Daily Schedule

Virgo17

One of the things I am trying to work on in the New Year is being more purposeful with my time.  I'm trying to work on a good daily routine, but it seems there are just not enough hours in the day for what I need and want to do.  So I'm curious, what does your daily schedule look like?

Wake up around 6:30am and shower
Pack lunch, etc. 7:00-7:15am
On M,W,F I drop my preschooler off at her grandma's since she has school
Work 8:30am-5:00pm
Get home around 6:15pm
Scarf dinner and start bath and bedtime routine
Try to have all kids down by 8:00pm, but is often closer to 9:00pm

By this time of the night I'm ready for bed myself, but I'd like to be able to workout for 30 minutes, take care of daily chores so they don't pile up, and I'm starting the first class of my doctoral program.  Do I just need to learn to live on less sleep?

alli2672

Can grandma give the kids a bath?  She might be kind of looking for something to do with them indoors, and it would give you some additional time in the evening. 

jlaOK

The things in your schedule that seem more difficult are 1) commute 2) bedtime 3) dinner rush.

Can you flex your schedule at all so you get home earlier?  Even work late a couple of days to be home early the others?

Agree with @beaubecca, why does bedtime take 2 hours?  I don't know how old your kids are but we let DS stay up a little later (8:30) because when we put him down then he'll stay in bed.  Earlier times he would be up and down a bunch of times and ended up finally settling down even later.

Can grandma help with dinner at all?  Maybe even feed the kid(s) a couple of nights a week.  Trying to cram in a full evening routine from 6:15 on is a lot.

Where does DH fit into all this?

eyenigh

A few ideas based on your post: I try to pack all lunches the night before so I don't feel so rushed in the morning-- because I'm always rushing in the morning. 

Is there a gym at or near your work that you could use to work out on your lunch while you're at work? Since I started doing lunchtime workouts last year, I've found that not only do I enjoy the break in the day, it's really helped me stick with it and it doesn't cut into any of my home time. 

We only do baths every other night, in the cold weather, especially, it dries my son's skin out too much to do it more and he really doesn't get very dirty.

litzo27

Honestly if I want to work out I have to get up at 5:45 so I'm done by 6:45. Since DD is not yet STTN this isn't happening much. But I'll get back to it. Otherwise my schedule is similar. I try to have most things packed the night before so I can have an unrushed breakfast with the kids at 7:15 and then get them ready and dressed and out the door with DS1 by 8.

Can you skip lunch and get home an hour sooner? I get home at 6 but we play till 7 pretty much. I don't cook on weekdays (all prepared on weekends or take-out or crock-pot set in the morning). Then it's bath at 8 and I consider bath quality time Most days everyone is asleep by 9 which is when I clean up kitchen and prep for tomorrow for about 20 minutes and then have about an hour of me time for TV, bills, books, etc.

jasminelorraine20

I wake up at 5:30 and get myself completely ready before waking DS at 6. If I'm making a crock pot meal, I prepare it and put it in during this time.

His clothes are picked out the night before, so all I do is get him ready, give him a snack and we're out the door at 6:30 for DC and work

7:00-4:00 I'm at work

Pick up DS from DC around 4:15/4:30

4:30-6:00 Go home and we play, do puzzles, FaceTime Nana, etc.

6:00- 6:45 Eat dinner, bathe, story time and DS is in bed no later than 7 pm

Virgo17

Ok, let me answer a few questions.

1.  I do have a long commute, 48 miles.  It takes close to an hour to get in about 1:15 to get home.
2.  My hours are set and teleworking is not an option since I am a manager.
3.  DH is home at 3:30 during no overtime, between 5:30-7:30 when there is overtime.  He is my saving grace on days he gets home early.  He will do dinner and baths so we can just hang out when I get home.  He is coming off a 2 month stretch with a lot of overtime, but is lightening up now.
4.  Bedtime doesn't really take 2 hours, that's just the window of everyone getting to sleep.  I could be doing other things during that time, I just feel like I can't "get into" anything until I know everyone is settled.  My youngest goes down between 7:15-7:30, the 3 year old goes to bed around 7:30, and the 4 year old goes to bed between 8:00-8:30.  They used to go down easily, but the 3-year old in particular is going through this phase of needing someone in there multiple times to do god knows what.

I told DH we do need to tighten up bedtime.  If it were up to him, he would let them just deal.  I've been a little soft about the whole thing.  If I knew everyone was down for the night by 8pm, that would open up a lot of time in the evenings.

banks81

If you want to workout, I also recommend getting up early in the morning to do so.  It often means I'm tired and end up in bed myself at 9:30, but it's well worth it when it's over and done with!  For me, it's also helpful to look at the week ahead and adjust as necessary.  Do you know when DH will have overtime or is it random?  If you know, then I would plan each day accordingly and have things you want to get done each day, based on the time you have.  Example - Crockpot meals for days he works late and have him cook the days he doesn't.

djm31012

My day looks similar, but actually a little worse.
Wake up at 5
In work at 6:45
Leave work at 4:45
Home at 6
Dinner/Bath/Bed all btwn 6 and 730

Right now I cant fit in working out besides on the weekend. If I had your schedule I would try to do a morning work out 1-2 days a week (give yourself a week to get into it and you will feel totally fine) and 1-2x on the weekends.  I would also pack lunches the night before to give you that extra 15 min in the morning.

Can your mom feed the kids dinner and / or do baths, so when you get home you have more leisure time? I would also make sure you are really good about meal planning so when you come home at 615, its just about reheating..everyone is eating from 630-645/7. 

2chatter

It sounds like DH might be the bedtime heavy - can you delegate bedtime to him for a week so that he can force the kids into the new routine?

Can you complete any tasks in the car?  When I do have to drive, I try to make a list of things - schedule appts, change policies, pay bills, etc. and program the numbers into my phone so I can just Bluetooth it.  I make a list in my notes app and look at it before I start driving so I know what the tasks are.  I memorized my bank card number so that for any bills that are not on bill pay I can just call and pay them. 

sdlaura

Do you get a lunch break, or could you reorganize your schedule so that you get a lunch break?

That's the main place where our schedules differ - I workout during lunch.  But even if you couldn't feasibly work out then, you could ust that as "you" time - even if it's just 30 minutes of reading a magazine in the car or running an fun errand or something.

I agree with the PPs too about bedtime - my kids are asleep (or at least in their rooms by themselves) at 8 pm, and I try to get to bed around 9:30 pm, so that gives me 1.5 hours to get things done/relax/hang out with DH.

Virgo17

Thanks for the ideas!  I'm thinking I'll get up early to workout and see how that goes.

pb&fluff

I used to feel the same way (including school - I'm finishing up my Master's). I also started getting up at 445 to make it to the gym. That's the only way I could include working out without having to choose between the gym and picking up DS at the end of the day. Our schedule is:
Gym 5-6
Shower and get ready, pack lunch, coffee, etc 6-715
Leave for daycare and work
Get home 530ish. Spend time with DS, do a little school work while he vegges (he's been stimulated all day at school).
Eat 630
Bath/bed 730 -815
School/time to myself 815-930 or so. With getting up that early, I try to be in bed by 930 or 945. So I'm getting 7ish hours of sleep.

Your commute sounds brutal though.

MommaP12

I'm with you and my schedule is similar.  Our bedtime is tighter with our 2 yo and 5 yo both going to bed between 7:30/8.

I work 8:30-5, and it's set and my commute is about 50 minutes total via the train so I get home close to 6 at night.  I use the slow cooker 3 nights a week in the winter and in the summer DH will grill which is quick - leftovers/takeout/breakfast for dinner the other 2 weeknights.  We do baths every other day at 7 and put them to bed at 7:30/7:45.

I clean up/relax from 8-9 and then 3x a week DH and I do Yoga together and I try to get in one running session on the weekends.  And there's my routine/schedule.

Tighten up bedtime and find a workout out do during lunch, on the weekends, or for 30 minutes at home a couple nights a week and it should help.

nosoup4u

I pack my lunch and DS1's lunch after dinner every night, it eats up too much time if I do it in the mornings. We also meal plan religiously, which helps make evenings less stressful. I would work in getting kids in bed earlier, ours tend to dawdle, but having extra book as an incentive to get ready quicker (sometimes) works. Do they have to bathe every single night? It does seem like you could free up some more evening time after kids go to sleep.

itsmevkb

Lowering my expectations of what I should/need to get done on weekdays has really helped me.

I'm lazy and don't workout and I also don't do household chores on weekdays.  Things like laundry I leave for the weekend and we have someone come every other week to clean the house.  Of course, I do things like wash dishes, but try to not do big household tasks at night.

I'm also really pretty strict about getting the kids to bed on time.  Since getting pregnant again I'm basically asleep no later than 9 these days but during "normal" times I use the time after the kids are in bed typically as my time.  I suppose I could workout then if I wanted but mainly I catch up on reading, sometimes go through mail and school junk, I update my calendar, I watch a tv show, etc.

My husband plays a big part in our routine as well as he does most of the drop-offs and pick-ups as well as some nights getting dinner started as he gets home earlier than me. 

CarrieB.

I've been on a huge organizing kick right now and I swear having a cleaned out closet and drawers (gave tons of stuff to goodwill) and an organized kitchen, bathroom, kids toy space and mail thing make worlds of difference. I think I am saving major time w an organized house.

itsmevkb

CarrieB. said:

I've been on a huge organizing kick right now and I swear having a cleaned out closet and drawers (gave tons of stuff to goodwill) and an organized kitchen, bathroom, kids toy space and mail thing make worlds of difference. I think I am saving major time w an organized house.

@CarrieB - when can you stop by my house and do the same things?????

CarrieB.

itsmevkb said:

CarrieB. said:

I've been on a huge organizing kick right now and I swear having a cleaned out closet and drawers (gave tons of stuff to goodwill) and an organized kitchen, bathroom, kids toy space and mail thing make worlds of difference. I think I am saving major time w an organized house.

@CarrieB - when can you stop by my house and do the same things?????


You don't need me. Won't you be nesting soon enough anyway?

Here's the mail organizer I bought at target after all the discussion about organizing mail on this board.