It’s spring and the plants and grass seem to be coming back to life for another summer, but it’s time we get in the game as well. Too many times, I think we fall into autopilot mode when it comes to running the week. We get up at the same time every day, and we go through the same motions of getting everyone ready and off to school and work. Then, we leave, grab kids and dinner, and toss a shower in there. Then, we do all of it all over again.

With my schedule, it is sometimes hard to break the cycle, but recently, we had a change in the matrix. It used to be that Saturday was the day that we got to catch up on sleep, but not anymore. Now, we are a family with two soccer players, and they have games that are every Saturday at 8:30 a.m.—meaning we have to be out of the house for 7:30 a.m., just like every other day of the week.

Let me tell you, I was not a fan of this part of the drill, but once I was moving and we got to the field, I was excited to see these little guys running and playing with their friends. They really enjoyed playing, and I enjoyed watching them have fun instead of seeing them sitting in front of a TV. 

Once the game was over, we headed back to the house to what turned out to be a very productive day. It turned the whole weekend around because I was not rushed on anything. We had plenty of time to get done what we needed, and we even had some time to sit around and do nothing. 

So, give it a shot and break the normal cycle. Get up early, go for a walk, get ice cream, do anything, just make it a point to do at least one thing every day that is not part of your normal routine, and be sure to include the whole family, even if it is kicking a ball in the yard for a few minutes. Turn off the autopilot routine and get in the game. ■