Time Flies

I rarely have a moment when I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. And as a creature of routine, I am generally pretty comfortable in my rut. I am also always aware of what time it is, so it's not surprising that my life is more or less scheduled out to the minute. Here's my daily routine, Monday through Friday.

5:45 Wake up
5:45-6:00 Shower
6:00-6:20 Read scriptures
6:20-6-40 Exercise
6:40-6:50 Get dressed, get things ready for work
6:50 Wake up kids for school
7:25 Get the kids out the door for the bus
7:30 Leave for work
8:00-Noon Work stuff
Noon-1:00 Walk (Mon/Wed/Fri) or run (Tues/Thurs), eat lunch
1:00-5:00 Work stuff
5:00 Leave work
5:30 Get home
6:00-8:30 Make dinner, get kids to do homework
8:30 Have kids brush teeth
9:00 Get Clara and Allison in bed
10:00ish Prepare whatever I need to for the next day and get ready for bed
11:00ish Collapse from exhaustion

I try to encourage Katie to get out for a bit in the evenings for a break, and she goes to the gym a few times a week. That means I'm usually trying to make dinner and watch the kids for an hour or two, and by the time she's back and everyone has eaten (which usually requires making 2 to 4 meals to satisfy everyone [don't judge me for enabling my kids]) it's just about time to start getting ready for bed.

If there's nothing specific I am trying to accomplish at a given moment, I try to field all requests from the kids so Katie can do something, which is usually dishes or laundry or some other cleaning task she wants to get done. But if there's a few minutes when I'm not immediately swamped with tasks, like the kids are out playing with friends, I find myself at a loss. I don't really like to sit on the couch and watch TV, because I'll get interrupted every 30 seconds or just fall asleep. So I usually wander aimlessly looking for small things that need to get done.

This probably sounds like complaining, but I like efficiency, and I feel like I've figured out how to get the most done by trying to focus on tasks. I feel that even small things are worth doing well, and if my life's not glamorous at least it's full.

Do you have a schedule, or do you prefer to play it by ear?

Comments

)en said…
Wow, what a schedule! I have many thoughts that I am mulling over. While I appreciate structure, I am NOT a creature of habit and it doesn't take too many consecutive days of doing more or less the same things that I find myself start to die inside a little bit. I love change, I love excitement. Routine is my enemy. I rely on mixing things up just to feel alive. Also-I am very protective of my do-nothing time. Doing nothing is very important to me. If I run from thing to thing, I become agitated. I have great fears of filling my days with busy, meaningless nothings. (<-- not to be confused with do-nothing time, which is very productive) On the other hand, as you mentioned, having a routine probably helps a lot with time management, something I struggle with. I am rarely late to things as I'm good at estimating how long things take, but there's just something about sticking to a schedule that repels me. But, since you gave yours, I'm going to give mine with the understanding that, afforded a more flexible lifestyle, it changes from day-to-day. It will be comical to attempt to map it out to the minute, as you have done:

6:45-- wake up
6:50-- wake up kid who is usually already awake and getting ready because he's quite the morning person unlike myself.
7:00-7:50-- make and eat breakfast, discuss 1 trillion topics with kid, perhaps read our book, and send him on his way.
8:00-9:00-- Sit in a stupor. Wait for my brain to wake up. Do some reading or writing. Clean the kitchen. Put on workout clothes.
9:30-10:30-- yoga
10:30-12:00-- run errands
12:00-2:00-- shower, eat some lunch, do more reading or writing. Pass out for my afternoon lethargy.
2:30-5:00-- do chores and spend time with child: Discuss day. Help with homework and piano. Work through issues that may arise. Read our book together.
5:00-6:30-- Dinner
6:30-8:30-- miscellaneous activities. ride bikes, walk, play, work on writing, see friends, etc.
8:30-9:00-- put kid to bed.
9:00-10:30-- TV time, cherished time.
10:30-11:30-- shut down the house, bed prep, and hopefully sleep.


September 13, 2019 at 2:35 PM
Joel said…
It's interesting to see your schedule. I wonder what I will do when my kids are older and I don't have a ton of structured tasks at home. Will I actually use my time to do productive things like little home improvements and gardening and such? Will I come to enjoy yard work? Because I hate hate hate it.
September 13, 2019 at 3:18 PM
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