down our own world.

6. Allows you to carve out space for passions outside of your family

The instructions for one of our favorite banana bread recipes says to form a hole in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it before mixing. I oftentimes skip this step and just add and mix all the ingredients at the same time.

But I always notice when I do. The batter seems to be more dense and chewy. It's not quite as light and fluffy as it is when I follow the instructions. 

Similarly, when we don't make time for hobbies in our own life they get lost in the "dry", mundane, every day tasks that we need to get done.

But when you have a daily routine, you can carve a little crater of time to pour your passions and talents into.

7. You’ll get better at tasks you put into your routine

Practice makes perfect. And every time you do something in a routine, you’re practicing it. Want to get good at studying the Bible? Make that a part of your daily routine. Want to be a better cook? Make time for that, too.

8. Gives you more confidence

The more you do something, the better you get at it. And the better you get at it, the more confidence you have. 

Having routine gives you that boost to know you can accomplish a task and you can make good choices. 

9. Routines promote other healthy habits

A few months ago I decided to take a break from writing on this blog. Before the break, writing happened before the kids woke up and during their nap time. At first the break was nice, and needed. But then I noticed other good habits started to slip away, too. 

When one routine was put to the side, others seemed to get lost, as well. 

I began to wake up later, I started watching more YouTube during nap time, and I ate more sugar. 

The opposite is true, as well. One good routine put into place promotes better, healthier habits in other areas, too.

10. When things get tough, you’ll be ready with good habits

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: life is going to get tough. 

Maybe you're in the tough right now. But if not, know that it's coming. 

I once heard Jen Wilkin say (and this is a paraphrase):

"What we practice in times of ease, we rehearse in times of hardship."  - Jen Wilkin

Wow. When things are good, what do you and I tend to gravitate towards? And will those habits be beneficial and good when things get hard? 

That’s the trick. Because I know for me when things are good, I feel like eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's and watching Endeavour with my husband late into the night. 

But when things are not going as well, and life is hard, that binge eating + watching will drive me deeper into unhealthy thinking patterns. 

So practice what is good now, so you'll be ready when life gets hard. 

One step at a time. One routine at a time.

It doesn't take much to get started. Just one routine or habit at a time. But living life within a rhythm and routine might be one of the most freeing things you can do. 

I'm rooting for you.