With most of the schools starting today, for many families this means that routines are back. For our family, school was back last week, and I will admit that there was a collective relief by all. Of course, we are sad that those lazy summer days are behind us, but in the weeks leading up to the new school year, boredom was starting to creep in, and tensions were building. 

Routine doesn’t come naturally to me.  I am usually a “fly by the seat of my pants” sort of person. My adaptability allows me to shift gears daily and I can easily be taken away from my focus. Even today as I write this post, my social media plan tells me that I should be writing about habits – but I changed my mind because this post seemed to fit better. 



My oldest is like me. When she was born, she easily fit into my chaotic way of life and was a joyful little bundle who slept like a rock-star. In my mind I had cracked parenting. Kids didn’t need routine – they just needed parents who were easy going. Right? How wrong I was. 

When my son was born two years later, he was the opposite of his sister. He slept very little and had a cry that could get inside your head and rattle your brain cells. At six months old, I finally figured out that he needed routine. When I had a set schedule for his feeding and sleep times, he started to sleep better at night and was a happier more content baby. 

To this day my son still craves routine. He gets up at the same time every morning and has a set routine before school. When he comes home, he is the same. Following routines make him feel in control of his time, helps him know what to expect and gives him a sense of achievement for his day. 

What I have come to learn through my son is that both myself and my daughter, although we are more adaptable, also benefit from routines (if we have the freedom to flex from time to time). Without routine we tend to flit around, and our days and weeks can pass us by without any real achievement of anything. 

As a leader, its important to recognise how vital routines are for you and for your people. Especially for those whose roles shift into more strategic work with less task focused activities. As an office, take some time to work out with your team their daily routines and then work to help hold each other accountable for these. I hate to say it but often as leaders we can easily de-rail other people’s routines because of our own objectives. By understanding and agreeing to the routines that your team members work by, you will help to create a greater sense of achievement, increase productivity and your people will have overall a greater satisfaction with the work they are performing. You will also have a clear understanding of what everyone should be working on, where they should be, and you will be less likely to distract them unless necessary.