How to Create a Weekly Routine That Actually Doable

With all of the upheaval 2020 has brought, I know I’ve felt off balance from time to time. As someone who really enjoys routine, it’s been strange to have more free time than usual — no commuting to work, no volleyball practice, and limited social & church gatherings means a lot of time at home. I realize not everyone has had this experience, and I’m grateful to be safe at home. 

Still, creating a weekly routine has been helpful in getting my bearings for this season and useful as I continue with (modified) goals for this year. I’ve heard this narrative that 2020 is just a wash and we should start over in 2021 — I have to disagree. While 2020 has certainly been different, I think it’s possible to do a quick assessment of where we’re at, figure out our current priorities and work toward a (new) goal. Maybe the goal is different than you wanted it to be — maybe it’s related to rest or your relationship with God or therapy — anything! 

If that sounds interesting to you, here’s how I created my routine for the next few months. Note: I am thinking assessing every 2-3 months makes sense given the unpredictability of this year. Do what works for you.

Write it all down

This is the time to write down everything that’s going on at the moment — your work hours, your time to look for a job, self-care/morning routine, movement/cooking, time for eating & basic hygiene, downtime, a special project or side hustle, family time, and anything else that matters to you. Try to approximate how many hours per week you are spending/would spend doing these activities. 

In my case, I only did this for 6 days per week since Josh and I are working to observe a day of Sabbath, in which case no work is scheduled and we engage in joyful activities, worship, fellowship, etc. That means I have 144 hours to work with.

Example:

• Full time job ~40-45 hours/week (less because of no commuting)
• Private Practice & Gratefully Nourished ~5-8 hours/week (includes seeing clients/charting, newsletters, blogs and instagram)
• Personal time ~15 hours/week (time with God, movement, walks, prayer, watercoloring, tv)
• Social time ~6 hours/week
• Josh ~6 hours/week (we try to have 30 mins to an hour of meaningful conversation each day – it doesn’t always happen)
• Sleep/hygiene ~10 hours/day X 6 days = 60 hours/week

=140 hours/week (4 left)

Of course, all of this is an approximation, but it is neat to see it all laid out. This is also an opportunity to decide if the activities you’re engaged in are helping you live a fulfilling/meaningful life to YOU. We can’t always decide how every hour is spent (hi, responsibilities!) but we can work with what we’ve got leftover.

Establish fixed points

Your fixed points are going to help you set boundaries for your day. Think wake and sleep time, meal times (to an extent), or occurrences you know happen at about the same time each day. If getting 8 hours of sleep each night is a priority to you, you’ll have to establish your wake and sleep times as fixated and make adjustments to your other tasks to make that work. I want to be clear — give yourself grace when creating these “fixed” points. I find I need fixed points so I have some idea of what my day will look like but it’s no longer helpful when they become so rigid that I feel guilt and shame if I can’t adhere to them.

Example: 

I typically wake up between 6:15-6:45 am, go to sleep around 9:30-10:30pm, and typically work at my full-time job from 9-5pm. I use those times as the basis of my schedule and build things around there, like reading, movement, quiet time, etc.

Ebb and flow

Use your new fixed points and weekly happenings to create your daily ebb and flow. This is essentially building in the rest of your activities that aren’t always happening at the exact time each day. It’s often helpful to put a more intense activity such as movement or work close to a more relaxing task like eating or downtime so you’re not constantly overexerting yourself. I don’t really plan this out except for early morning, which is almost always scheduled as personal time.

Example:

7-9am is my personal time to do what I want. This could look like a workout, a walk, reading, watercoloring, etc. I don’t really plan out my evenings hour by hour because that’s just too much work for this season.

Adjust your routine — daily

Your routine isn’t always going to go as planned, and that’s okay! Making adjustments when necessary will be valuable for you as you work through this season despite the circumstances that are out of your control. Understand that the rhythm for the week won’t be perfect, but that doesn’t mean it’s ruined!

Establishing a weekly routine will be helpful as we navigate these uncertain times. I know it’s been really life-giving for me to see where I’m spending my time and adjust as I can. 

Rooting for you,

Alyssa