How to Stay Consistent with a Stay-at-Home Mom Routine

If I was going with the current trends and buzz words, I would tell you that the key to sticking to a stay at home mom routine is to make systems. Create systems to simplify your life, your chores, your finances, your gym routine, everything. But that’s not what I’m going to say.

Now don’t get me wrong, using systems to create a stay at home mom routine is wonderful. I would even argue that they are crucial to peace in your home. But, they are not the key to creating a successful routine that you can stick to.

The key is consistency.

Systems help you be consistent, but you have to decide that you will be consistent. Even if everything is falling apart and your routine is way off, you have to keep showing up. Small, consistent actions will always move the needle forward and keep you from drowning. Systems will fail you. And they won’t ever be perfect, so you have to choose that you’ll keep plugging away. Don’t put any other expectations on yourself to maintain a specific routine. Just be consistent by showing up and doing one tiny thing at a time.

What Does Consistency in a stay at home mom routine Look Like?

This is a hard question for me to answer because I don’t do this very well. I am all about the perfected stay at home mom routine that makes my life incredibly easy and simple.

Show Up as a Mom

The best way to be consistent in your routine as a SAHM is to show up and be present with your kids. Prioritizing the relationship you have with your kids is not only the most important part of our jobs as moms, but it is the most effective strategy for actually following through on a routine. If the routine doesn’t serve your family and help your children feel connected to you, it won’t stick unless you force it to. And sometimes you have a rhythm that’s working great, then someone drops a nap or gets sick and you have to start all over again.

But that’s the thing, if you are consistent with your relationship with your kids and keeping that as the primary focus, shifting the routine will be totally seamless. You likely won’t even think about changing the routine all that much because it’ll just be a byproduct of recognizing what your kids and family need.

Just Do Something

There are lots of days where it feels like all you can do is just survive. You aren’t getting ahead. You’re just keeping everyone from falling apart. This is very common in my current season with a toddler and a baby only 18 months apart.

On those days, you just have to make the goal to do something. Even if it’s 2 minutes. Don’t make any higher expectations for yourself. Just do one thing that you know needs to be done. It doesn’t have to be much. Moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer is plenty on some days. But you will feel that momentum and discipline kick in and the next day it won’t be quite as hard to get back into your normal workflow.

Take the Easy Route

This is really the best strategy when it comes to making systems that help you stay consistent. Giving yourself the option to do the convenient, easy thing keeps you moving, especially in high demand seasons.

Now it doesn’t mean you have to or should take all the convenient options. I am still going to always try to operate as a from-scratch cook. But especially considering that we are all doing this thing mostly by ourselves, we are allowed to take the easy route on some things. Just choose wisely.

Don’t Try to Do it All

I guess it’s just the career thinking that has infiltrated stay at home mom life but so many of us believe we have to do everything all the time no matter what. I am so guilty of this. But we just can’t! We can’t possibly hold the capacity to do 85 different things at once. Be very careful about figuring out what specific things are within your capacity.

We can’t do things well if we’re trying to do it all. And reminder, NO ONE is doing it all. I promise. God has given us these precious babies. That’s #1. Everything else is extra.

How do i start Implementing Consistency?

The best way to start being more consistent in your stay at home mom routine is to get rid of what doesn’t work. Only keep what truly needs to be there. Prioritize constantly. Make a time where you literally sit down and prioritize. Don’t obsess, but just make sure you’re evaluating what’s not working so you don’t keep maintaining or adding stressful situations.

If you don’t already have a routine, create and implement one. We’re not talking about a rigid schedule. We are talking about a routine. Similar to when you wake up in the morning and automatically go to the bathroom and brush your teeth. We want that for most of our days as SAHMs because the kids are constantly changing and throwing curveballs. We need that rhythm to fall back on for the sake our own sanity and the stability of our kids.

One final note

You do need to create a routine and you do need to systemize. But when the system is failing, you keep showing up. Because the system will not always meet the family’s our needs, but your small, consistent action will keep the plates spinning.

More Resources…

For help with creating your weekly stay at home mom routine, check out my Stay at Home Mom Routine Planner.