Having a routine is vital for a balanced family life
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From the commute or school run, to lunch breaks and ‘home time’ or the gym, our days are normally governed by routine.
But in lockdown, everything’s changed, and rather than relying on train timetables or school bells to keep our routine in check, we are left to our own devices. And it can be easy to let things slip.
However, routine is hugely important, not just to get tasks completed, but for our wellbeing – and that of those we live with, too.
Serial entrepreneur and mother-of-two Natasha Courtenay-Smith has launched free Zoom business classes for children aged seven to 12 called Bolt Biz Kids, and adds that we are, in many ways, busier than before, even though a lot of our activities and tasks aren’t happening.
“Most people who are working and have children at home are trying to get more done in a day than they usually would – with home-schooling, entertaining, mealtimes and looking after the home,” she says.
“It’s therefore more important than ever to be organised and add structure to the day, otherwise everything piles up and everyone ends up in tears. Children are also used to having structure to their day, in terms of times of classes and break times, and are not used to occupying themselves for hours on end without it.
“While some of our usual busy-ness has been taken away due to less socialising and travel, we are incredibly busy, due to the combination of the above.”
Louise Goss, founder of the Homeworker Magazine, adds: “A routine is often praised for being beneficial for productivity and, while that is true, right now, it’s important to think of it as a good way to lower stress levels, and keep you happier and healthier too.
“Working from home demands a bit more thought into creating a routine, because you don’t have the visual cues around the office that signal it’s time to shut down, stop work or take a break.
“Doing things such as timetabling in break times, even setting an alarm to remind you to stop work or scheduling a final ‘end of day’ meeting or chat that wraps up your working day, can be helpful.
Courtenay-Smith suggests giving your family and children a degree of certainty by sticking to a routine, such as saying between 9am and 11am we do school work, from 11am until 1pm we occupy ourselves, and at 1pm we have lunch.
“If this then repeats as a routine, family members know what to expect at what time, and everyone relaxes. Although it’s not written down, most of us operate to such routines whilst at school and work.
“Many people are saying that ‘every day is the same’ and the weekend just blends into every other day. It’s true we don’t have our usual options to travel, see friends and places at the weekend, but if the weekdays operate around a clear routine, then weekends will feel freer,” adds Courtenay-Smith.
“If you can, keeping the weekends free for family and leisure time also helps you not to be tempted to keep working, which is easily done. It helps everybody in the household to have a break and have boundaries between work life and home life.”
