Spring Cleaning Your Habits: Refresh Your Routines with Intention
Happy Spring! As I write this, it’s still 32 degrees outside—but I know that sunshine and warm days are just around the corner. The vernal equinox on March 20 marks the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. That shift toward longer, brighter days has been celebrated for centuries around the world.
With Easter approaching, the air feeling a bit fresher, and little green buds starting to peek through, spring is the season of renewal. And for many of us, that means spring cleaning—not just in our homes, but in our daily lives too.
Spring Is the Perfect Time to Revisit Your Habits
When the seasons change, I like to pause and reflect: Do my daily habits reflect the person I want to be?
Will Durant once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Habits are the small things we do every day—often without even realizing it. They’re efficient, automatic, and help us move through our routines without a second thought. That’s great… until we stop paying attention to whether those habits still serve us.
And it’s not just about what we do. Mental habits—like the way we talk to ourselves, how we manage our time, or how we handle stress—are just as powerful as physical ones.
What’s the Difference Between a Habit and a Ritual?
Habits are automatic. Rituals are intentional.
Habits get us out the door—coffee, kids’ lunches, keys, go. They make life run smoothly. But rituals are the small moments we do with purpose. They can be simple—lighting a candle at dinner, journaling before bed, taking a quiet breath before the day begins—but they bring a sense of meaning to the mundane.
Organizers often talk about habit stacking—linking a new, intentional habit to something you already do. It’s a great way to build better routines without overhauling your whole life.
When Habits Go Unchecked
Sometimes, what starts as a meaningful ritual becomes an unconscious habit—and not always in a good way.
Take my coffee routine: After school drop-off, I used to have 15–20 minutes before my first client. I treated myself to a Starbucks latte—$6–$7 for a comforting little escape. The smell, the sounds, the warmth… It felt luxurious.
Fast forward a few months: I was picking up my usual pistachio latte through the drive-thru, ordered on autopilot, already buzzed from the coffee I had had at home. It didn’t even taste good. That ritual had become a habit—and honestly, a bit of an addiction. It was costing me money, calories, and joy.
When Habits Become Meaningful
But it works the other way, too.
During the COVID lockdowns, like many of us, I found myself on Zoom every day. My camera pointed straight at my unmade bed—so I started making it each morning, just for appearances. Over time, it became a habit. Then, a ritual. Now, making my bed is how I start my day, whether I have a meeting or not. Experts say this simple act can boost productivity, reduce stress, and improve sleep—and I’ve felt the difference. Sometimes I even make the bed before getting in it at night, just for the sense of calm it gives me.
Spring Clean More Than Just Your Space
It’s not just our physical habits that deserve a little spring cleaning—our mental habits can get just as cluttered. Take negative self-talk, for example, or the tendency to constantly tell others how busy and overwhelmed you are. The more often you repeat those thoughts or words, the more they become your truth. You start living in that headspace of stress, even when there’s space to breathe. It reinforces the overwhelm instead of helping you work through it. Breaking that habit starts with awareness. Try replacing “I’m so busy” with “I have a lot on my plate, but I’m prioritizing what matters most today.” You can even turn this into a ritual: a quick morning check-in where you write or say one thing you're handling well or something you're grateful for. It’s a small shift, but over time, it reshapes the narrative—and your day.
This spring, as you're decluttering your closets and dusting off the cobwebs, I invite you to also spring clean your time. Take a good look at your everyday habits. Which ones are adding value? Which ones are just eating away at your energy?
Can you turn a habit into a ritual? Can you replace a mindless routine with something that feels more meaningful?
Let your daily actions reflect the life you want to live—not just the one that happens by default.