Do you have a routine?

In a word...NO.
Beyond waking up and going to sleep, rituals I've had for 73 years, everything inbetween is fluid. Eat when hungry, drink when thirsty.
It's a real luxury to please myself every single day.

I didn't think I had a routine until I thought about it! I certainly have a breakfast routine; a tablet [pill type not electronic!] routine and a night time routine. In between I go to 2 classes which are of course at set times and deal with email correspondence. Other than that I don't have a routine - I think!!!

Oh luckygirl...you can do better than 3000 steps. It's that to my local shop and back. I've just arrived home after a round trip of 5 miles( walking ) to see to my grandkids and take to school.... my fit bit says its 14,787 steps...I believe them. Later at approx 2.pm I start the return trip.By the time I get home about 6.30 this evening ( cook my own dinner)....as my hubby will have had a tiring day of tv watching.... I will have done 11+ miles. Cooked my dinner ...the kids dinner... put two loads of washing on two different washing lines and dropped my hubby's prescription into docs and washed my daughters kitchen floor. I'm near 70... and got two prolapsed discs in spine and arthritis in my hands. I'm pretty certain folk could do more exercise if the 'will' is there. Do that three days a week and that's my ONLY routine. The rest of time I do stuff as it comes!! I rattle with painkillers ( why not if it keeps me going) and I love every minute. Mind you I have just ordered an e-bike !!! Really looking forward to whizzing around on that. Routine meals....yuk ... that's what makes folk fat! Eat when you're hungry!

These days since my job has evaporated and will go completely at the end of the year I don't really have a routine. I do rise between 5 and 5.30 feed the cats and put my lenses in then make husband's pack up 4 days a week and breakfast on those days. Days now seem to be spent hovering around the pc in case someone needs me to do something and doing odd jobs in between. I'm generly hungry by 12 so have a sandwich and prepare tea for 6.15 when himself should be home. We go to bed at 10 then the whole thing starts again the next day so it looks like maybe I do have a routine of sorts after all

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.

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!

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!

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!

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

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 !!

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.

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.

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.

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’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.

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

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 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

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).

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.

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!

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

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 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.