A short YouTube interview with life coach Rebeccah Silence about creating simple, sustainable morning and evening routines for families during back-to-school transitions. Core advice: make routines easy and enjoyable (they should make life easier, not harder); pick a few simple morning actions (Rebecca suggests 1–3 — e.g., silence/meditation, green drink, movement) so you "win" each day; set alarms to the actual wake time (avoid snooze); build child-focused routines that include something they look forward to (e.g., 20–30 minutes of TV-free quality time, music, books); keep routines consistent across seasons and allow small rewards once basics are done.
With the end of summer comes the beginning of school and that means transitions and that also means new routines. So this week why don't we talk about how to create new routines and be able to stick with them. So let's first let's talk about how to create this new routine for the upcoming school year or for whatever it is.
What if the very first thing that we can all consider together is that routines are meant to make your life easier, not harder, Right? And you can create a routine that actually works for you and isn't just something that you feel like you should do or that feels like pressure or that just feels icky in any way. When it comes to routines with your kids for back to school, if it is set up to be stressful and punishing, if they don't, you're not helping them set themselves up for success. Their school days are going to be rough and it just makes more of a stressful experience at home because school is associated with stress.
Mix 102.5 the best mix from the 90s to now. Big popping in the afternoon. It is a mental wellness. Wednesday Life coach Rebecca Silence Tougher Together a breakthrough podcast, the Emotional Survival kid@rebecca silence.com and the new book coming out soon. Coming Coming back to life. You can pre order it right now wherever you get your books. Rebecca, how are you?
Hello. I'm very well, thank you. So happy to be here.
So with the end of summer comes the beginning of school and that means transitions and that also means new routines. So this week why don't we talk about how to create new routines and be able to stick with them. So let's first let's talk about how to create this new routine for the upcoming school year or for whatever it is.
I love this because I think so often people have routine associated with I don't want to have to energy, right? Because how many of us had routines that didn't actually feel good to us, spoon fed to us, especially when it comes to school and back to school and work. So what if the very first thing that we can all consider together is that routines, routines are meant to make your life easier, not harder, Right? And you can create a routine that actually works for you and isn't just something that you feel like you should do or that feels like pressure or that just feels icky in any way. So the next thing I'll say is make routines less complicated so that you can win at it. One of my favorite reasons for having a morning routine and an evening routine is so that no matter what. I freaking won every single day. Because my routines happened, right? At the very least, I did my morning routine and I did my evening routine. And for me, it's really simple. For example, my mornings start with some just silence with myself, some meditation, then there's green drinks, then there's some type of movement. And if I've done that just those three things, I've won. There's also Rebecca, there's.
That's way different than mine, which is you hit snooze, and then you hit snooze again, and then you hit snooze about five more times, and then you look at your phone and realize, oh, crap, I'm late.
And.
And then you rush around and try to get everything done and run out the door.
Yeah. So what if part of your. Right here. Okay, this is so good. Because what if right here, part of your morning routine could be setting the alarm for the appropriate actual time that you.
Oh, no, it is.
It is.
I just keep it.
But it's not right. So here's how I would challenge you, right? I would say set the alarm for the time you're actually getting your butt out of bed and. And let yourself start the day by winning and not having that discombobulation because of the snooze going up. But my point is, pick three things that you can do every morning or one that sets you up for the day. Now, let's get more specific to Back to School, because this is real. I've got a second grader in Colorado. School actually starts today. So today is her first day of school. We have the Back to School bash with Ninja Nation and DJ and all kinds of fun Monday night. And we're in the thick of it already. So when it comes to routines with your kids for back to school, if it is set up to be stressful and punishing, if they don't, you're not helping them set themselves up for success. Their school days are going to be rough, and it just makes more of a stressful experience at home because school is associated with stress. So I like, with my second grader to build in quality time with her in the morning. So it's very simple. The routine, get dressed, eat. We spend 20 to 30 minutes of quality time together. Whether that's a game or a puzzle or talking. No TV is allowed. But she wants that quality time. And where we would get in trouble in the past was we do the quality time before we got dressed, before we ate, and then we're scrambling. So the quality time comes Last then getting dressed doesn't have to take 2 hours and 27 minutes because there's something to look forward to. Right. So give your routine the energy of it makes life easier and more fun and you look forward to how life feels because of the routine. And it's a whole different animal. A whole different animal.
So Rebecca, we're talking about routines especially for the beginning of school year and, and you gave suggestions as far as like what your second. I can't believe she's in second grade already.
I know.
But, but with that being said, what's a good way to help be able to make it, you know, sustainable and also is an evening routine. Would an evening routine help the morning routine?
It can, right? And I think not to make this more complicated, my goal is to make it more simple. But it's very, it's very much unique to your family. So it's never going to be real that my seven, you know, seven year old second grader is laying out her clothes the night before and packing her bag the night before. We do it in the morning because that's what sets her up to win. We read books every single night. I sing her songs every single night because she's my fan girl and wants me to sing for her to be able to sleep, sleep. And that's our evening routine. You know, pajamas, books, songs. And I hope that she wants to do that for years and years to come. But that's what we do now. So we let her and her creative brain pick out her clothes. She wore her new training bra and combat boots and camo pants to the back to school bash. And she likes that. She likes to get herself ready every morning and great. As long as she knows that, that if she's ready in a reasonable amount of time, we have time for quality time. If she takes too long, quality time will have to wait. Right. So the point is it's unique to each family. But when you're creating a routine, focus on what lights your child up and find a way to include that or something that lights your child up in the morning and in the evening so that they're starting the day feeling like, oh, this is a good day.
When you say light your child up, what does that mean?
So like Seneca 7 year old loves music, loves books and loves playing. So we've got in the morning playing as part of the routine. We've got at night the music and the books as part of the routine. So your routines should give you something to look forward to. I love moving my body, but I Also really love this 20, 30 minutes in bed where I talk to nobody. It's quiet. I talk to people all day. So I really look forward to this time. Time with me in the mornings and at night, that's uninterrupted. And then the biggest thing you all have to realize and remember when it comes to routines is if you're not consistent, it just becomes a bunch of bs. So don't only incorporate routines in the challenging, difficult seasons of your life. Keep them going consistently. Fine tuning is needed so that there aren't so many difficult seasons of life. I still watch my husband on his mornings fight with Seneca. There's not the same consistency and that's not a dig at Mark. He's just doing it different. And we don't micromanage each other. But he can have difficult mornings as long as he wants. And maybe this year it'll be different because we're starting a new school year right? This is history. And history doesn't have to repeat itself, actually. But you being consistent. And even if one parent isn't consistent, if you are with your kids, they're trained to know what happens and what works with you. And there's no reward or extras until the basics are covered with me. But there's always built in time for rewards and extras as long as the bases were covered. So just start there, let it be simple. But don't go into the school year or your fall work season expecting history to repeat itself. Give yourself permission to carve out time for what you need to relax and for what you need to actually have your soul get set on fire. And it should be every day. It shouldn't just be on vacation or once in a blue moon that your soul set on fire and you're loving your life. It should be all the time, every day. You living the way you choose to live. That's how I live my life and I'm so grateful for it. And it's possible for all of us.
It's a mental Wellness Wednesday with life coach Rebecca Silence. The emotional survival kit is available right now@rebeccasilence.com also details on the upcoming book Coming Back to Life. Rebecca, always a pleasure. We'll talk to you next week.
