This week is going to be all about rhythms and routines.  I prefer to say rhythms and routines rather than schedule because schedule implies specific times.  Now, there are obviously going to be specific times that you do certain things.  If you have sports, or extracurricular activities outside of your home, these would be at specific times on a schedule.  But, in our everyday, focusing on a rhythm, rather than a time period to do something is so much easier on you.

Our Focus Areas this Week:

• Completing your Time Inventory
• Create Margin to Live your Best Life
• Morning Routines
• An Evening Routine to Set Your Morning Right
• Weekly Meetings for Homeschoolers

Rhythms and routines are not meant to be the same all the time.  They will shift based on your family, on your current life circumstances, the ages of your children, how many activities you are involved in, what season it is.  There are so many ways that your rhythms and routines can change throughout the year.

Does this mean you should completely drop them altogether and go with the flow?  Nope, no, absolutely not.

What happens when you try to go with the flow?  Time easily slips away. 

It is easy to look at in our own every day.  Do you have days that you are ready to leave the house a ten minutes ahead of time?  Are you doing something productive during that time?  Or do you delve into the world of Facebook and Instagram?

Time slips away so easily these days because there are so many different things vying for your attention.  Then when you have a few minutes of free time, you are so accustomed to the constant barrage of information, you become paralyzed and waste the time that you have.  Maybe that is just me.

Instead, put rhythms and routines into place so that we can seamlessly work through our days, without losing big chunks of time.

This does not mean that every bit of your day ought to be productive.  There are plenty of rhythms and routines that you can incorporate that would be relaxing.  Coffee in the morning, wine and a good book in the evening, a night out with friends.  You can build relaxation and self-care into your rhythms and routines, but the key is to be intentional about it.

Being intentional seems to be a buzz word as of late.  We all want to be intentional with our time, good stewards of what God has given to us, but often times we come to a standstill.  Especially when we are trying to create more margin in our lives.  It can seem counterproductive, like you should be constantly moving.  But, that is not what we will be figuring out this week.

Instead we want to focus on some key areas of our lives where we can incorporate good rhythms and routines, form new habits, so that our lives are easier when the seasons are busy, and more enjoyable during those slower seasons that we all seem to crave these days.

What is one area of your life that could use a rhythm refresh?  Do you focus so much on the schedule of your days that you are constantly looking to the next thing?  Do you have a rhythm you love right now?  Please share with us in the comments!