I used to be someone who loved schedules and routines. In college, I would section off my entire day from the moment I woke up to the time my head hit the pillow into blocks of things I wanted to accomplish. The rigidity of schedules and routine was preached to me from a very young age as an athlete, and I welcomed it with open arms. While I wouldn’t classify myself as a type A organized type, I was all about creating rigid structure in my day because it was the only way that I was taught how to be “productive”. As I have moved towards a simpler and softer life, I have seen how much this mindset has failed to serve me and have discovered another method along the way.
Simplifying my surroundings and schedules have opened up the mental space to lean into my own intuition rather than relying on what others are telling me to do to be productive and successful. This insight has shown me that I thrive when relying on flexible rhythms over rigid schedules and routines.
The Drawbacks of Schedules and Routines
There are several benefits of schedules and routines. However, I feel we have over-glorified them in our modern culture that is obsessed with time-keeping and productivity. They have a time and place, but that time and place is not everywhere, always. By putting an emphasis on scheduling, we create a rigid structure that is often unattainable since we often tend to underestimate how much time and energy tasks are going to take.
This, in turn, set us up for failure and disappointment which leaves us feeling as if we have failed to work hard enough, stay focused enough, have the right productivity hacks, or that we are in some fundamental way not good enough. Rather than putting the blame on ourselves, perhaps we should consider the environment we’ve put ourselves into as the source of our shortcomings.
There’s A Better Way
The over-glorification of schedules and productivity has turned us into work horses rather than complex human being with physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Rather than putting ourselves into the environment of a work horse, we should instead consider surrounding ourselves with rhythms that will support those needs.
When you do this, you support yourself in a way that will allow the work you were made to do to flow through rather than something that has to be extracted from you at whatever painful or draining cost. In fact, man (also woman) was created in part for work. Genesis 2:15 states “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Work is a good thing. It gives us purpose and direction and is a way in which we are able to serve others with the gifts we have. Let’s take a look at how we can support ourselves to bring forth that work.
What’s the Difference Between Rhythm and Routine?
So what exactly is the difference between creating rhythms verses schedules and routines? Isn’t it just semantics? The answer is mostly yes. It’s more so about how you view your goals, aspirations, and tasks instead of a magical new word that makes all things better.
Creating a life arounds rhythms means creating a life in which you are able to focus on your most important and purposeful work. Practically speaking, this means that rhythms are general outlines in which you insert the tasks that lead to your most important work. They can be adjusted according to the season of life your in and what needs to be taking priority right now rather than blindly following a schedule or routine because it’s “what you always” do for success.
To give you more clarity, let’s take a look at this exemplified in real life situations.
Daily Rhythms
When I would follow strict schedules and routines, I did not consider how the transitions between tasks would impact my ability to flow into the next portion of my day. For example, I have always been someone who enjoys slow mornings which usually includes a hearty breakfast, a hot beverage or two, and some reading. Just recently, I had the realization that this is the perfect time for me to do my writing. Since I’m likely already sitting at the table or on the couch where I like to write. Writing fits perfectly into my my morning rhythm and creates less resistance to this important work that I enjoy compared to when I try to cram it into another part of my day when I’m up and moving around.
Now the true beauty of rhythmic living is that there is flexibility to adjust when your day simply doesn’t align with your perfect schedule.
For me, this most often happens when I get caught with a couple projects in the kitchen first thing in the morning. Maybe I’ve let some bone broth cook overnight in the Instant Pot and it needs straining or I need to attend to some sourdough project that I have going. Rather than letting this ruin my whole plan for the morning and even the day, I simply lean into this time as my kitchen time (or kitchen rhythm) Since I’m already thinking about food preparation, I may also use this time to start peeling potatoes or pulling out meat to thaw for dinner. I do as many things as it takes to make my kitchen work feel complete for the morning.
I think this is one of the keys to rhythms. It’s allowing yourself to work to a point that feels complete or at least at a good stopping point for the day. It makes the transition into another rhythm easier when you don’t feel like there is something major that still needs to be accomplished which distracts you during your next task.
After I do these kitchen projects, I still a conveniently in exactly the right place to make myself a warm beverage to sip on. This serves both as a moment to rest and take a break on the couch but also to help me transition into my writing or work time. This rhythmic way of living allows me the flexibility to focus on what is most important while still creating enough structure and routine with which to depend on for forward progress.
Weekly Rhythms
As I have recently shifted to being at home full time, the weekly rhythm is still something I’m settling into. Generally speaking, I have found it helpful to follow the ways of my grandmother in this department. She has certain days of the week in which she plans to accomplish different tasks (laundry day, yard work day, errands day). While I do like to lump tasks like this on certain days, I have not settled in a very regular rhythm of which task on which day. This could be the result of my personality or maybe just the unpredictability of summer. I try to embrace as much time outside as possible in the summer when the weather is nice which often throws off a more structured rhythms.
Similar to my daily rhythms, I try to focus on grouping like-activities together in order that the momentum I have is carried over to the next task. For example, when I need to do computer work and make phone calls, I’ll plan to do them all on one day while I’m already sitting down with easy access to my computer and notes.
The one area where I have settled into a regular rhythm with is meal preparation. I truly enjoy cooking, baking, and time spent in the kitchen. However, I don’t wish for it to be something I do all day every day. On the weekends especially, I want to be able to have more time to spend with my husband doing other projects or activities we enjoy. For this reason, I prefer to cook my meals every night Monday-Thursday. I make double and triple batches so that we have plenty of leftovers for lunches throughout the week and meals on the weekend which frees me from a lot of time spent in the kitchen on the weekends. If you would like more tips on how I approach meal preparation, check it out here.
Monthly Rhythms
There are a lot of different ways to approach monthly rhythms, especially as a female with a cycle that operates on a monthly schedule. This can include things like paying bills and evaluating finances, cleaning schedules, work plans and goals, grocery shopping, as well as different outings and social events.
In case you haven’t already guessed it, I am not much of a scheduler or planner when it comes to most of these things. That works great for me at this current stage since I just have my husband’s and mine own schedules to coordinate. I imagine it is quite different with kids. With that being said, there are a few rhythms that I have found useful in this season.
First, at the beginning of each month I will take a monthly calendar and write down all the the set in stone activities that aren’t already a part of a normal weekly rhythm (think weddings, social events, appointments, etc). Then, each week I reference that information and fill it in accordingly to my weekly and daily schedules. It feels foolish to even mention this, but I think the simplicity of it is worth mentioning. I have often found myself overcomplicating this in the past with several different calendars and lists all in different places. Now, I just keep one notebook with all this information.
The second rhythm that I have been leaning into lately is scheduling work time and activities around my cycle. I have found this to be deeply impactful both when I’m writing and my work around the home. I used to give myself a hard time when I wasn’t as productive and energetic during my luteal and menstrual phases as I am during the follicular and ovulatory phases. I have learned though that the female body simply wasn’t designed to work at the same speed and efficiency every week of the month. I have been experimenting with doing most of my writing during the the luteal and menstrual phases when I’m feeling more thoughtful and reflective. This also allow me to cozy up on the couch with my computer when my energy levels are lower. In the same way, I plan less physically demanding house tasks during these phases.
During the follicular and ovulatory phases, on the other hand, I am feeling much more energetic and outgoing. During this time, I am focusing more on photography where I can express my creativity. When it comes to household tasks and outings, I enjoy doing more physically demanding tasks and errands outside of the house while I’m feeling more energetic and outgoing.
Seasonal Rhythms
Seasonal rhythms are some of my favorite for how deeply connected to nature they are. Most of my seasonal rhythms encompass the food I eat and how I interact with the world around me. I love living in an area that has four distinct seasons that allows me to express this fully.
When it comes to food, this includes more meaty soups, stews, root vegetables, and warming food during the colder months. During the warmer months, I love to embrace the freshness of what we grow in our garden or can get at our local farmer’s market.
Living in a place with full blown snowy and cold winters, my time spent outside is definitely impacted by seasonal changes. In the summer, I love to get up early and spend time outside with the sun. I often do more of my outdoor tasks during the mornings in the summer when it not quite so hot which may push back indoor activities like cooking, cleaning, and writing to the afternoons.
As you might have guessed, winter tends to be quite the opposite. I love to embrace a slow cozy morning by the fire in the winter, especially since we currently almost exclusively heat our home by wood fire which makes for chilly wake up calls. Then, as the house heats up and the sun makes its late wintery appearance, I feel more ready to move around to do house tasks or venture into the wintery tundra.
Rhythms Are Always Changing
The beauty of rhythmic living is that it very easily allows you to let go of routines that are no longer serving you. In a constantly changing world, you are able to adapt with it. You don’t have to feel guilty about falling off your morning or evening routine bandwagon because you are simply doing what is best and most important for you during that season.
My rhythms are constantly being adjusted, and I love that I no longer feel guilt associated with those changes. In the past, I would have felt bad about falling away from some habit I had kept up for a while. Now, I view these shifts as a logical next step in doing my most important work.
I hope you find this same freedom in rhythmic living. Let me know how it is working for you in the comments below!
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