Streamline Your Life with Habits

Charlotte Mason believed that a habit is “ten natures,” and she was right. Habits can make life smoother by automating repetitive tasks. By simply thinking through the things you do each day, and figuring out how to do them most efficiently, you can make time in your life for more interesting and rewarding pursuits. How can habits make your life easier? Here are some of the ways I’ve found:

Habit 1: Making a daily habit of reading and meditation can help you become more focused on the important things in life.

Habit 2: Plan lessons once month or once a semester, rather than once a week or on the fly.

Result: When you plan many lessons at once, you will be deeply enough involved to see the big picture and can create a well-balanced, creative course of study, rather than slapping together the basics at the last minute.

Habit 3: Make a place for everything, and keep everything in its place as much as possible.

Result: You never have to waste time looking for textbooks, keys, phone, glasses, bills, pens, papers, etc.

Habit 4: Look for ways in which you can do things in batches.

Result: Small changes can save time. You can try things such as counting out vitamins once a week, rather than opening multiple bottles each day, or making two pans of lasagne and freezing one for another week. You end up saving time for things that matter.

Habit 5: Be the kind of person you want your children to become. Focus on creating habits of character such as kindness, tenderheartedness, patience, courtesy, and mercy.

Result: You’ll demonstrate love in a way that your children will always remember.

What is the most helpful habit you or your children have developed? I’d love to hear about it!

You can read more about how to build good habits (start on page 96 in Home Education) and how to live wisely in Charlotte Mason’s Home Education series, available at Everyday Education.