Back to School - New Routines

Back to school can be a stressful challenge after the activities of the summer. It's a perfect time to establish some rules for making life easier and more productive both for students and for parents.

1. Turn off the TV.

It is not reasonable to expect children to ignore the TV when they are doing homework. It is not reasonable to expect them to find their own activities when their parents are slumped in front of the box every night of the week.

Choose what programs you will watch, and allow your children to choose a program to watch, but break the habit of watching TV. Consider watching DVDs on weekends, which allow you to control what you watch and avoid being immersed in commercials that are designed psychologically to make you feel unsafe, fearful and needy.

Think how good a role model you will be for choosing what you watch on TV rather than mindlessly staring at the tube for hours at a time. Think of how much time you will free up for your other projects or for your own peace of mind.

2. Get used to some quiet in your life.

Read. Talk to your significant others. Use homework time as household maintenance time, so that you are available but not hovering. Take a walk. Listen to the sounds of nature, or even the sounds of traffic, natural sounds that have not been designed and tested for market response. Write yourself or someone else a love letter. Think of something you did well today, and give yourself a gold star.

3. Use music instead of background noise.

Music gives you some mental space away from the noises of your environment and can lighten your mood or help you relax. Instrumental music will not program negative song lyrics into your brain. If you listen to covers of pop tunes, of course, you will just sing the lyrics in your mind. Remember that you attract what you think about, whether you are consciously aware or just humming along. Do you really want to have "I can't get no satisfaction" as a mantra?

Allow children to listen to music they like while they do homework, if it does not distract them, and while they do chores. There is no reason to make daily maintenance any more boring than necessary.

Make your own CDs or digital play lists of positive, uplifting lyrics. Think about the ideas you want to support , and find music that helps you think that way. It does not matter what kind of music it is. Find music that makes you feel good and that does not feed your mind with trash.

4. Get up 15 minutes earlier.

Use this time as "me time" to stretch, feel yourself in your body, and drink a whole glass of water before drinking diet soda, coffee, or other stimulant. Go outside and breathe early morning air. Throw on sweats and walk for ten minutes. Remind yourself that you are one day closer to reaching your goals, and that you are lucky to be alive. Some folks aren't.

5. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier.

If you miss the news, you will have fewer things to worry about as you relax for sleep. Choose other activities that will help you clear your mind so that you can rest.

* Engage in your spiritual practice: prayer, meditation, chanting or whatever.
* List the things and events in your life for which you are grateful
* Check off the items from your to-do list that you wrote yesterday.
* Make a to-do list for tomorrow. Every time you think of an item, add it to the list or say to yourself, "that's on the list already."

Changing daily routines is most natural when it is time to go back to school, but even if you are not a student or the parent of one, consider making these changes to improve your quality of life.