Normally we associate the word “routine” with some boring or timely schedule, but this is not true. We need a routine to synchronize those elements of our lives which cannot be changed. It helps us spend more energy on worthwhile projects. A routine includes planning meals in advance, making a to-do list, maintaining system for chores. So, in this way you maintain an efficient environment and have fewer things to worry about in your bucket list.

Some of these are −                                                    

●      Planning Meals

●      Organizing Chores

●      Using a To-Do List

Let us now discuss these routines in detail.

Planning Meals

For planning meals, you can keep in mind the following points −

●      Use your weekend to plan meals for the next week. Make a grocery list and go for shopping. Make it a point to include others living in your house in this plan.

●      In the grocery store, do not get tempted by the fresh arrivals of unhygienic food, stay where fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy are usually kept. Avoid frozen and processed items.

●      Go for non-processed shortcuts, like pre-trimmed meat, salad kits and pre-grated cheese. If it is difficult for you to store fresh fruits in your house, then go for stocking frozen fruit.

●      Experiment with slow cookers. They are inexpensive to buy. Also, use inexpensive items which are easy to use and will help you cook meals faster.

●      Try new things and motivate family members to do so by planning for theme nights like nachos, lasagna or personal pizzas. These are a great way to personalize meals and increase bonding. Make sure you load up on the veggies and go easy on the dough and cheese.

Organizing Chores

When you start planning your meals in advance, you achieve two things −

●      The first is of course you reduce your stress during the week along with the confusion of what to make for dinner or lunch or breakfast.

●      The second thing is when you eat better and feel better and you work better.

Organizing chores helps in building and following a routine around chores. Every person above the age of three should help in the household chores. It is not the responsibility of a single person to take care of all the things. So all the people in the house should help in making the chores more palatable.

It is always better to make the do to list together, so that people can be assigned their work and helps with all the things that need to done. Some unpleasant tasks like cleaning the bathroom can be rotated. Younger children can perform tasks like −

●      Setting the table

●      Making their bed

●      Sorting laundry

●      Feeding pets

●      Preparing some parts of meals, like salad kits

Older children can help with tasks like −

●      Helping to cook meals

●      Helping younger children with their chores

●      Loading and unloading the dishwasher

●      Folding and putting away laundry

Assigning tasks and performing them on time helps you maintain a clean, orderly household. End of the day, you will have lesser things to worry about and more things to look forward to.

Using a To-Do List

Maintaining a to-do list can help you have things organized and have a low stress life. In fact, we can say a to-do list is one of the most powerful life management tools that is available. The best part is, it is not at all expensive, handy and easy to use. It can be personalized for home or work; one can create it for oneself or the entire family.

A to-do list for managing all the household work, planning a trip, for work. It’s better to create a Productivity Binder. Try placing a calendar at the front, followed by placing a loose leaf pages in the binder and then tagging each with a date of the month. Make a list of all the work to be taken care of and assign different tasks to all the people in the house.

Every time an item is complete cross it from the list. You can transfer the incomplete items to the next day. Using a binder makes it easy to maintain the family calendar and the to-do list at one place along with the newsletters, reminders, flyers and other important information.

You can keep a calendar at the back of the binder for the coming months, which will make it easy to have a check on the upcoming events and to-do items. When the month ends simply remove the old calendar and place the new one from the back of the book to the front.

One can also opt for a spiral notebook for this approach, as it is easy to carry around. It’s better to maintain different journals for work and home, this will help you keep maintain balance between professional and personal life.

You can always use the tools discussed above to help yourself and others to come out of their stressful situations. You can always use the strong bond of your family and friends to get through the tough times and always be there for them when they need you.