Finding My New Year Feeling: Resetting Routines for Real Life

If you know me, this may seem an odd thing for me to say, here at the end of January. But here goes: This week, I finally feel that New Year feeling.

I know, I know, as a productivity coach and a certified professional organizer, I’ve already helped hundreds of people in 2026 to set goals, clear clutter and get organized. But as I was busy doing that, I was feeling some of those same feelings for myself.  Like I said, I knew it may sound odd. But I still wanted to say it.

And here’s why I finally feel that New Year feeling this week.

Let’s look back at the last month. No, actually, let’s go even farther back. I had another basal cell carcinoma successfully removed on October 29, and I am well healed now! Since I was already required to rest and recover after the procedure, I had the bright idea to get my flu shot that same week. And I had, as they say, a Robust Immune Response to the flu shot and had a fever for 10 days. So, there’s that.

Then it was back to work for a few days in mid-November but then Thanksgiving week was here with medical follow-up, college students home from college, travel to Michigan to be with my family and then more medical follow up and then poof - it was December. 

With December came the holidays, work, a lot of music for this liturgical musician, hosting and attending events, hosting house guests, and my sons being home and then one heading back to school to travel with the ISU Marching Band to the FSC Championship with the ISU Football Team - yes, he is that cool - and then home again and then back to school again and then home again for a shower I hosted for 34 people mid January and then back to school again.  Whew!

(And if you are looking for a great restaurant and event location in the South Suburbs, I can highly recommend Franklin's Public House in Palos, they were amazing!)

Now it’s January. I’ve met wonderful people, presented many times, hosted the shower I mentioned, and as I write this, we are smack dab in the middle of a historical snowstorm. But only now that the year is underway and I can claim some regularity to my schedule again do I actually feel my New Year starting. 

What I am doing with my New Year feeling this week is working on my routines. I finally have the brain space to start implementing the goals that I set. Because as we know, if we want to achieve big goals, we have to start with our small daily habits. Based on my goals for 2026, there are a few habits and behaviors I want to either change or reinforce, to increase my chances for success!

Thanks for sticking with me, that’s a long lead up to what I actually want to talk about today: Routines. 

So far this month, I have talked about goal setting and the productivity support of accountability. Routines are another excellent support for getting things done. Accountability to ourselves and others is deciding what we are going to do, and then doing what we said we would do, to remind ourselves that we can, to re-inforce the commitment by bringing in others for support. But WHAT are we supposed to be doing?  Yes, that starts with routines.  (We will talk about bigger picture productivity like tasks and projects in upcoming episodes and articles).

A few vital points to note:

There is no way that all of these things - from my surgery recovery and 10 day fever to the holidays to 12 presentations in 3 weeks - would successfully transpire if I didn’t already have good routines. Fully functioning routines. I tweak my routines regularly to make sure that I have automated the survival and maintenance tasks of my personal and professional life.  And I bet you have routines, too.

It is also time for an update, and maybe that is the same for you, too. And, for today’s purposes, I will talk about personal routines.  All of these questions can be applied to the professional setting as well, but I will stick with examples of personal routines.

How to do this?!  Let’s get going!

First, we identify, acknowledge and celebrate what we are already doing.  You likely have routines already - do you get up, get showered and get dressed most days?  See, look at you - routines!

When I first sit down with a coaching client who wants to increase their productivity or life balance or joy with better routines, we do a Time Audit of where their time is actually going and what is and is not getting done. If you’re not sure, track your activity for a few days or week in 15 or 30 minute increments.  If you are sure, make a list of what you do on any given morning or afternoon or evening or week.

When we determine where our time is going, we may identify some habits that aren’t serving us.   

For example, I have identified that doomscrolling after 8 pm messes with my sleep. Therefore, I need to be intentional with my very short list of routine bedtime tasks, to interrupt the doomscrolling habit and do the things that will help me take care of me (setting my 8 pm alarm now!).

Identify what we want to add in.

We can ask, “what changes do I need to make, to support my goals and what I want to achieve in 2026”?  And here is our first reminder to NOT change many habits all at once because you and I both know, making too many changes at once is a recipe for failure.

As an example, I have some wellness goals for 2026 I will achieve. And they require eating a better breakfast, and finding time in the morning for exercise and stretching and meditation.  Those activities can be added to my morning routine - Yep, time to adjust!

When do we perform our routine tasks?  When do we WANT to complete our routine tasks?

I tend to refer first to morning routines, but that is presumptuous.  As you work on this for yourself, consider your daily highs and lows of energy and motivation.

Since we’re creating routines that work for each of us, we each need to consider when we are most likely to actually complete routine tasks. For me that is in the morning. I know that about myself, that my focus, energy and motivation are high in the morning.

For you, perhaps you’re a morning person, too, or perhaps you’re an afternoon person and you hit your productivity stride after lunch and have motivation and clarity until the evening.  Maybe you’re a night owl. Maybe you hit your stride when it gets dark again and you could stay up for hours because you have your best energy and focus in the evening.  Maybe for you, your energy and motivation are inconsistent, so you need to know your handful of essential tasks for the day and you fit them in as well as you can. 

Knowing ourselves and when we work best is helpful as we create routines that work for us. And, of course, we can have different routines for different times of day.  Sure, I do the bulk of my routine tasks in the morning but there are a handful that I do before bed as well.

Assign Realistic Time Estimates to your tasks.

In addition to time of day, we also need to know how much time tasks actually take to complete.

For example, long ago (well, before 13 years ago), I had longer hair. For 30 years of my life, I had hair that required time every morning for styling and a hair dryer.  My shower and hair routine took at least 30 minutes, more likely 45 -60 minutes, if I wasn’t just putting everything in a ponytail. And that was a necessary piece of information as I planned my day. 

That time estimate has adjusted down with shorter hair, and my overall morning routine has changed as the number of people in my house that I am responsible for has decreased, too.  I only have to feed myself, pack one lunch, etc., and I am clear on how long those tasks take. 

Maybe you want to add “make a smoothie” into your morning routine. Great, healthy choice. And… How long does it take?  Do you have to slice and dice?  What is the longest and also shortest time that task might take? Get realistic as you work on your routine.

Next, look at the time you have to dedicate to your routines, and make sure the time estimates of the combined tasks and the time available match up.

This week, when I finally sat down to re-imagine my routines, my ideas were too ambitious.  

If I were to add in all the new and better habits that I want, I would need 3 or 4 hours every morning for just the aspirational routine tasks.  And since I often have to leave the house at 7 or 7:30 to teach at 8 am or be on-site for an organizing project, that is not sustainable.

Yet again - reminding me and you here to NOT change all the habits at once!

What to do in this situation? 

• I can adjust my expectations, and choose just one or two new habits to work on for the next few weeks.

• I can wait. I would love to add back in a morning walk, but that can wait until 6 am is a little brighter and warmer in a few months. 

• I can look at what habits are actually elapsed time tasks. Meaning, sitting in front of my happy lamp can happen at the same time that I journal or meditate or read scripture.

• I can get realistic, and assign tasks to good-enough times of day instead of only my preferred time. I would love to get my daily non-fiction reading (2026 goal of 12 non-fiction books this year) completed in the morning, but that is not going to work.  Assigning that task as an evening activity may be a little less consistent than my morning time, but still more consistent than last year when it wasn’t even on the list.

Next, now that you know what and when, put your routine tasks in a logical, efficient and effective order.

We can batch our tasks within our routines. If we’re talking mornings, perhaps we make our coffee, take our vitamins, make our breakfast and pack our lunch all at once.

If you have time in the evening for routine tasks, perhaps you make your dinner, set up your coffee for the morning, pack your lunch for the next day and run the dishwasher all at once.

Looking at your tasks, time and time estimate, put things in an order that makes sense.  Another example, I have identified that if I get up and shower first, so many other tasks just fall into place. But showering first is not my typical practice, so I have to work hard to change it.

Finally, at least for this week, we track our new routines for a few weeks to celebrate wins, identify problem areas and make adjustments.

This week, let’s look at our routines - what is already happening and also what we might want to add or delete - to make routines that support us and our 2026 goals!