I am fairly flexible. When I am working every night at midnight exactly I like to go out and walk until I get my 15000 steps. Just to get it over with. But sometimes that's not possible. I get busy with actual work or it's raining. It doesn't upset me when I cant go out at midnight. I just like to get it done. When I am off there is no set time,but I do get on the treadmill daily. I like to really scrub my house once a week, but no set day. I have mentioned before that i have a cleaning "routine" in which I tend to clean rooms in the same order every week. But again, I don't get out of sorts if that gets interrupted. I tend to do all our laundry on my first night off. But that is more of a need for a clean bra than a routine. :-p

Other than my basic get up and get ready for work routine, I can't think of anything that is really set in stone for me.

I am a do what strikes me as the thing to do kind of person. ;)

Moni

What's a "routine?" ;-)

Oh, I have a morning routine for sure and don't like it when it gets interfered with. Friends know that I don't go anywhere before 10:30a, unless it's an emergency or a set appt. of course.

Thank you for resetting the timer for your neighbor ;0)

I don't have a set routine. My mother cannot function without one and aging, with a little dementia - that hasn't improved. Getting the paper at 6 AM struck a chord - my mother would do the same but her paper box was a walk out the driveway to a box at the sidewalk. Rain, in the dark, snow, slippery ice...same thing, paper in slippers and housecoat to read with first cup of instant coffee. If her carrier was 15 minutes late, I'd hear about it later that day.

I don't think she passed those traits on to any of the three of us. I stopped any semblance of a real clock watching routine the minute I began to work from my home office.

I have routines associated with my pet chihuahua. Duchess expects to be able to go outside at certain times and I don't think it is fair to make her wait. She also expects a breakfast treat stuffed into a Kong while I have morning coffee, and a snuggle on my lap when I watch TV in the evening.

Ah, the pressure of the pet with a routine. Cats do not like changes in their routine in my experience. It keeps me to more of a routine than I would have otherwise. DH has to eat dinner by a certain time. I eat when I am hungry but I do the cooking. Who want to unsettle the DH who wakes up before the Crackadon every morning. who has a schedule. I am beset with scheduled entities.

I am forced into a routine that I despise. Getting up at 5:30 during the week, Kali’s bus comes at 6:10. I am not a morning person!

One of my favorite things about being retired is that I no longer have to live my life by the clock/calendar unless we are going on a trip, I have a social engagement or an appt of some sort. I do have a morning routine - cup of tea, work out, breakfast and shower, but if I have to skip part of it, it doesn't ruin my day.

I do, however, like to have a plan; I have always been a planner. At night, I make a list of the things I want to get done the next day. I plan meals in advance in order to use the food I have on hand and when planning a trip or event, I plan it down to the knat's a**. But, I can also go with the flow. If hubby wants to go out for lunch, I can happily drop whatever I'm doing to go out for lunch. Those meals I plan don't have to be in any certain order; I just want to use whatever food I have in the fridge so that it doesn't spoil. And, I'm aware that no matter how much I plan, something unexpected is going to come up or happen when putting together a party or event for my friends.

Oh, I thrive with routine. I loved my routine when the boys were in school. I had times (not set by the clock, but more organic, but routines nonetheless) for everything, including what days I did what laundry, menu planning, grocery shopping for the week, doing weekly inventories of household supplies (well, by inventory I mean glancing in closets before going to the store to see if we need toothpaste and TP etc) Life ran well!

Now DH works from home and wants to make dinner, and the one kid still here has classes only a couple of days a week and I drive him, and none of them are at 8am. The only remmant of all my routines is Laundry, and even then I have to pay attention to when DH will be using the shower on Tuesdays lest all the towels be in the dryer still.

I kind of followed Flylady (if anyone knows about that) but much adapted to my own circumstances, but still, those routines allows me to thrive.

I think I have a self-motivation problem. (Actually, I’m starting to think I have ADHD, now that DS has been diagnosed, and that’s why externally-supported routines were so helpful to me.) I don‘t get squat done anymore.

Terilyn, I liked the morning school routine, but our bus never came THAT early!

I'm intolerant of people who are so unnecessarily inflexible about their "time routines" that it affects their interactions with others. We have one oldster like that in the family and I won't abide by it. In response to "Can we ....., I always ........", I'll say "you can do whatever you like when you're by yourself. Today, we need to slide your schedule a little bit to accommodate others and I'm sure you can handle it". And they do.

Not just based on this person, but people who are tied to a schedule or sequence when not necessary also (in my experience) tend to reject opinions of others or information that differs from how they see things. It's another kind of inflexibility.

Whatever one has to do to get up and leave for work, prepare children, or otherwise for time sensitive requirements of the upcoming day are things that are different from needless "routines" for me. I think this conversation is about people who rigidly cling to tasks or sequences when they don't need to.

Pets don't have their own routines, they adapt to what their humans do for them and when. Just as people wake up with bio needs of being hungry, needing to go to the bathroom, etc., it's the same for pets. Do something the same way, they come to expect it. Do it differently, they'll adapt to that too.

Myself' yes- "somewhat" of a routine.

Your neighbour-shes in her 80's and her habits/ routine are not going to change now.

I wake up very early. I head to the kitchen and get the coffee made. Sunshine our cat meets me there and waits for her food. We then head to the couch which faces the window. She jumps up and sits next to me. We watch the day break. I love my morning routine.

As Jasdip alluded to yes, I have a routine in the mornings that include running three days a week at the same time each day. There are five of us that run together and it happens to fit into everyones schedule. Is it ever changed? No.

All of my mornings have a set schedule for a variety of things, after 12:00 however it's a freeforall.

I have a short bedtime routine but other than that I am flexible. Plus I need an hour to myself without interruption in the AM to adjust to the day with my inner ear problems.

Not having to stick to a schedule for the most part is one of the perks of getting older.

I now give my dog medication that has to be given at 7:00AM. I guess it can be called a routine. Lucille, when I watch my DD's chi, she rules the roost! I find I work my schedule around her always. (She's a cutie.)

I have a schedule of things I like to do when I can. I like to go to specific classes at the gym. When I have to work though, things have to be modified.

I so agree with Elmer. When you involve others, you have to be flexible. I do notice I am the one to most likely step forward with this. I don't want things not to happen with friends because we can't agree on the day and time.

For some, it becomes almost OCD. I have a relative who has her dinners regimented. Steak on Monday, Chicken Tuesday. They eat out on Sunday night. She refused an invitation to get together without of town family because that wasn't the night she ate dinner out!

My work schedule frequently changes, and I'm pretty adaptable to new routines. In my personal life, I've found I need routines of exercise, cooking, hygiene, etc., to maintain my health because no one is going to do it for me. I'm a homebody at heart, and I like the simplicity of routines around my house. But I sure can procrastinate if given the opportunity.

Me too Moni :-)

I am a master procrastinator I have a work schedule but it has to be extremely flexible. Luckily with the clients I have now I can be extremely flexible in the time of day if not in going at all or not. The dogs need me what can I say.