Building a routine takes time and there are actual steps to take to get from thinking about starting a routine to actually doing the routine. In this episode of the Routine and Things Podcast, I’m sharing the 3 separate phases helpful for you to go through when building any routine. These phases will seamlessly help you have success with the routine you start. Pull out your pen and paper and tune in!
Take The Free Assessment>>>Which Routine Do You Need Most Right Now!
Take The Free Assessment>>>Which Routine Do You Need Most Right Now!
Word For Word
Ashley Brown 0:00
[Intro] Building a routine takes time and there are actual steps to take to get from thinking about starting a routine to actually doing the routine. In this episode of the Routine and Things podcast, I'm sharing the three unique phases helpful for you to go through when building any routine. These phases will seamlessly help you have success with a routine, you start, pull out your pen and paper and tune in.
Ashley Brown 0:41
Hey, girl, and welcome back. So as you know, today, we are talking about the three phases of routine building. It's so funny, because I actually have not talked about these three phases on the podcast before and I thought that it would be very, very beneficial to talk about them today. Because this month's theme is consistency. And a great way for you to remain consistent and maintain your routine is by knowing which phase you are in and by actually going through the three phases when you are routine building. So I think that is really important to share this with you today. And I want to share that many times we will find ourselves naturally in routine, not even knowing how we got there. But there are those instances where we need to create a routine because either we had a very huge life transition or we just feel like we need a little bit more order and more structure in our home or in our lives. We need more time for us. And so we're like, Okay, let me start this routine.
Ashley Brown 1:41
In order to start any routine, there is a process that you will go through, or that is helpful for you to go through so that you can have success with the routine you start. There are three separate phases. And before we get into the three phases, I want you to understand that I didn't know these phases existed when I was first building my routines, I did not have a clue. I was just like, Okay, I need some order. Life is super crazy. I'm feeling like I'm gonna strangle somebody up in this house. And it wasn't gonna be my baby girl. So, I needed a routine, I needed some routines in my life. So I just started to create them just willy nilly. I didn't know these phases were happening while I was going through and building my routines. But slowly but surely, I started to realize every time I went back to start a new routine, I would go throughout like three separate phases. And those phases are assessment, creation, and maintenance. And those are the three phases to assess, create, maintain. So when you are routine building, when you are thinking about you want to have a routine, have you been going through all those phases, if not is perfectly fine, you may have been going throughout them naturally. But you want to know that these are the phases that you will be going through because it's really going to help you when it comes to staying consistent with the routine you start.
Ashley Brown 3:15
So let's go ahead and dig into each of these phases. And I'll talk just slightly about what each phase entails. So the first phase is assessment. And this is where you're going to start when you are wanting to adopt any type of routine. When you're wanting to get a new routine going, the first stop is assessment. You need to assess your routine, your current routine, think about which routine you are wanting to start. And if you know for sure that you want to start a specific routine, assess what you are doing currently, when it comes to that area of your life. Don't just go and just jump into the creation phase. You want to first assess, what's going on here, why does this not feel good? That is super important. If you are unsure about which routine you want to create because so many areas of your life feel super chaotic or fragmented or you feel like just everything in your life is up in shambles, then it can be really important for you to assess all of your routines. And when I say all of you have routines, you're probably like girl, how in the world am I going to assess my life? And I always speak about the five routine categories and those categories are cooking, cleaning, children's self care and planning that can be helpful for you to assess when you are wanting to create a routine because many times we think we know for sure which routine is going to really benefit us. But we don't know know. We aren't 100% Sure. Or we're actually clueless and we're like I can start anywhere. But which routine is actually going to be better for you to start? Because if you start a routine that, okay, yeah, you need a little bit of work in that area, but then you neglect to start a different routine that actually could have dramatically shifted your life, then what's going to end up happening is that thing that is super frustrating to you that is causing you anxiety on a frequent basis is going to keep coming into play, because you didn't start a routine to help you in that area. So it's really important that you assess your routines.
Ashley Brown 5:29
Like I said, five routine categories, if they are applicable to your life can be important for you to assess. And at routineandthings.com, I have a free routine assessment that you can take that walks you through all five of these routine categories. I actually walk you through assessing each of these five to see which ones stand out, which ones are red flags, and then you can choose which one you want to start from there. So that is the first step is to assess which routine is important for your life right now. Or if you are 100% sure, on the routine you want to start, you still need to assess that area of your life so that you can see what's working and what's not. And you can make adjustments as needed. So that's the first phase assessment.
Ashley Brown 6:15
The second phase of routine building is creation. This is when you create the routine. This is basically when you decide which steps you are going to take to meet a certain goal or a certain outcome you want to have, what are the steps that you are putting into place. And these steps are going to be done over and over again, because this routine is going to be done over and over again. So it's important for you to take your time with the creation phase, it's so important for you to take your time with the creation phase, because this is the phase where if something is off, then you're going to constantly be coming back to tweak it. And I'm here to share with you that trial and error is okay when it comes to routine building. But if you are constantly like coming back every few days, and like tweaking something, that means you didn't take your time when you are creating it. And this is really important. So the creation phase is so vital. And I speak about some considerations that can be really helpful for you to consider when you are creating your routine, that can make it more enjoyable and just more effective in Episode 002 is "How to Make your Routines Work and Feel Good". So you can definitely go back to that episode. And check out the considerations there when you are in the creation phase. Because how you create your routine has a lot to do with you being able to maintain your routine. So it's really important that you take your time when it comes to creation. And when it comes to this phase. Okay.
Ashley Brown 7:39
And then last but not least is the maintenance phase. This is where you have started to implement the steps and actions of your routine. So the maintenance phase could be over a prolonged period of time or for a short period of time. But this is just you wanting to stick to your routine. That's the maintenance phase. And out of all of the phases, and this is the one that many of us struggle with the most even me is maintaining your routine. But if you take your time with the assessment phase with the creation phase, and these two phases will help you to make the maintenance phase a lot smoother, and will actually help you to maintain your routine. These phases are really important for you to think about, assess, create and maintain. Have you been going throughout these phases?
Ashley Brown 8:27
Here are some things that you can think about to know which phase you are in. So you'll know if you're in the assessment phase, if you're thinking about starting a routine, you are thinking about improving a certain area of your life, or you're thinking about improving certain thing in your home a certain way that you move around your life. You'll think about it in that way. You might not come out and say oh, I want to start a routine. Many times that's not what people think. They're like, Oh, I want to eat healthier. Sometimes you don't really know that it's a routine you want to start. But if you are going to think about steps that are going to help you meet the outcome you want to have then that is a routine. And that's how you know you are in the assessment phase because you are thinking about doing or improving a certain thing in your life. And you want to have steps that help you get there.
Ashley Brown 9:12
So if you are wanting to start planning more than a planning routine, right, you might be thinking about that if you are wanting to save more money than maybe you can think about a financial routine. If you're wanting to eat healthier, think about a routine that can help you do that, like meal planning. So routines can help you in so many different ways. And you know you are in the assessment phase if you are thinking about improving a certain thing in your life, or you are thinking about starting an actual routine. And you have an idea what that routine is. So that's the assessment phase. And so then you move to the creation phase when you are starting to think about the steps that you want to take in order to reach or maintain a certain goal. When you're starting to think about the actions you want to including every team like if you start in a morning routine, you're like okay, I want to journal. I want to read my devotional. I want to to exercise in some type of way. That means you're in the creation phase because you're starting to think about the things you want to do in that phase.
Ashley Brown 10:08
And so if you're starting to plan a routine, you may think about, okay, well, I need something to plan with Routine and Things, notepads are bomb just throwing it out there. I need something to plan with. Or you're like, you know, what day am I going to plan? If you're thinking about saving more money than you may think about? Okay, well, I want to make sure that every week I actually sit down and pull up my computer and check my all of my accounts, to see where can we save more money, right? That's a routine and those actions you can do in that routine. So you're in the creation phase, if you're thinking about the things you want to do, the steps that you want to take in order to have a certain outcome.
Ashley Brown 10:48
And then you move into the maintenance phase, when you have actually started to implement the steps and actions of your routine, you have gotten the steps going, you are doing the actions. That's the maintenance phase. So which one are you in? I'm telling you do not skip any phase. Each phase plays an integral part in helping you to maintain your routine. So this is really important. So that's it. Those are the three phases of routine building. Which one are you in? Are you starting at the top with assessment? If so, like I said, I have a free written assessment at routineandthings.com that you can definitely take and they'll give you some direction as to you know which area to work on in your life.
Ashley Brown 11:27
Let's go ahead and wrap up this episode with some routine wisdom. And that is when building any routine, you will always assess, create, maintain. When building any routine, you will always assess create, maintain, assess, create, maintain, assess, create, maintain. Those are the three phases of routine building. Try not to skip any of these steps. That's it for this episode. I hope that you enjoyed it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast also leave a rating and review today. If you have a little bit of time. If you're listening on iTunes, rate and review the show it really really helps to support it. Well that's it for today. I hope that you continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, girl, and I will talk to you next time.
Ashley Brown 12:13
[Outro] Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on social, I would love to know you're listening. And for tools to help you start, maintain, and enjoy your routines, be sure to head to routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy!
[Intro] Building a routine takes time and there are actual steps to take to get from thinking about starting a routine to actually doing the routine. In this episode of the Routine and Things podcast, I'm sharing the three unique phases helpful for you to go through when building any routine. These phases will seamlessly help you have success with a routine, you start, pull out your pen and paper and tune in.
Ashley Brown 0:41
Hey, girl, and welcome back. So as you know, today, we are talking about the three phases of routine building. It's so funny, because I actually have not talked about these three phases on the podcast before and I thought that it would be very, very beneficial to talk about them today. Because this month's theme is consistency. And a great way for you to remain consistent and maintain your routine is by knowing which phase you are in and by actually going through the three phases when you are routine building. So I think that is really important to share this with you today. And I want to share that many times we will find ourselves naturally in routine, not even knowing how we got there. But there are those instances where we need to create a routine because either we had a very huge life transition or we just feel like we need a little bit more order and more structure in our home or in our lives. We need more time for us. And so we're like, Okay, let me start this routine.
Ashley Brown 1:41
In order to start any routine, there is a process that you will go through, or that is helpful for you to go through so that you can have success with the routine you start. There are three separate phases. And before we get into the three phases, I want you to understand that I didn't know these phases existed when I was first building my routines, I did not have a clue. I was just like, Okay, I need some order. Life is super crazy. I'm feeling like I'm gonna strangle somebody up in this house. And it wasn't gonna be my baby girl. So, I needed a routine, I needed some routines in my life. So I just started to create them just willy nilly. I didn't know these phases were happening while I was going through and building my routines. But slowly but surely, I started to realize every time I went back to start a new routine, I would go throughout like three separate phases. And those phases are assessment, creation, and maintenance. And those are the three phases to assess, create, maintain. So when you are routine building, when you are thinking about you want to have a routine, have you been going through all those phases, if not is perfectly fine, you may have been going throughout them naturally. But you want to know that these are the phases that you will be going through because it's really going to help you when it comes to staying consistent with the routine you start.
Ashley Brown 3:15
So let's go ahead and dig into each of these phases. And I'll talk just slightly about what each phase entails. So the first phase is assessment. And this is where you're going to start when you are wanting to adopt any type of routine. When you're wanting to get a new routine going, the first stop is assessment. You need to assess your routine, your current routine, think about which routine you are wanting to start. And if you know for sure that you want to start a specific routine, assess what you are doing currently, when it comes to that area of your life. Don't just go and just jump into the creation phase. You want to first assess, what's going on here, why does this not feel good? That is super important. If you are unsure about which routine you want to create because so many areas of your life feel super chaotic or fragmented or you feel like just everything in your life is up in shambles, then it can be really important for you to assess all of your routines. And when I say all of you have routines, you're probably like girl, how in the world am I going to assess my life? And I always speak about the five routine categories and those categories are cooking, cleaning, children's self care and planning that can be helpful for you to assess when you are wanting to create a routine because many times we think we know for sure which routine is going to really benefit us. But we don't know know. We aren't 100% Sure. Or we're actually clueless and we're like I can start anywhere. But which routine is actually going to be better for you to start? Because if you start a routine that, okay, yeah, you need a little bit of work in that area, but then you neglect to start a different routine that actually could have dramatically shifted your life, then what's going to end up happening is that thing that is super frustrating to you that is causing you anxiety on a frequent basis is going to keep coming into play, because you didn't start a routine to help you in that area. So it's really important that you assess your routines.
Ashley Brown 5:29
Like I said, five routine categories, if they are applicable to your life can be important for you to assess. And at routineandthings.com, I have a free routine assessment that you can take that walks you through all five of these routine categories. I actually walk you through assessing each of these five to see which ones stand out, which ones are red flags, and then you can choose which one you want to start from there. So that is the first step is to assess which routine is important for your life right now. Or if you are 100% sure, on the routine you want to start, you still need to assess that area of your life so that you can see what's working and what's not. And you can make adjustments as needed. So that's the first phase assessment.
Ashley Brown 6:15
The second phase of routine building is creation. This is when you create the routine. This is basically when you decide which steps you are going to take to meet a certain goal or a certain outcome you want to have, what are the steps that you are putting into place. And these steps are going to be done over and over again, because this routine is going to be done over and over again. So it's important for you to take your time with the creation phase, it's so important for you to take your time with the creation phase, because this is the phase where if something is off, then you're going to constantly be coming back to tweak it. And I'm here to share with you that trial and error is okay when it comes to routine building. But if you are constantly like coming back every few days, and like tweaking something, that means you didn't take your time when you are creating it. And this is really important. So the creation phase is so vital. And I speak about some considerations that can be really helpful for you to consider when you are creating your routine, that can make it more enjoyable and just more effective in Episode 002 is "How to Make your Routines Work and Feel Good". So you can definitely go back to that episode. And check out the considerations there when you are in the creation phase. Because how you create your routine has a lot to do with you being able to maintain your routine. So it's really important that you take your time when it comes to creation. And when it comes to this phase. Okay.
Ashley Brown 7:39
And then last but not least is the maintenance phase. This is where you have started to implement the steps and actions of your routine. So the maintenance phase could be over a prolonged period of time or for a short period of time. But this is just you wanting to stick to your routine. That's the maintenance phase. And out of all of the phases, and this is the one that many of us struggle with the most even me is maintaining your routine. But if you take your time with the assessment phase with the creation phase, and these two phases will help you to make the maintenance phase a lot smoother, and will actually help you to maintain your routine. These phases are really important for you to think about, assess, create and maintain. Have you been going throughout these phases?
Ashley Brown 8:27
Here are some things that you can think about to know which phase you are in. So you'll know if you're in the assessment phase, if you're thinking about starting a routine, you are thinking about improving a certain area of your life, or you're thinking about improving certain thing in your home a certain way that you move around your life. You'll think about it in that way. You might not come out and say oh, I want to start a routine. Many times that's not what people think. They're like, Oh, I want to eat healthier. Sometimes you don't really know that it's a routine you want to start. But if you are going to think about steps that are going to help you meet the outcome you want to have then that is a routine. And that's how you know you are in the assessment phase because you are thinking about doing or improving a certain thing in your life. And you want to have steps that help you get there.
Ashley Brown 9:12
So if you are wanting to start planning more than a planning routine, right, you might be thinking about that if you are wanting to save more money than maybe you can think about a financial routine. If you're wanting to eat healthier, think about a routine that can help you do that, like meal planning. So routines can help you in so many different ways. And you know you are in the assessment phase if you are thinking about improving a certain thing in your life, or you are thinking about starting an actual routine. And you have an idea what that routine is. So that's the assessment phase. And so then you move to the creation phase when you are starting to think about the steps that you want to take in order to reach or maintain a certain goal. When you're starting to think about the actions you want to including every team like if you start in a morning routine, you're like okay, I want to journal. I want to read my devotional. I want to to exercise in some type of way. That means you're in the creation phase because you're starting to think about the things you want to do in that phase.
Ashley Brown 10:08
And so if you're starting to plan a routine, you may think about, okay, well, I need something to plan with Routine and Things, notepads are bomb just throwing it out there. I need something to plan with. Or you're like, you know, what day am I going to plan? If you're thinking about saving more money than you may think about? Okay, well, I want to make sure that every week I actually sit down and pull up my computer and check my all of my accounts, to see where can we save more money, right? That's a routine and those actions you can do in that routine. So you're in the creation phase, if you're thinking about the things you want to do, the steps that you want to take in order to have a certain outcome.
Ashley Brown 10:48
And then you move into the maintenance phase, when you have actually started to implement the steps and actions of your routine, you have gotten the steps going, you are doing the actions. That's the maintenance phase. So which one are you in? I'm telling you do not skip any phase. Each phase plays an integral part in helping you to maintain your routine. So this is really important. So that's it. Those are the three phases of routine building. Which one are you in? Are you starting at the top with assessment? If so, like I said, I have a free written assessment at routineandthings.com that you can definitely take and they'll give you some direction as to you know which area to work on in your life.
Ashley Brown 11:27
Let's go ahead and wrap up this episode with some routine wisdom. And that is when building any routine, you will always assess, create, maintain. When building any routine, you will always assess create, maintain, assess, create, maintain, assess, create, maintain. Those are the three phases of routine building. Try not to skip any of these steps. That's it for this episode. I hope that you enjoyed it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast also leave a rating and review today. If you have a little bit of time. If you're listening on iTunes, rate and review the show it really really helps to support it. Well that's it for today. I hope that you continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, girl, and I will talk to you next time.
Ashley Brown 12:13
[Outro] Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on social, I would love to know you're listening. And for tools to help you start, maintain, and enjoy your routines, be sure to head to routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy!