Do you have a routine?

I go to the gym same days, same classes, but that is it as far as routine is concerned.

I live alone so am able to please myself yet I stick to a routine , meals at set times, get up at 9.25, go to bed 11.00pm, light out 12.10am. Even a routine for the internet in the morning.

I have no routine whatsoever - it just depends what deadlines are looming - at present programme notes and publicity designs for two concerts at the beginning of November. And as for 10,000 steps a day.....even given that I walk with pain I cannot imagine how I might achieve this with a healthy foot. I manage about 3,000 at most. Is this all in one long walk?

I have a routine for Monday-Friday to keep me on the straight and narrow. I get out of bed, cup of tea, prepare fruit for brekkers and veg for lunch. I have to admit I stick to the same fruit/veg which I like best. Wash and dress. If I don't do this first thing I go to pot - enthusiasm wanes as the day goes on.
At weekends I'm more self-indulgent. Sticking to this routine has helped me to lose weight. Exercise - that's another matter.

I put School Governor meetings etc on the calendar first. Then any coffee/lunch dates. Up between 6&7 watch a bit of BBC news to see what the world is up to! Have a cleaner once a fortnight but fit in other housework jobs in the mornings. 6 months since my husband passed away so things gave changed a lot as he was very disabled. Keep in touch with family -calls, What’s App and FaceTime. Lots of sorting of spare room with remains of clutter - and try to keep busy!

I try hard not to fall into a routine. After working in a school most of my adult life and living 'by the bell' it's been an absolute joy to just decide to do something and do it! Some days I have breakfast when I get up and some days I eat about 11am. Some days I'm in bed by 10 and sometimes, if I'm watching a film or reading a book it can be early morning. Every day is a pleasure and it feels like freedom

Getting up at 5am shysal!? Is that because you naturally wake up early? What time do you go to bed?
I'm only very recently retired, so am enjoying the luxury of not having a routine.
I try to build exercise into most days (cycling, walking, classes), but if someone rings up and says let's go to the cinema/shops/cafe - I'm off!

GrandmaKT, yes I always wake by 4am but make myself stay in bed until 5. Go to bed around 11pm depending on what I am watching on TV. Have been an early riser ever since doing a newspaper round as a teenager, don't seem to need a lot of sleep.

Luckygirl, don't do 10,000 steps all in one go, my RA knees and feet wouldn't manage it, do about 7-8,000 in the morning and pottering the rest of the day takes care of the remainder.

No, I’ve no routine, and like it that way. It’s one of the many joys of being retired, just being able to do things as and when you want. Of course we have to get up at the crack of dawn on our two days with the grandsons, but on other days it can be anything between 0730h (rarely) and 1015h, in time for a shower before Popmaster!

My mother used to go through the house like a whirling Dervish on Fridays, changing beds, polishing, washing windows... Everything smelt so fresh and clean when I got home from school, all ready for the weekend. I sometimes think that would be a good routine to copy (but rarely get round to it).

I get up when my bladder tells me I have to which is normally 8am. DH is already up, letting the dogs out and making tea etc., so I don't rush. After breakfast I try to motivate myself to getting on with housework before heading out into the garden. If it's raining the house gets a treat!!

Ironing sits in the basket until it really has to be done. DH likes a regular lunch break which I never bothered with until I retired but I enjoy it now. We have dinner early (farming hours are hard to lose) so I often save a couple of jobs to do in the evening before slumping in front of the telly.

I like a bit of routine in my life but only if it's my routine and not set by somebody else, like going to work.

I think if you have dogs though they become quite bossy and insist you stick to their routine

Our only routine is the various groups which DH & I each go to. Otherwise life here is very relaxed indeed: I couldn't bear to be sticking to a regular routine for everything, after my working life. Shopping & cleaning are done when needed, as is washing, though beds and towels are always changed around the weekend. There are plenty of things on our calendar, but we're not goverend by routine. I agree with paperbackbutterfly - retirement freedom is wonderful!

I like a routine, it helps me to know which day of the week it is. ?

Considering myself a control freak, I have no set routine at all. I do like to do Sainsbury's on Thursday morning but for the next six weeks my volunteering sessions are on Thursday am - I hope I cope!

I always do the school pick up on Wednesday too.

But, other than that, what is a routine?

I’m one of those people who would quite like to have some sort of a routine but finds that life always gets in the way. I’m watching this thread with interest to see if I can pick up any tips.

We have a sort of routine. We get up about eight and go to bed at about 10. No breakfast as we do 16:8. Then we do jobs. Outside if it's fine , indoors if not. Today we have no indoor jobs and it is cold and wet out. So DH is doing family tree stuff and I am knitting, reading and watching television. What we don't do today we can do tomorrow. Or the day after. It will all get done in the end

I think we al kinda of fall into a routien unknowingly.If we belong to groups or clubs which happen on the same day each week then they become routine,. My shopping day is routine as it fits in with all my other 'routines' that make up my daily life pattern.Obviously if something major or exciting crops up then those routines go out of the window. Most of us are creatures of habit i believe and habits are hard to break if not neccessay to do so.

The only one seems to be tea in bed in the morning, brought up by OH. Then we do tend to have breakfast together in front of the tv...this morning we have watched Italy Unpacked, which we recorded. Yesterday we we on Joanna Lumley's Silk Road. That seems to be the way we do things and we both find retirement blissful after decades of early starts and lots of stress. I tend to become a whirling Dervish when we have visitors due. I shall be going through the house like a dose of salts today and tomorrow. Other than that, no set routine.

Shysal, I'm with you. DH and i both retired in last couple of years and it's nice not to have a routine. We go with the flow, often depending on the weather. Get up when we want. Eat when we want. Food shop whenever we fancy. After years of working and then spending weekend catching up on shopping, cleaning etc, its fabulous. I do know people who have a regular routine and can barely divert from it. I would find that very boring. But each to their own.

I have to be a free spirit !! Everyday different, do what I want when I want, as I was tied to routine like others for so many years. Some days I don’t get up till 9, some days I am out power walking at 7am: I eat when I’m hungry not just because it’s lunch time etc I am quite impulsive and it’s lovely being able to be so. My family laugh at me and wander where I’m going to go next. Son no:2 has asked me not to go away in August as he’s getting married and would like me there !! I shall def be back from my South Sea Island Cruise by then !!

Yes, I have a routine, every six weeks I go to the hairdresser. Same day of week, same time of day.xx

I struggle against anything that smacks of routine, but I live with a man for who would sink without trace if he did not stick to his chosen routines. His mantra is that without routine there is no order, and without order, there is Chaos! Chaos? Bring it on!

I have some sort of routine early in the day. Because of a pesky arthritic condition, it takes me the best part of two hours to get ‘unstiffened’ and mobile first thing. It involves plenty of hot tea, painkillers, a hot shower and I regret to admit there’s a certain amount of cursing as well!
The rest of the day I try to catch up on a bit of housework, get to the shops if I can manage it, and see my lovely grandbabies.
My daughter leaves me to play with them while she runs the vacuum round for me - I’m so grateful for that!
Sometimes I would like to fit in more fun, I love shopping for instance, but it’s difficult to stay on my feet for more than half an hour. I do have fun planning, tho’, and when I get used to my new mobility scooter, there’ll be no stopping me!

My 'routine' is to check diary in evening for the next day and then a strategic plan falls into place depending on what I find there. First thing of the day is to lie there and figure out which day it is. Then it's all systems go (or not!) as required. Lovely!

Bridge Monday and Fridays, choir Monday evenings, meet old office colleagues for coffee alternate Thursdays, housework Tuesdays (helping my cleaning lady), otherwise meeting friends, rambling in the countryside, generally having fun.

Btw, re those 10k steps every day, I'm told if we're over 65 (or could be 60) we only need to be doing 7,500. Anything over that is a bonus.

So all good, so far. Long may it continue.