I was at the doctor Monday and as usual he asks me how I sleep?
I usually sleep pretty well but it doesn’t matter to me because I don’t have a routine so for the most part if I get tired I take a nap.
My work hours are irregular, I have to work a minimum of 8 hours a week to keep my job and they like us to schedule a minimum of 15. I’ve scheduled about 20 although I usually work around 35.
I don’t do much on a schedule, I eat when I’m hungry, sleep when I’m tired.
Sometimes I think I should get some discipline and follow a routine, the doctor says it would be better for me. Sometimes I try but it doesn’t last long.
Do you keep to a routine? Would you if you didn’t have to?
If I didn’t have to, I don’t think I would. My young son sort of drives my routine, as I work around his needs. If he weren’t in the picture I think I would drift over to a more irregular pattern (or lack thereof), a lot like what you described.
I mostly keep a routine. I suppose I do it because I have a regular job, but I suspect I’d probably wake up, eat, and sleep at more or less the same hour every day even if I wasn’t going to work. I tend to like my time a little more structured in general, although I do allow some flexibility. On vacation, for example, I like to have something planned for each day. Just “winging it” makes me twitchy.
Both. I keep a routine for things like work, sleep, cleaning, and childcare, so that I can be free to go with the flow on other stuff, like getting together with friends or making an art project. I used to think it was a luxury to just do whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it, but that meant that the stuff I didn’t want to do got put off until it was a problem. It was just chaos all the time, and I grew to hate it. Eventually I realized that having a routine for the basics enables me to have more freedom in other areas of my life. It’s great to be able to accept an invitation - or even invite someone over - on the spur of the moment, without worrying about whether the house is clean, or stressing about all the other things I should be doing.
I like a routine. You get a lot more done when you are on a routine. People roll their eyes, but when I maintain a loose schedule, instead of no schedule, I am sure to get everything done.
I even schedule my leisure time. It isn’t silly like “7:00 to 7:15 be a happy and people person”. But I try to plan for some leisure time every day, in the evenings, and it makes me a happier person to know I didn’t just spend my free time on the Internet. I did something I enjoyed.
I generally keep a routine, but that’s because my internal clock is a damn sergeant.
When the damn sergeant decides to change hours and if my situation allows for it, I do as the sergeant says. This past weekend I was sick and on Sunday I went to bed at 6pm (3-4h earlier than normal) because I could barely keep my eyes open. Yesterday I was seeing double at 6pm, but I was at work and couldn’t leave so all I could do was refrain from whining “I want my beeeeeed!”
Both. Routine gives me a sense of security - I usually get up, eat breakfast, work, and sleep on a routine schedule. But I’m also highly adaptable to changes in plans. I’m not a control freak.
I teach so I’m a slave to the bell schedule and general class routine. I don’t hesitate to change things up as needed though. Routine is stabilizing but can also lead to boredom, or worse, loss of a learning opportunity.
At home I do my own thing, with a few non-negotiables like Saturday morning housecleaning.
I work at home, alone, and my partner travels a lot on business. So I have absolutely no routine. There are times when I don’t know what day it is or whether the semi-light outside is A.M. or P.M. I rarely sleep more than a few hours at a time, and sometimes days go by when I don’t even get out of the house.
This does seem to isolate me and exacerbate my antisocial tendencies. But on the other hand, at least I’m not working to make someone else rich.
