When You Fall Off Your Routine, Here’s How to Start Again (Without Guilt)

Life happens — and sometimes “getting back on track” just means starting small.

You know that feeling when your once-organized life suddenly looks like a tornado hit it? (Wait, if you said yes, you had an organized life?! Do tell how to get there at least once..please?)
Laundry piles, unread emails, a to-do list that’s growing by the second — and your routine? Gone. Vanished. Probably ran away with your motivation.

It’s fine. It happens to all of us.

The part no one likes to talk about is that falling off your routine doesn’t mean you’re lazy, unmotivated, or incapable. It means you’re normal, and probably just tired.

First: Ditch the Guilt. It’s Heavy and Useless.

You can’t rebuild a routine while carrying guilt. The guilt voice says, “You should’ve done better.”
The growth voice says, “You can start again — right now.”

Here’s the truth: you don’t owe your routine an apology. You owe yourself grace. If you’ve been in survival mode, that’s not failure, that’s life doing what it does best: interrupting your plans. (Alexa, play Tim McGraw).

Don’t “Restart Everything.” Restart One Thing.

When we realize we’ve fallen off, we love to make comeback plans that look like movie montages. “Tomorrow I’ll wake up at 5 a.m., work out, meal prep, journal, meditate, and conquer the world.” - No, you won’t. You’ll do two of those things, max.

Pick one piece of your routine that makes you feel better when it’s in place, like morning coffee in peace (my go-to first pick), a quick walk, five minutes of tidying, or writing your top three tasks.

Do that. Just that. Consistently.

Momentum builds faster than motivation everrrr does.

Change the Goal From “Perfect” to “Progress.”

A good routine isn’t about sticking to it flawlessly - it’s about it still working when life doesn’t.

Perfection is the trap. It’s the all-or-nothing thinking that says, “If I can’t do it all, I won’t do any of it.” (This is 100000% me, almost every day).
Progress says, “Half the list done is still half a win.” (Glass half full here, right?)

If you can’t do the whole workout, stretch. If you can’t meal prep for the week, cook one dinner at home. If you can’t journal for 10 minutes, jot one thought down (brain dumps are amazing and don’t even have to make sense!).

Real Life is Not a Pinterest Board

Your routine has to fit your life, not the other way around. I’ve rebuilt my routines enough times to know that forcing them never lasts. If it’s too rigid, it breaks the first time your day goes sideways — and let’s be honest, most days go sideways.

A real routine has wiggle room. It can survive sick kids, last-minute calls, mental health days, and “I just can’t today” moments. That’s not a weak routine — that’s a sustainable one.

Celebrate the Restart (Cheers! It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere)

Every time you start again — no matter how small — you’re proving to yourself that you can.

You’re showing up for your life, even after it threw a few punches. That’s what growth really looks like — not big leaps, but tiny restarts. Over and over again.

So if today’s your restart day, good. Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Keep effing going!