Ashley Brown 0:00 [Intro]
Routines have a great return on your investment. The time you invest in getting your routines up and running will yield you tenfold in the end. In this episode of the routine and things podcast, I'm sharing the major benefits and ripple effect of incorporating routines into your life. This episode is a must listen, let's get started.
Ashley Brown 0:35
Reduce daily stress and keep overwhelm at bay using the routine and things planner, our one of a kind planner merges routines and planning to help you get organized and stay organized. You'll build and incorporate routines into your life little by little and using the signature routine block planning method you will organize your weekly tasks into four routine categories to maintain a strong foundation for your home and your life. The things that typically get lost in the day to day shuffle will now be brought to the forefront every single week, which will help you lessen stress and avoid becoming overwhelmed. To get your very own routine and things planner. Be sure to head to routineandthings.com or click the link in the show notes.
Ashley Brown 1:19
Hey girl, welcome back for another episode of the routine and things podcast. So happy you're joining me today. So before we get into today's episode, have you heard about the morning routine show? which is going on right now over on Instagram at routine and things. And so the morning routine show is a weekly show that I do where I am giving you a holistic view of routines and helping us gear up for the opening other routine and things accelerator which starts January 1. If you have not heard about the routine and things accelerator, this is a three month program to help you get your core routines up and running that is a morning and a bedtime routine and successfully incorporate these routines into your life, which means building them as well as successfully maintaining them, which is the key, right? So the morning routine show is awesome.
Ashley Brown 1:19
I am thoroughly enjoying it. And I hope that you're able to join me over on Instagram to learn about routines to gain a new perspective about routines. And join me there at routine and things on Instagram. Hopefully you will, let's go ahead and get into today's episode, which is all about routines and the ROI they give you. Let's talk about it today, girl, let's get into it. So as you know, I am a huge proponent for routines. And that is for many reasons. And I really don't think sometimes we understand the ROI that routines actually give us. I think that we see routines as ways of course, to have more organization be more proactive, helping us do things in a consistent way so that we are not having to change the way that we do things often. And a lot of us see routines as that structure, right? If you feel like you're disorganized in life, you're like, okay, maybe I need a routine, because a routine is going to add structure and stability for me in my life or for me and my family's life.
Ashley Brown 3:29
And so that's typically why we go to routines, because we're like, I need structure. And I need some more organization, which is important, right? And that's one reason why I love routines. But here's the thing routines, the ROI doesn't stop there is not just about giving you structure and stability and predictability. Routines are really helpful in many ways. And so I want to share with you the ways in which I've learned that routines really helped me in my life and help people in their lives overall. And so what I want to share with you is first and foremost routines have a ripple effect. So when you are doing a routine, you are not only doing the routine in the moment, but the effect of that routine is going to continue to ripple throughout your day. So for example, when I do my morning routine, my morning routine, yes, I'm doing it in the morning, but what it does is it sets the tone for my day.
Ashley Brown 4:37
The ways that I'm giving myself energy in the morning is carrying throughout my day. The mindset that I have when I start my morning is carrying throughout my day which is so important and so that's what I love so much about routines because routines are the gift that keeps on giving. When you do a routine, yes, it may be in the moment But you're going to get so much more out of it over time. Like you're getting a benefit from it in the moment, but you're also benefiting from it even hours and days after you've even done the routine, which is so important for you to understand. This is so important for you to understand, because every solution to you feeling disorganized isn't going to help you in that way. I always share that, for example, always sure that planning is something that will help you get organized. But sometimes planning is not gonna help you stay organized. That's not really the thing that's gonna help you stay organized is not really a gift that keeps on giving. Like when you plan you get the satisfaction, the moment you get the decrease of mental stress in the moment. But after you plan, it's not always this ripple effect that you see over time.
Ashley Brown 5:51
But routines are really different in that way, routines are going to help you decrease stress, and even invite in more energy into you depending on which ones you're doing in the moment. But then that's also going to carry throughout your day as well. And it's consistently laying the foundation. And so that's one of the things that I absolutely love about routines. Here's another point I want to make too, is routines are a consistent solution. And what I mean by this, because this is another ripple effect of routines is routines are a consistent solution to consistent problems that you're facing. Because here, here's what ends up happening when we are feeling stressed. And like especially when we're going to feeling overwhelmed. Like if you're feeling overwhelmed right now, that is an accumulation of stressors, and a accumulation of consistent stress that you consistently feel that now is driving you to be overwhelmed because the stress isn't dying down. It's not getting better. And that usually comes from the consistent stress usually is coming from a consistent problem that you're having.
Ashley Brown 6:57
Let me say that again, the consistent stress that you're feeling, I am a 99% sure that is coming from a consistent problem that you're facing. And so when it comes to routines, the reason why I say routines are really awesome is because routines provide a consistent solution to consistent problems, routines, provide a consistent solution to a consistent problem. Not everything does that not every organizational tool does that I don't know another organizational tool that can really help you in decreasing stress consistently, or can help you solve a consistent problem that you're having. Let me just give an example here, just so you can wrap your mind around this. So I remember at a certain point, not even remember like this is what happens to many of us. Like we'll keep going with certain patterns. So like unhealthy patterns. So for example, you get off of work, you come home every evening, or at least four to five times out of the week. You don't know what you're cooking before you get home.
Ashley Brown 8:06
You haven't decided you haven't thought about it is not until you step foot your home to when you start to understand, like, oh, you start to decide, like What am I cooking tonight, which drives us crazy. Am I right? It drives us insane because we start to get stressed by it. That starts to stress us, many of us when we're thinking about things on the spot and having to come up and make decisions on the spot when we've already had a long day to where the mental energy isn't there anymore, to be perfectly honest. And so that is a consistent problem that many people face is I don't know what I'm cooking until I stepped foot in my door in the evening. And when you have a family and you have children sitting here acting a hot mess because they're hungry, or you have your partner turning to you talking about what you're eating and I'm like wait, you got a brain too. And you have that happening over and over and over that is consistent stress upon stress upon stress. So what I mean by routines are consistent solution to consistent problems is routines can fix that. A routine can fix that.
Ashley Brown 9:09
You having a meal planning routine can fix that consistent problem that you're facing by not knowing what you're cooking every evening meal plan, incorporate a meal planning routine into your life and that's going to fix the problem that a lot of people face is that their mornings are not flowing in a way that is bringing them a sense of relief and ease and grounded-ness that it's more so of this real busy, busy, busy, busy and kind of this disorganization in the morning to where it's affecting you long term in your day and just long term in your life overall. And so if you're facing that consistent problem routines, a morning routine is a consistent solution to that problem. Because you are when you have a routine in place, you are consistently doing that routine, especially when you know how to consistently maintain a routine. That is a consistent solution to your consistent problem of feeling discombobulated and annoyed and frustrated in the morning like that is what I want for you to get here.
Ashley Brown 10:29
And the perspective I want for you to come into is that when it comes to you, having routines are part of your life routines give you such a great return on investment, because one they are giving you back time, they're giving you back mental space and clarity. When the last time your mind been clear? When is the last time you felt like oh, I'm not over here in my head got 50 million things going on stressed right? mental stress going on. When's the last time you felt like that? Routines, that's the return on investment that routines give you. Routines give you an opportunity to role model healthy behaviors for your family and your kids. Like, let's be real, it's annoying if your children are now older, because I'm pretty sure that's why I'm trying to get these girls down pat in my home is like it will become annoying when they're 14 15 16. It's like, Wait, why you ain't got yourself together this morning?
Ashley Brown 11:25
Well, why are you still feeling like you don't know what's going on? We have to role model that behavior in order for our kids to pick up on it, it's not enough for us to say what we're going to do like or to tell them what they're going to do or what they need to do, because they're like, Wait, you're not even doing it. So why am I? Why are you telling me to do it? Right? It's monkey see monkey do is not monkey say monkey do is monkey see monkey do. So if we want to be healthy role models for our children, especially when it comes to having supportive practices in our lives, like routines, we have to be role modeling that behavior. And that's the return on investment that you get is that once you have your routines going like you're consistently showing your children a healthy way of living, or more like a sustainable way of living, where you're not going to be as stressed in your life, your stressors are going to come. But certain things aren't going to get to you as much because you have these foundational practices a part of your life.
Ashley Brown 12:17
And so that's a huge return on investment that routines give you and this is a major one too, that I want to share is when it comes to the ROI of routines give you routines are a tool, okay? That's all they are. Routines are a tool for you to use throughout life to consistently reduce stress and prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed. Especially when it comes to being disorganized or feeling like you're not managing life. Well, routines are a tool. And so once you learn how to successfully build and maintain a routine, this is a tool that you can use throughout your life for the duration of your life. And that's a huge return on investment. Because if I'm saying to you right now routines, solve consistent problems, because they provide a consistent solution. And you learn how to build and maintain routines in your life. Oh my gosh, anytime you see a consistent problem starting to arise in your life, you already have a tool you can put in place that is going to help you to solve that problem. So now you're not going outside looking outside trying to figure out Wait, but what do I do about this?
Ashley Brown 13:28
You already know, wait. A routine can fix this. If you are feeling as if wait, me and my husband don't ever do anything together. We haven't done anything together or we don't consistently hang out. And that's a problem that you feel internally. You're like, wait, I want more time with my husband and I know my husband want more time with me. If that's a problem that you're consistently facing bingo a routine. If you're right now facing the problem of going to bed after midnight every night heart and hat and not getting enough sleep. So you're drained the next morning, and you're consistently having that issue. Bingo. A routine, specifically a bedtime routine can solve that problem. This is a ROI that routines give you. Because once you learn how to successfully build and maintain a routine, you have a tool that you can pull out that's at your disposal when you need it throughout life. That is one of the major things that I've learned about routines. It's I'm like, dang, I'm glad that God put this in my mind and in my heart to do for myself and now share with other women.
Ashley Brown 14:38
Because this is not a tool that people shared with us. This wasn't something that my mom told me. This wasn't something that my aunt shared with me or my friend like I didn't know that routines had this great of return on an investment in my life. Like I didn't realize until a certain point in my life and then I'm like wait, I wish I would have known about this tool earlier. I wished I would have learned to even build the skill of routine building and consistency so that I could have been solving problems earlier in my life, right. But you don't know what you don't know until you know. So I'm grateful to know now and to be sharing this with you. But that's the ROI of incorporating routines into your life. That is the ROI. All of those things that I mentioned to you is where routines are so vital, why they're so necessary, and why when you have these on board, I mean, you're unstoppable. When you know how to build and maintain routines, you're unstoppable. Honestly, you're unstoppable because they are consistent solutions to the consistent problems that you might be faced in your life. And so that's what I wanted to share with you today.
Ashley Brown 15:44
If you are looking for a solution to the overwhelm to the constant stress you're feeling right now, routines are your best and most sustainable option, period, quote me on that, share that with whoever, you know, routines are the best and most sustainable option for reducing overwhelm and constant stress that comes from consistent problems you're facing, they are the best and most sustainable option. Hopefully this was helpful and just brought you some insight today, I wanted to get this off my chest because we sometimes don't even realize how beneficial just the small things can be like having something that you're doing consistently a supportive practice in your life that is really nourishing you is helping you is releasing stress from you like its major is major, the routine and things accelerator begins January 1. And this is an accelerator where you are going to be getting your core routines up and running. Its a group three month group program where you're getting your core routines, which is a morning, and bedtime routine up and running, so that you can give energy to yourself manage your energy in a beautiful way create this foundation in your life, because those are two huge areas of your life that if you don't have these areas on lock, when it com to the consistency and healthy consistency, you're going to always feel discombobulated.
Ashley Brown 17:13
You're going to always feel disorganized, you're going to always have an internal conflict, struggle, stress is going to constantly come up for you if you don't have these two areas of your life, your morning and your bedtime, and your sleep in check. So I don't want that for you. And so the routine and things accelerator is helping you to solve those consistent problems and providing you a consistent solution so that you do feel less stress and so that you do start to have the supportive practices are part of your life that are feeding to you in a very healthy way and that's going to ripple throughout you day and your life. And so if you want to learn more about the routine and things accelerator and request to join, you can do so now by heading to the link in the show notes. Or you can go to routineandthings.com/accelerator. I'm also still doing the morning routine show over on Instagram at routine and things I go live at least three times a week and I share a holistic view about routines. I give you perspectives about routines that is going to be really beneficial for you and building and maintaining them. And I hope that you'll join me for that. So make sure that you follow me over at routine and things on Instagram and join me live if you can and even if you can't, I will be sending out emails if you're on the email list. To those of you who are subscribed, I will be sending out replays of those and so you can catch them there as well. But until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stay happy girl and talk to you next week.
Ashley Brown 18:44 [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.