5: Why Rhythms Work Better Than Routines

If routines keep falling apart, it might not be you.

In this episode, we talk about why rhythms can be more supportive than routines — especially when life is busy, unpredictable, and far from perfect.

Because the goal isn’t to follow a perfect plan.
It’s to create something you can actually return to.

We talk about the difference between routines, rhythms, and rituals, why small repeatable actions build more momentum than all-or-nothing overhauls, and how rhythms can help create more flexibility, less pressure, and more space for what actually matters!

We also get into the rhythms that shaped me growing up, the ones I now protect in my own life and family, and how even small resets — in your home, your inbox, or your mind — can make a real difference.

In the spirit of spring, this episode also introduces a simple 30-day challenge: choose one small nagging space a day, reset it, and build momentum one step at a time.

In this episode:

•  why routines can feel rigid in real life 
•  the difference between routines, rhythms, and rituals 
•  how rhythms help build momentum 
•  real-life examples of rhythms at home and in everyday life 
•  simple ideas for resetting physical and mental clutter 
•  a 30-day spring decluttering challenge to join

If this episode resonated with you and you’re ready to take the next step, grab the One Space Reset Kit. It’s a short guided reset to help you clear one space at a time — whether that’s a space in your home or one of the open loops we talked about today.

→ Grab the One Space Reset Kit here!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss your Monday reset.

Connect with Jackie:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/makingthespacewithjackie
• Email: hello@jackiepicchi.com

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Disclaimer:

© 2026 Making the Space, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this podcast may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.

This podcast is for educational and coaching purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, medical, or mental health care.

Transcript

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Every January we tell ourselves the same thing. This is the year I finally get into a good routine. This is the year I stay on top of everything. This is the year I follow through, and for a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks, maybe even a few months. It works, and then real life happens and suddenly it feels like we fell off again. We're behind again. Like we just couldn't stick with it, right? We're in March and some of these things have just fallen through the cracks. But what if the problem isn't you? What if the problem is a kind of structure you're trying to follow? Hi, I am Jackie Peaky, a values-based decluttering coach, helping overwhelm moms make space for what matters most. And this is your Monday reset where we talk about what it looks like to declutter your home, your head, and your life in a way that actually works in real life. Over the last few episodes, we've really been laying the foundation for this work. We've talked about getting clear on what actually matters to you, not what you think should matter, but what truly matters in your real life. Right now we've talked about noticing what's taking up space. This could be in your home, in your head, in your schedule, and how much of that can quietly pull you away from the life you actually are trying to live. And we've started to shift things even in. Small ways. I'm all about those baby steps, but at some point, all of that awareness has to turn into action because awareness is really powerful. It really is. But on its own, it doesn't change much. Right? What actually starts to change things is what we come back to. The small, repeatable actions that fit into our real lives. Not perfect lives, not ideal conditions, but the life you're actually living on. Some random Tuesday, and I think this is where a lot of us get a little tripped up because we think we need a routine. We think we need to map everything out, get it just right, and stick to it perfectly. And then when life inevitably gets busy or messy or unpredictable, we fall off and we feel like we failed. But what if it's not actually the problem? What if it's not that you need more discipline, but that you need something that actually works with your life? And that's where I've really come to love the idea of rhythms. Not something rigid, but something you can return to. And I wanna share a little story about that. I grew up in a home where my mom and dad were really good at keeping routines in place for us. We were busy kids, there were sports activities, work schedules, always something going on. But even with all of that, there was usually something anchoring the day or the week. And my mom. Mom, if you're listening, high Fives to you. She is especially good at this and she still is. She's always had a way of creating steadiness in our home. One simple example I talk about a lot is our meal plan for the week. We always knew what dinner was on certain nights, like spaghetti on Thursdays, so mom and dad would make sure spaghetti on Thursdays, and it sounds so small, but it really gave shape to the week. We weren't constantly guessing what was for dinner, what the plan was, where we were going. There was just something to arrive to. And looking back, I think that kind of predictability was really grounding. It created a sense of steadiness and it was something that we all looked forward to. We would protect our family, mealtime, whoever was available, we would gather and have spaghetti dinner. But what's interesting is when I really think about it now, what my mom created wasn't just a routine, it was a rhythm because our days were not rigid. We did not have the exact same schedule every single day. There was too much real life for that, but the rhythm was still there. And I think that's really the difference for me. A routine can feel more fixed, and a rhythm is something you return to. And then ritual to me is that little intentional moment inside the rhythm. So maybe that's the morning cup of coffee. Maybe it's tea, maybe it's sitting down for a quiet minute before the day gets going. Those little moments help us arrive to the rhythm. And that has become so important to me as an adult because I've realized my nervous system really needs that kind of rhythm. It's not even an option for me at this point. It's something I really protect. And that's really where this shows up for me in my everyday life. I've carried so much of that with me into adulthood. And now I find myself modeling it for my own children too. And I think part of why this has become so important to me and why I'm so passionate about it is because my nervous system really needs it. I probably didn't have the language for that as a child, but I definitely feel it as an adult. So here's what I mean by this. I identify as someone that is highly sensitive. Some of you may be familiar with this term. It's coined by Elaine Aaron, and it's kind of evolved over the last many years, and this, you know, can fall under the neuro divergent umbrella as well. I identify as highly sensitive. That means my nervous system is just a bit more sensitive to the things around it. So if I am overstimulated with a lot of people or sounds, or a very busy day, I would really benefit from taking a break and resting and resetting, so my rhythm throughout my day really supports my sensitivity, and it's something that I will protect the heck out of. So. What I love about rhythm is it matches real life, right? So I'm a mom, I've got my own kiddos. We are now living our lives with busy schedules, just like I had when I was a child. And I find myself really trying to find these anchor points. These rhythms that ebb and flow through the week for my children and for my family. And some of those things like those rituals I have incorporated into my own family's lives as well. Two of them that I wanna talk about, one for me, you know, is that morning anchor in the morning. 'cause I have observed my mom do that through her entire life and even now, right? When she's in grandma mode, she still does this. She is still doing that morning cup of coffee, taking care of herself, having a quiet spot, and it doesn't matter where she is, if she's on vacation or at home, that rhythm follows her that morning. Ritual follows her to set that rhythm up for the entire day. So that is one anchor point. I have replicated that for myself. In the morning, and also this anchor of having dinner together as a family. I've always enjoyed that. I've always appreciated that my mom and dad have protected that time for us as we were growing up, that it was just a time for whoever was home to gather and if we were going to eat, we were gonna eat together. And I like to do that for my family and my children too. So again, it just, it ebbs and flows. There's days that we're having dinner at. 5:30 PM There may be days that we're having dinner at 8:00 PM but my children know they have come to learn that we're gathering together. They will even ask if somebody's not there, like, okay, we're waiting. Right? Who's, who's missing from the dinner table? So we wait for that time. It is an anchor point, but it's a rhythm because it ebbs and flows. It flexes with the weak, but it's something that we do together. My nervous system. Depends on these rhythms. I like knowing that there's something that I can come back to, and it's a way of making the space for the things that are important to me. It's making space for my own self-care and also for the things that simply need to get done. This is really why I like rhythms over routines. Rhythms create an immediate sense of flexibility, and I've seen over and over again, both in my own life and in working with clients over the last decade that when we make space for rhythms and allow life to ebb and flow with them. That's often a much stronger predictor of success. And remember, we've been talking about this idea of building momentum over the last couple of podcast episodes, and this is it. This is what really builds momentum. Not doing everything perfectly, but having something you can keep coming back to. And I think this is one of those things that makes so much more sense in real life than it does in theory, right? So for me, one simple example is the kitchen. I don't have some perfect nighttime routine that happens at the exact same time every night. Life just doesn't work like that. But I do have a rhythm of helping the kitchen feel a little more closed out before I fully settle in for the night. Some of you may call this the kitchen tuck in and it's really a team effort here. When I say, I mean we, okay, so we have a team effort. Some nights. That means loading the dishwasher, wiping the counters, just resetting the space just enough Other nights. It's honestly just one clear surface, just enough so I'm not waking up to total chaos in the morning. And even that small reset makes a huge difference. It helps the next day feel lighter. It gives me that feeling of, okay, this space is supporting me a little bit more. Another big one for me are those little nagging spots in the house, those tiniest places in your home that aren't huge projects, that are quietly draining your energy every time you see them. Maybe it's the bathroom counter. Maybe it's a pile of papers that's been on your desk for weeks or months. Maybe it's the chair that's become the catchall. Maybe it's that one corner that is somehow collecting everything. When I spend even 10 minutes resetting one of those spots, it shifts more than just the space. It gives me that feeling of movement again. Like, okay, I'm not stuck. I'm building momentum. And even research supports this idea really well, right? Studies on habit formation show that change is built through repetition over time, not one big burst of effort. So what tends to stick is what you can repeat, and that's exactly why rhythms matter so much. They're repeatable and they leave room for real life to happen. And I think this applies just as much to the mental tabs we carry too. Maybe your rhythm is taking five minutes to clear out just your inbox a little bit. Not getting to inbox zero. I really wish that were the case and not spending an hour on email, just creating a little bit more breathing room. I try to do this once a week because, oh my goodness, the amount of emails that comes in is insane and I feel like I'm pretty good at managing it on a daily basis, but even just five minutes of clearing out the obvious things. Junk mail old emails from a couple weeks ago that no longer apply. That makes some space, right? Or maybe your rhythm is pulling out a notepad and doing a quick brain dump, getting all the things that are floating around in your mind, out onto paper so you're not carrying them all in your head. Maybe it's the things you need to do that day, the things you don't wanna forget that week, or the open loops that just keep tugging for your attention. That's a rhythm too. It's a small way to come back to yourself, a small way of creating space. And I think that's what I love so much about rhythms. We can create them in ways that actually support real life. And then we can nestle in these little rituals that make them feel more pleasant and grounding, just like my mom did, right? And she still does that little cup of coffee. Maybe you're making some tea before you sit down in the morning with your notebook. Maybe it means turning on music while you reset the kitchen. Maybe it's setting a timer and just giving yourself 10 focused minutes. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but those little rituals can make it easier to return to the rhythm again and again. And in the spirit of spring, because in podcast Land Spring has sprung and also in the spirit of real life being super busy right now, I just don't have time for a full weekend to overhaul. Right now, I don't have a weekend of spring cleaning that I can do, but I do have time for 10 to 20 minutes of focused attention every day, and I really believe. That's enough. That's really all I need, right? Because if I'm being honest, I can easily spend 10, maybe 20 minutes scrolling each day, and I started thinking, what if I just swapped a little bit of that time for something that actually gives me something back, something that creates less of that nagging energy and more space for what I actually want to be doing. And that's really where this came from. So I am challenging myself over the next 30 days over on Instagram. If you're not following me, you can find me at making the space with Jackie. And I am doing something really simple. I'm taking 30 of those little nagging spaces, the ones that quietly sit in the background and they take up way more energy than they should, and I am putting them all into a jar. And each day I'm just going to pull one. Okay. So no overthinking, no over planning, no. Turning it into a whole day thing. Just picking one space, and I'm gonna be really specific about what I'm putting in that jar. So I have some of those zip bags that have a bunch of blankets and a. You know, like seasonal things in it, and it just stares at me every time I see them under the bed, and I know I need to go through them. So I'm gonna have really specific spaces there, the ones that are nagging me, and I'm gonna pick one and just get it done. Okay. Because I think sometimes we don't need a better plan. We just need to move. We just need to do the thing. And I actually think part of what makes this work. Is not pre-planning every detail. That's where we tend to overcomplicate things. This is meant to feel light, a little fun, a little surprising, and most importantly, super doable. And I wanna use what I have. I don't wanna pre-plan and go get any matching bins. I really want to work smart with the time I have and the things that I already have in my space. And like I said, I'm going to be sharing this process over on Instagram, the space I pick, what it looks like a little bit of before and after, and how I move through it in real life. I really just wanna give you a real life look at what this can actually look like in the middle of a full busy life, because right now we're in a busy season and how it really can happen in just a few minutes a day. Because I want you to see that we can make the space not perfectly, not all at once, but in small, repeatable ways that actually fit into our lives. That's the rhythm. So I wanna invite you to join me. Make your own 30 day jar. Keep it simple. Keep it fun. Write down those little nagging spaces. You can even get the family involved if you want. It could be the drawer, the junk drawer, those little piles, the corner, the counter, you know, fold 'em up, toss 'em in, and just pick one a day. And this could just be 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Let that be enough because this is how we start shifting things. Not in big, overwhelming bursts, but really small, consistent returns. And if you're listening to this and thinking, okay, Jackie, I love this, but I just want to start now and I need a little bit more guidance. That's exactly what the One Space Reset Kit is for. It's there to help you put this into action right away, to walk you through one space in a way that feels doable and repeatable, so you can start building this rhythm without overthinking it. I'll make sure the link is waiting for you in the show notes. So whether you wanna do this with me in real time, over on Instagram and follow along with the reels, or you wanna do it at your own pace, this is such a good place to start because honestly, starting is often the hardest part. Once we get moving, once we clear one little space, once we feel that bit of momentum, it gets so much easier to keep going. So let's keep it simple. Let's have some fun with it. And let's just begin. I'd love for you to share with me what you're decluttering and what you're making space for. Over on Instagram or by email. I read and respond to everyone, and I really do love hearing what's resonating and what you're working through in real life. So whether you join me on the challenge, start with the reset kit or just make 10 minutes today to reset one small space. It all counts because this isn't about your space, it's about what your space is taking away from you and what you get back when you start making this space for what matters. All right everyone. Happy spring and thanks for joining me today.

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A quick note before we close. This podcast is for education and inspiration. It's not a substitute for therapy or medical care. If you are needing mental health support, please reach out to a licensed provider in your area.