I’m just going to put this out there. Routine is really hard when your life is anything but consistent. 

Over the last year, I’ve been on more planes than I can count. 

Whether it was for a speaking gig, our business mastermind, book tour, or media… it has been an endless year of airport security, tiny airplane bathrooms, hotel beds, and living out of suitcases. 

Is it fun? Yes. 

Is it exhausting? Also yes. 

Due to my travel-heavy lifestyle in recent years, most don’t realize I’m actually quite the home body. 

Growing up, I always wanted friends to come to MY house to hang out. Having to get ready and go somewhere just wasn’t my cup of tea. 

I’m serious, I don’t even like going to the movies as an adult. I mean, why so much effort when we can watch movies from home in our PJ’s? 

I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m very goal oriented and when I’m on the go, it sometimes feels hard to focus on and make any kind of progress on my goals. 

But this year has left me no choice. And I’ve had to learn how to make it work. We’re improving… slowly. 

That said, I’m often asked how I maintain routines and keep my faith a priority when I’m seemingly ALWAYS on the go. 

My answer? It’s not easy. 

But I’ve also had to take my control-freak nature out of the picture for a hot second and think about ‘routines’ differently. 

Routines aren’t limiting or only for seasons of life when everything happens to be consistent and controllable. 

In fact, rhythms and routines are practices designed to bring consistency to our chaos…

And what’s more chaotic than sleeping in different beds and living out of suitcases every week? 

While it’s a challenge to have perfectly consistent bed times and daily workout times when every day seems to be spent in different time zones, I’ve found a few ways to keep first things first and build in routines even in the life of a traveler. 

Because at the end of the day, it all comes down to choice. 

So, that said, the first thing I had to do was establish 1-3 daily non-negotiables. 

I chose two. 

1. Quiet time with God every morning
2. Prayer with my husband every night before bed 

These are two simple things I can do consistently, neither of which take very long. 

I’d love to tell you I workout every single day on the road at the exact same time and never miss a meal or any of that. But that’d  be a lie and just not realistic. 

So, I picked two things I want to make sure I do consistently every single morning and evening regardless of where I am or which time zone I’m in. 

Every morning, whether I wake up in California, New York, or at home, I can spend the first 10-20 minutes in silence, over coffee or tea, with God.

Sometimes that looks like reading the Bible or a devotional. Other times that looks like just sitting on a hotel patio and being still — in prayer or thought — observing what’s happening in the moment. 

The coffee/tea piece may seem unnecessary but having a warm drink in my hand is something that creates consistency. It’s part of a rhythm, it’s physical, and simple enough to stick to wherever I am. 

This is something my friend, Jeff Bethke, talks about in his new book, To Hell with the Hustle (which I highly recommend) and that my friend, Rebekah Lyons, also dives into in her book, Rhythms of Renewal (also incredible).

Regarding prayer with my husband: This is a discipline we both committed to do every night before bed regardless of whether we’re in our own bed or not, together or apart. 

If we’re apart, we call and pray over the phone. 

It’s usually no more than 2-3 minutes. We’re not fancy prayers. But we pray rougher. And it’s a rhythm we can do wherever we are. 

The bottom line here is that routines look different in different seasons. Sometimes we can eat and workout and go to bed at the same time every single day and sometimes that’s just not all that realistic. 

But there are things we can do to keep our priorities (such as our relationships or our faith) a priority regardless of where we are or how crazy life feels. 

Why? Because routines — even little ones — are designed to bring rhythm and consistency into our chaos. 

And when we choose to stick to them daily, our chaos is begins to feel less like stress and more like a blessing. 

Tell me in the comments below: how do you “own your everyday”? 

Ps. For more on making the most of everyday in the mundane and when life feels chaotic and insane, check out my book, Own Your Everyday.

CREATE A WEEKLY ROUTINE OF YOUR OWN AND GRAB THE BOOK CLUB STUDY HERE HERE: Own Your Everyday Study Guide

CREATE A WEEKLY ROUTINE OF YOUR OWN AND GRAB THE BOOK CLUB STUDY HERE HERE: Own Your Everyday Study Guide