Returning to work can be a challenging transition without routines to help. In today’s episode of the Routine and Things Podcast you’ll learn about 3 specific routines that can help with getting back into the swing of things at work. Feeling stressed about the return? Tune into today’s episode.
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Ashley Brown 0:00
Routines, my absolute favorite word, but you either love them or you're working on getting there. And either way, I strongly believe routines can be a springboard for improving your home, yourself and your life. I'm Ashley Brown, and this is the routine and things podcast. In each episode, I'll share practical tips and simple ways for you to consistently live your happiest life, one routine at a time. Trust me, you're going to want to keep listening, because you're well on your way to getting and staying happy.
Ashley Brown 0:50
At routine and things we believe routines should inbox you in, but instead set you free. Say goodbye to boring and restrictive routines, and Hey girl Hey, to fun and flexible routines that meet you where you are, and sprinkle joy into your everyday. Best of all, we have the products and resources to help you make this happen. Each product is uniquely designed to seamlessly fit into your life and make you smile. And because they're routine specific, you are much more likely to have success with a routine you start to grab your very own into routineandthings.com today.
Ashley Brown 1:26
Hey, and welcome back for another episode, our variety. So let's go ahead and just hop into today's episode. Because this was a question I got, I was asked to do a podcast episode on this specific topic return to work routines, which I thought was really helpful to just hear. Because, one, I know how much the transition back to work can be because I've done it multiple times in my life, where you're out of work. And then the next thing you know you're back to work, or just with the pandemic, a lot of us have been working from home. And when you return back to work is a whole new ballgame its another routine that you have to try to transition into. But it is doable, and you can make that transition much more smoother. So that's what I'm gonna be sharing with you today, I'm going to be sharing with you from personal experience of how I actually prep to return to work, because I have been at work a little bit more now. And so I'm going to share with you what I did to prep and what I usually do to prep for work in general.
Ashley Brown 2:36
So before we get into the practical tips, and suggestions, what I want to share with you is about a really awesome program that I have an opportunity to be a part of that I feel like you would thoroughly enjoy. And it is from the business learning motherhood. Kimberly is the owner and founder of learning motherhood. And they have a program called return to work series. And I am their routine expert, I talk to the women in this program in this series about routines and how to create routines for back to work. And they have a lot of other experts that talk about you know, leave and talk about systems and all of that which could be really, really helpful for you if you are returning back to work specifically if you're a mom, and you're going back to work from maternity leave. So go check out learning motherhood, I'm going to link them in the show notes so that you can check them out because I'm telling you, it's an amazing, amazing program. But I do want to share this is for you.
Ashley Brown 3:38
If you are about to return to work, whether that's because you're transitioning to going back in person because you've been working from home. And since they're up lifting some of the COVID regulations, you're returning back, face to face. Or maybe you're on maternity leave or heading back to work soon. Or maybe you're reentering the workforce because you've been at home for a while maybe you're a stay at home mom and you're re entering the workforce or maybe maybe a certain condition or circumstance in your life had you out of work and now you're going back so whatever reason that you are going back to work know that this episode is for you. And I also want to recognize it can feel hard to return to work after being away for a while, like am I the only one that's like huh? Or it just brings up or it can I'm not gonna say it does but it can bring up anxiety or even frustration at times depending on your circumstance.
Ashley Brown 4:38
I found that by preparing myself knowing what I need to make the transition smoother, eases a bit of that anxiety and stress for me. But it can be hard I know if you are going back to work from maternity leave, especially if you haven't even if you've been out for a while. It can feel super hard. My heart is with you. I remember feeling this way having my oldest daughter and had to go back to work. And for the life of me, I was like this freaking sucks. So I'm here with you, girl, I'm here with you, Mama. I know how it feels to not want to go back to work. But I'm here to share with you there are ways to make it a little bit more smoother. And if you want to change your life is always options. So that's, that's something for you to chew on as well. Okay, so let's talk about return to work routines.
Ashley Brown 5:39
I'm going to share with you three types of routines I feel like can be super helpful for you when you're returning to work. And these are our routines that are going to help you be proactive, with your time proactive with your energy. So the first meal plan slash prep routine, okay, I mean, meals will stress you out, not knowing that indecision will give you so much anxiety. This helps me for sure, this is definitely a routine that I do. I'm meal plan every week. There's no week that I don't meal plan unless I'm on vacation. Meal Plan. Every week, I have an outline of what I'm cooking, I have options of what I'm going to cook. And then many times I will also prep my meals for the week, especially dinner, because many times I use my dinner as much for the week. And even sometimes, my girls are about to go to school. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it. The girls are about to go to school. And so if I can use dinner for their lunch, I'll do that. But more than likely I'll be meal prepping their lunches as well. But this can save you so much time so much energy.
Ashley Brown 6:52
You're not sitting with that indecision you are you know what you're doing, you know what you're making to eat, and that eases so much off of your plate, especially your mental load. So a meal planning meal prep routine, so awesome. And definitely check out our meal plan and notepad at routine and things calm It is a beautiful notepad and it's one of our bestsellers. So check that out. I'll link it below in the show notes. And then the next routine that can be really helpful when returning to work is a nightly prep routine. This one hands down is definitely a game changer. So how do you need to prep at night in order to get ready for your day? All right, do you need to pack bags and get out clothes the night before you know iron them so that they're not wrinkle and you're like last minute ironing your clothes? Or you know maybe you need to check your alarm to make sure it's on I know that is my nighttime prep routine I always pack bags.
Ashley Brown 7:51
So whether that's lunches, my work bag, the girls bags, get out clothes and then also check my alarm to make sure I set because Ain't nobody got time to be waking up late and then be feeling discombobulated. That is not cute. So so check your alarm. What do you need to do in your nighttime prep routine? Right? How do you need to prepare for work? Being proactive is everything for your life. I promise you waking up in the morning and trying to pack bags trying to get lunches together and when you could prep the night before? Do a prep the night before you're going to feel a lot better in life. And then the last routine I want to share with you in terms of Return to Work is some sort of planning routine. Y'all know I'm a huge advocate for planning. I think that it is honestly my peacekeeper is the way that I keep things in order around my home and my personal life. And so what type of planning routine Can you put in place if you don't have one already, you could do weekly planning.
Ashley Brown 8:59
You could do nighttime daily nighttime planning. So in your nightly prep routine could be that you plan for the next day. Or maybe doing your children's planning, right plan for your kids. So if you have someone that comes to the home to care for your kids, are you planning their week, you know, giving your sitter, something to think about your caregiver, something to think about when it comes to your children what they're doing with their day. Or if your children have a lot of extracurricular activities are you planning for their week so that you know how their week looks and so that you can plan accordingly for your week as well and y'all can merge it in a really beautiful way. Maybe you plan your cleaning, right, making sure that you're keeping that up. And whatever way you need to plan you know this is a really great return to work routine because it helps you to feel so much more prepared at ease helps Feel like you know what I got my stuff in order I know what's happening, I know what's going on. So I don't have to feel frazzled, I don't have to feel anxious, because I know how I'm going to get things done this week. Even if I don't get everything done, at least I have a plan that I can go back to if I get off track. So that's a really beautiful one to think about as well when returning to work. And this can also be super helpful to plan your work days, like,
Ashley Brown 10:27
if you have a job or a career where you have much responsibility. As far as it's a lot of meetings, a lot of projects that you need to keep track of even planning for your work week could be a huge stress reliever for you. And so that's why I'm saying this planning routine is so important. Some type of planning routine, if not multiple, it can be super helpful for you. Okay, so those are the three return to work routines for you to think about to digest, okay, because I'm telling you, this is going to relieve so much stress and anxiety when you prep, for returning to work. Don't let it overwhelm you. Just prep and plan. You know, think about one of these and don't you know, try not to start all of these at one time. I'm not gonna say try not to don't start all of these at once. Pick one of these routines, get that one up under your belt and then move to the next one. Okay, I would probably say start with the nightly prep routine. If I had to choose one, maybe even the planning.
Ashley Brown 11:36
And then you know, ease into another one at a certain point is no need to rush because you want to get into a rhythm because once you get one routine down is a real huge motivator for you to do another routine. To wrap things of your routine wisdom for today is a smoother return to work starts with the routine to help. a smoother return to work starts with a routine to help. And so making sure that you are thinking about this as you're returning back to work. So thank you for joining me today. Please rate and review this show. Let me know what you're loving about this show. I love to hear this because it helps me to stay on track with bringing you really great information that is applicable to your life. So let me know what you love about the show. Review. It means so much to me. And until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, girl, whatever you're doing, stay happy and I will talk to you next week.
Ashley Brown 12:32
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.
Routines, my absolute favorite word, but you either love them or you're working on getting there. And either way, I strongly believe routines can be a springboard for improving your home, yourself and your life. I'm Ashley Brown, and this is the routine and things podcast. In each episode, I'll share practical tips and simple ways for you to consistently live your happiest life, one routine at a time. Trust me, you're going to want to keep listening, because you're well on your way to getting and staying happy.
Ashley Brown 0:50
At routine and things we believe routines should inbox you in, but instead set you free. Say goodbye to boring and restrictive routines, and Hey girl Hey, to fun and flexible routines that meet you where you are, and sprinkle joy into your everyday. Best of all, we have the products and resources to help you make this happen. Each product is uniquely designed to seamlessly fit into your life and make you smile. And because they're routine specific, you are much more likely to have success with a routine you start to grab your very own into routineandthings.com today.
Ashley Brown 1:26
Hey, and welcome back for another episode, our variety. So let's go ahead and just hop into today's episode. Because this was a question I got, I was asked to do a podcast episode on this specific topic return to work routines, which I thought was really helpful to just hear. Because, one, I know how much the transition back to work can be because I've done it multiple times in my life, where you're out of work. And then the next thing you know you're back to work, or just with the pandemic, a lot of us have been working from home. And when you return back to work is a whole new ballgame its another routine that you have to try to transition into. But it is doable, and you can make that transition much more smoother. So that's what I'm gonna be sharing with you today, I'm going to be sharing with you from personal experience of how I actually prep to return to work, because I have been at work a little bit more now. And so I'm going to share with you what I did to prep and what I usually do to prep for work in general.
Ashley Brown 2:36
So before we get into the practical tips, and suggestions, what I want to share with you is about a really awesome program that I have an opportunity to be a part of that I feel like you would thoroughly enjoy. And it is from the business learning motherhood. Kimberly is the owner and founder of learning motherhood. And they have a program called return to work series. And I am their routine expert, I talk to the women in this program in this series about routines and how to create routines for back to work. And they have a lot of other experts that talk about you know, leave and talk about systems and all of that which could be really, really helpful for you if you are returning back to work specifically if you're a mom, and you're going back to work from maternity leave. So go check out learning motherhood, I'm going to link them in the show notes so that you can check them out because I'm telling you, it's an amazing, amazing program. But I do want to share this is for you.
Ashley Brown 3:38
If you are about to return to work, whether that's because you're transitioning to going back in person because you've been working from home. And since they're up lifting some of the COVID regulations, you're returning back, face to face. Or maybe you're on maternity leave or heading back to work soon. Or maybe you're reentering the workforce because you've been at home for a while maybe you're a stay at home mom and you're re entering the workforce or maybe maybe a certain condition or circumstance in your life had you out of work and now you're going back so whatever reason that you are going back to work know that this episode is for you. And I also want to recognize it can feel hard to return to work after being away for a while, like am I the only one that's like huh? Or it just brings up or it can I'm not gonna say it does but it can bring up anxiety or even frustration at times depending on your circumstance.
Ashley Brown 4:38
I found that by preparing myself knowing what I need to make the transition smoother, eases a bit of that anxiety and stress for me. But it can be hard I know if you are going back to work from maternity leave, especially if you haven't even if you've been out for a while. It can feel super hard. My heart is with you. I remember feeling this way having my oldest daughter and had to go back to work. And for the life of me, I was like this freaking sucks. So I'm here with you, girl, I'm here with you, Mama. I know how it feels to not want to go back to work. But I'm here to share with you there are ways to make it a little bit more smoother. And if you want to change your life is always options. So that's, that's something for you to chew on as well. Okay, so let's talk about return to work routines.
Ashley Brown 5:39
I'm going to share with you three types of routines I feel like can be super helpful for you when you're returning to work. And these are our routines that are going to help you be proactive, with your time proactive with your energy. So the first meal plan slash prep routine, okay, I mean, meals will stress you out, not knowing that indecision will give you so much anxiety. This helps me for sure, this is definitely a routine that I do. I'm meal plan every week. There's no week that I don't meal plan unless I'm on vacation. Meal Plan. Every week, I have an outline of what I'm cooking, I have options of what I'm going to cook. And then many times I will also prep my meals for the week, especially dinner, because many times I use my dinner as much for the week. And even sometimes, my girls are about to go to school. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it. The girls are about to go to school. And so if I can use dinner for their lunch, I'll do that. But more than likely I'll be meal prepping their lunches as well. But this can save you so much time so much energy.
Ashley Brown 6:52
You're not sitting with that indecision you are you know what you're doing, you know what you're making to eat, and that eases so much off of your plate, especially your mental load. So a meal planning meal prep routine, so awesome. And definitely check out our meal plan and notepad at routine and things calm It is a beautiful notepad and it's one of our bestsellers. So check that out. I'll link it below in the show notes. And then the next routine that can be really helpful when returning to work is a nightly prep routine. This one hands down is definitely a game changer. So how do you need to prep at night in order to get ready for your day? All right, do you need to pack bags and get out clothes the night before you know iron them so that they're not wrinkle and you're like last minute ironing your clothes? Or you know maybe you need to check your alarm to make sure it's on I know that is my nighttime prep routine I always pack bags.
Ashley Brown 7:51
So whether that's lunches, my work bag, the girls bags, get out clothes and then also check my alarm to make sure I set because Ain't nobody got time to be waking up late and then be feeling discombobulated. That is not cute. So so check your alarm. What do you need to do in your nighttime prep routine? Right? How do you need to prepare for work? Being proactive is everything for your life. I promise you waking up in the morning and trying to pack bags trying to get lunches together and when you could prep the night before? Do a prep the night before you're going to feel a lot better in life. And then the last routine I want to share with you in terms of Return to Work is some sort of planning routine. Y'all know I'm a huge advocate for planning. I think that it is honestly my peacekeeper is the way that I keep things in order around my home and my personal life. And so what type of planning routine Can you put in place if you don't have one already, you could do weekly planning.
Ashley Brown 8:59
You could do nighttime daily nighttime planning. So in your nightly prep routine could be that you plan for the next day. Or maybe doing your children's planning, right plan for your kids. So if you have someone that comes to the home to care for your kids, are you planning their week, you know, giving your sitter, something to think about your caregiver, something to think about when it comes to your children what they're doing with their day. Or if your children have a lot of extracurricular activities are you planning for their week so that you know how their week looks and so that you can plan accordingly for your week as well and y'all can merge it in a really beautiful way. Maybe you plan your cleaning, right, making sure that you're keeping that up. And whatever way you need to plan you know this is a really great return to work routine because it helps you to feel so much more prepared at ease helps Feel like you know what I got my stuff in order I know what's happening, I know what's going on. So I don't have to feel frazzled, I don't have to feel anxious, because I know how I'm going to get things done this week. Even if I don't get everything done, at least I have a plan that I can go back to if I get off track. So that's a really beautiful one to think about as well when returning to work. And this can also be super helpful to plan your work days, like,
Ashley Brown 10:27
if you have a job or a career where you have much responsibility. As far as it's a lot of meetings, a lot of projects that you need to keep track of even planning for your work week could be a huge stress reliever for you. And so that's why I'm saying this planning routine is so important. Some type of planning routine, if not multiple, it can be super helpful for you. Okay, so those are the three return to work routines for you to think about to digest, okay, because I'm telling you, this is going to relieve so much stress and anxiety when you prep, for returning to work. Don't let it overwhelm you. Just prep and plan. You know, think about one of these and don't you know, try not to start all of these at one time. I'm not gonna say try not to don't start all of these at once. Pick one of these routines, get that one up under your belt and then move to the next one. Okay, I would probably say start with the nightly prep routine. If I had to choose one, maybe even the planning.
Ashley Brown 11:36
And then you know, ease into another one at a certain point is no need to rush because you want to get into a rhythm because once you get one routine down is a real huge motivator for you to do another routine. To wrap things of your routine wisdom for today is a smoother return to work starts with the routine to help. a smoother return to work starts with a routine to help. And so making sure that you are thinking about this as you're returning back to work. So thank you for joining me today. Please rate and review this show. Let me know what you're loving about this show. I love to hear this because it helps me to stay on track with bringing you really great information that is applicable to your life. So let me know what you love about the show. Review. It means so much to me. And until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, girl, whatever you're doing, stay happy and I will talk to you next week.
Ashley Brown 12:32
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.