Do you have a routine?

I have spent my life struggling to get into a routine. I have now been retired for a week and am desperate to get some discipline into my daily planning. There are so many jobs I really would like to do every day, but I keep making excuses to myself that I have to sort things out before I can start.

Recently someone started a thread asking how to organise their time and what to do with themselves as they had just retired and I suggested introducing a fixed item for about 30 minutes a day, a week at a time. I am now trying to practise what I preach, but since I retired I have had one son visiting from America and we went and visited another son last weekend and enjoyed cuddling our DGD.

Today was Monday and a fresh start. Again, it didn't work out as planned, but at least I managed to practise the piano.

I have set myself the target of getting up by 8 every morning and getting straight into the shower, instead of playing games on my tablet or phone and eating chocolates. If I can carry on with that until Saturday I shall then be able to say I have a routine!

I did find not having a routine when the children were small was an advantage - they didn't get whiney if we were out and stayed a bit longer than their bedtime, or complain if food wasn't on the table at a certain time.

My routine is to do what I want when I want every single day.

No routine whatsoever. It depends on the weather and what appointments we have. Weekends have largely ceased to exist unless the weather is good and we want to sail with the family.

My routine is that on Tues/Thurs I get up in time to be at DD2s by 7:30 so she can go off to work & I drop DGD to school at 8:30. On those same days all 4 DGC are with us for the after school slot.

The rest of the week is free flow! Filled up with friends, DH& I out and about, Governor stuff, bits of paid work, walking, gardening etc etc. but in no particular order.

Like paperbackButterfly I relish being non timetabled after a career in schools!

My only rule is no daytime TV!

No routine except Pilates class Friday morning, fill calendar with Coffee Meet Ups/ Monthly Afternoon Tea/ Monthly Lunch/other planned days out. Everything else fits around that. I go shopping when I want, do washing when I need to.

Breakfast is normally around 10 unless I'm going out earlier. Dinner usually about 7. Sunday is my day for reading newspapers/doing crosswords/sudoku.

I go to bed when I want, get up when I waken up most days , read in bed for as long as I like.

I have no-one to please (5.5 years a widow), love being in the garden when the weather's fine. My motto Gardening forever, Housework whenever

Blinko thanks for info re steps. I'm so glad to hear that!
Every morning starts with porridge blueberries and yoghurt. delicious.
I have a routine for a morning tidy. I like to do a little each day as I can, without notice suddenly be unable to do anything ( M.E. / CFS). And its easier that way. Husband tidies kitchen and downstairs floors. I tidy bathroom and beds. An hour does it. Saturday or Sunday morning a bigger clean. However if we get up and spontaneously decide a day out would be nice we leave it all. We have art and guitar classes and husband goes to library to write his book. (will it ever be published? ) We food shop when we feel like it. No set time for getting up but never very late. Apart from that we do what we like when we like apart from big occasional house stuff like organising decorating. Our children think pensioners have the greatest life.

I agree with Monica. A routine gives you freedom. You don't have to be too rigid tthough. I do find that having less energy now its important not to waste it.

I don't have a routine. I got to bed sometime between 10:30 and midnight. I get up anywhere between 8:00 and 9:30am. I never eat breakfast, but have a cup of tea. After that, I take each day as it comes. I go to Knit & Natter on a Wednesday afternoon, and DH and I will go out when it's his day off, if we feel like it.
I love the freedom retirement brings, and I'm making the most of it while I'm still fit.

I am not sure whether regular engagements, you cannot alter, really count as 'having a routine'. I think that only applies to tasks you can choose or not to choose to do - like housework, shopping, gardening or personal routines like eating or drinking at fixed times.

The example in the OP is all about personal optional routines. I have a number of activities I do at the same time every week, because someone else has decreed that the Tai Chi class in the village hall is at 2.00pm on a Monday. I do it most weeks, but that is their routine not mine.

Yes I think that's what routine means. Eg my best friend shops every Thursday for food etc, plans her menu for the week and buys accordingly. She sticks to that unless someone is ill in bed. I could not do that. It would tie me down and I wouldn't know what I want to eat in advance. I don't know how anyone does that. Then they have scone and coffee in the coffee shop....cherry scone...every week. Much too routine for me.

I don't have a foutii, but my cats do. Waking me up if I over sleep by even 10 minutes, and sitting staring at me when their good is due. Don't need a clock to know it's cat o'clock.

Don't have a routine !!!

Annep I confess, I plan my menus and shop for the week, but it regularly gets adjusted to meet circumstances
I have just replanned tomorrow's menus because DH has decided to go to an auction in the morning and has an unexpected meeting in the afternoon, which means he wll not be home for lunch, and that then has repercussions for Thursday as I had planned to make a soup to last us two days.

I have always done this because when I was working I only had time to shop once a week and, now it is habit and I live in a village and the main supermarkets are 4 miles away. Once again I haven't time to drive there every day and anyway I try to keep my car journeys to as few as possible and do as much as possible in one journey.

Monicaits understandable and it does make sense if you're not close to shops. I have tried doing that but I ended up with too much over the use by date as I didn't want to eat what we planned. I too love making homemade soup but its difficult to time it for when we are both home together so I usually freeze half. We often eat different meals together. I wonder do others do that.

When I batch cook annep I freeze in different portions so that there is something if only one person is at home for a meal or if we have a houseful ! We sometimes eat at lunchtime if one of us has a meeting/work in the evening but usually only eat 'together' once a day!

I love a nice routine.
I haven't had one for years though, sadly.
Its a work in progress.

Not something Ive ever deliberately done Pecs, as I don't actually enjoy cooking. So here I am at 5am googling batch cooking and now thinking its actually a good idea for someone who doesnt like cooking. I must give it a go.....some day.

I would hate to have to have a routine. I try and do 10,000 steps but there is no routine in how or when I do them.

I am like MOnica in that plan a weeks meals but then have to adapt!!

If I am making a curry, casserole, pasta sauce etc I never make just one portion but always make at least double. Then like PECS, I freeze in portions for 1 or 2 and use different combinations as needed. I've always done that.

We could probably eat for 2 or 3 weeks with what is stashed away. And, having meals in the freezer means I can chop and change plans at will.

Do you defrost before using Kittylester / Monica.

I usually get out whatever it is in the morning, leave it on the side to defrost during the day and eat in the evening.

The advantage to getting older - or one of many - is that you can do what you want, when you want. No alarm to wake you in the morning; however, having always woken by a certain time it's now ingrained in my body clock. We still stick to a routine of sorts, meals roughly within the same hour as it's always been, certain household chores, like changing bed, always done on the same day. But for day to day living, we do what needs to be done, or not if the mood takes us to go out for a pootle. We just go with the flow.....

Does no-one on this thread volunteer or child mind?

I don't like having a routine but I do pick the children up for DD1 (and to see them of course) and, as she has a routine, that is a specific day. I also volunteer but the days for that it the same for 6 weeks and then changes. DH volunteers on various days so we do have to have routine of sorts.

I'm not usre I could cope with a vacuum everyday.

Are we counting routines that are not of our choosing though? DH and I have a couple of full days childminding, then between us local sports to follow, reading groups, a history group, weekly quiz nights, the oldies cinema screening on a Thursday, park run on Saturday, etc. Things like that are set in stone, not much we can do about it. But it’s our choice whether we stick to routines in what’s left of our time - set cleaning days, mealtimes, shopping days etc. Some people do, some choose not to, it’s good that we’re all different. If I wake up and fancy a whole day reading a good book or binge watching a good drama series I’ll do it. Housework can wait. There’s no vacuum there.

Sorry, I’ve just seen that M0nica already made the point about regular engagements v personal options.