Rebuild your routine—because life doesn’t always give us a heads-up when everything is about to change. One minute, you feel like you’re managing your schedule (maybe not perfectly, but hey, it was working), and the next, you’re thrown into a new season where everything feels like it’s up in the air.
For me, going back to work full-time while running a business, parenting, and just trying to get dinner on the table was that shift. The planner pages went blank—and for me, that is saying A LOT. The routines disappeared. Let’s be real: I was just trying to get through the day. What routine could you possibly have when the only goal is to get from the beginning of the day to the end of it?
The guilt crept in. I wasn’t showing up for my team, my customers, or myself—and that hurt.
But what I learned (and am still learning) is this: rebuilding doesn’t mean going back. It means starting fresh, with intention.
And that starts when you rebuild your routine in a way that fits your current life—not the one you had before.
When Life Changes, So Should Your Routine
It’s easy to think that if we could just “get back to normal,” everything would feel easier again. But think about it—whether you’ve had a new baby, gotten married, sent kids off to school, or become an empty-nester—is there really a “back to normal” in those scenarios?
Life changes us. And when it does, our old routines don’t always work anymore. We have to be realistic—not just with our time, but with ourselves. That means creating a new routine that fits the season of life we’re in.
Maybe you used to plan content every Monday morning or do weekly meal prep on Sundays. Now, your schedule doesn’t allow for those time blocks, and trying to squeeze it all in just adds more pressure. And pressure leads to frustration—and frustration causes us to shut down, call ourselves not-so-nice names, and cry defeat!
The truth is, the version of you that existed in your last season had different energy, priorities, and time. It makes sense that your routines would need to shift, too. And there’s zero shame in that.
This is your opportunity to rebuild your routine from the ground up—with grace, not guilt.
Why You Don’t Need to “Go Back”—You Get to Start Fresh
Let’s stop saying “get back on track” and start saying “build a new track.”
Starting over isn’t failure—it’s one of the bravest things we can do. It means we’re choosing to show up again. To figure out what works now. To take the pieces of our life and rebuild something that serves us better.
This isn’t to say we need to throw out the routines we loved and that still work for our new schedules. If they worked before and still fit, we can pick them back up. Just because the habit chain is broken doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
This mindset shift is powerful. It frees us from perfection and invites us into progress. Instead of trying to recreate a routine that no longer fits, we get to ask: What do I need in this season? What matters most now?
When you rebuild your routine with your current life in mind, you’re more likely to stick with it and feel empowered by it—not frustrated as you try to force it to work the way it did before.
Start with Anchors, Not Overhauls
Rebuilding doesn’t mean a full overhaul. In fact, trying to recreate a complicated system can backfire and lead to more burnout.
Instead, focus on creating anchors: small, repeatable moments in your day that help ground you. These aren’t about productivity—they’re about presence.
Here are a few examples of anchors:
- Morning check-in: Look at your planner while sipping coffee. Pick your top 3 priorities or quick-win tasks you can knock out for a burst of confidence.
- Midday pause: Take 10 minutes to reset or check in with your energy. How is the day treating you? Will you have extra time later to work on something? Or are you running low and need to take it easy?
- Evening wind-down: Review what got done and jot down a win (even if it’s tiny). Any win is worth celebrating—even if it was just getting out of bed and putting two feet on the floor. There is always something to be grateful for, even when your time feels like it’s running you instead of the other way around.
When things feel messy, these little routines help you rebuild your routine with intention and ease.
Create Routines That Match Your Real Life (Not Your Ideal One)
We all have an ideal version of how our day could look. But real life rarely gives us a perfect, interruption-free, color-coded schedule.
So when you’re rebuilding, the question becomes: What will actually work for me right now?
Start with:
- Weekly Brain Dump (or any weekly spread): Block in work, family, appointments, and then plug in 15-minute task blocks.
- Declutter Your Mind insert: For brain dumps that help clear the mental mess.
- Habit tracker: Track consistency, not perfection. If your goal is to check in with your planner 3 times a week, count it.
These tools help you rebuild your routine in a way that reflects your current needs—not what you wish you could do.
Real-Life Example: My Routine Isn’t Perfect—But It Works
Right now, my routine looks like this:
- Sunday: Look at the week ahead during a weekly planning session in my membership group, batch content, create scripts for videos, and host team or leader meetings.
- Monday through Thursday: Record a video in the morning (Monday and Wednesday), then check in with posts, interact, and be social.
- Friday: Time for a weekly reflection and a Zoom call with my planning besties!
- Saturday: That’s family day. I spend time with my family, don’t look at the computer, and stay off social media.
Is it flawless? Nope. Does it always look like this? Nope! But it gives me the framework I need to feel more grounded. It allows me to run my business, manage my home, and breathe—even when the days are packed. Some of these tasks take me just 15 minutes and fit well in the 15-Minute Planning Method.
And most importantly, it’s a routine that I want to stick with because it actually fits. It’s how I’ve started to rebuild my routine in a way that feels sustainable.
Applying Planning to Your Life
If you’re in a rebuilding phase, here are a few ways to bring planning back into your life with less stress:
- Start with today. Don’t worry about catching up. Open your planner and just plan today.
- Use themed days. Give your brain fewer decisions to make (Marketing Monday, Follow-Up Friday, etc.).
- Pick one planner tool. Maybe it’s your goal insert, your monthly spread, or your habit tracker—you don’t have to use it all. When I’m short on time and bandwidth, I just use the Art of Planning and Journaling insert. There’s a lot that can happen in one insert.
- Celebrate consistency. Show up three days a week? That’s amazing. Progress counts.
The goal is to rebuild your routine in a way that feels doable, not perfect.
Rebuilding Isn’t Failure—It’s Growth
You’re not behind. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re rebuilding.
That takes courage.
You’re creating something new that supports who you are now—not who you used to be. And as you find your rhythm again, remember that your planner is just a tool. It’s there to help you feel a little less scattered and a little more like you.
Start small. Stay flexible. Keep showing up.
Rebuild your routine your way—and watch how it slowly starts to support your life again.
Most of all: You’ve got this!
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