Establishing strong routines

If you can do this in one aspect of your life (sleep, food, time online, whatever), that'll give you the confidence to do it in other aspects as well. Getting started is the hard part. It has always frustrated me that there isn't the equivalent of AA for people who spend too much time browsing newsstands and used bookstores.

I tried to start doing it (namely going to bed at the same time) but after so many years of ingrained behavior, I find it hard. My restaurant days still have me craving food at all hours of the morning meaning my eating patterns are still random.

so you ain't alone.

I'm going to have to start wearing a watch again, aren't I.

I am all about my routines.

i was on this shit during the summer and it was great, i was really productive, lost some weight, felt good, felt good about myself... and then school rolled around and i lost my routine, gained 10 pounds, got depressed again

I'm shifting my work hours in the Spring so that they more closely resemble my school hours. Getting up at 6 on school days and working til 11 other days is murder on my internal clock.

my schedule this summer, posted above my desk:

DAILY SCHEDULE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM PRODUCTIVE TIME

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM BREAK

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM PRODUCTIVE TIME

BANNED DURING PRODUCTIVE TIME:

• FACEBOOK

• INSTANT MESSENGER

• ILX/METAFILTER

• MARIJUANA

• TELEVISION SHOWS

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRODUCTIVE TIME ACTIVITIES
(IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE):

• READING FOR RESEARCH

• WRITING ANYTHING

• SCHOOL-RELATED PROJECTS I.E. KOXY

• READING FOR PLEASURE

• CLEANING THE HOUSE

• RETURNING PHONE CALLS/EMAILS

• RUNNING ERRANDS

• ROSETTA STONE

• EXERCISE

in my experience even a little of this sort of discipline increases my overall sense of well being. and im such a flake that i cant nearly aspire to do anything everyday. if im too ambitious w/my planning ill just never do anything.

i have managed to develop some sort of rhythm with these things: meditation, work, exercise, diet.

I'm trying to force a workday routine on myself while I'm unemployed - still getting up at 7, not staying up any later than 11pm or so. Its easy with a partner who has to do that anyway, but I don't want to slip into a deadly "sleep til lunchtime, up til 3am" thing, or I'll never get another job.

Hey Max that list is an awesome idea btw.

Waking up feeling rested and well, even if it's just to go to my shitty job, is priceless. Been going to be like at 9 lately and loving it.

'to bed'

thx trayce. i really like it because my big problem is procrastination via the internet/video games/whatever else that prevents me from doing even the stuff that takes 2 minutes. if i force myself to have 4-5 (or more) hours a day where the internet (or weed or whatever) is just not an option i find i get soooo much more done

i've been pretty successful at keeping to a pushup/situp routine every other day but that's about the only major change i've been able to swing.

^^ over the last 2 months, only.

quitting biting/picking at my nails aaaaauuuuuuurrrgh i've never been able to get over that

i need to do this at work, for real. i've been great about regular bed times, relatively healthy eating, and frequent exercise, but my internet vs. working time at my desk is a problem.

i'm not going to ask any of you people for tips because you've obviously lost the battle already

lol

cognitive therapy first, routines 2nd.

i'm thinking of maybe a no internet before lunch policy. i usually get in and figure it's cool to check ilx and my sites while i'm drinking my coffee, but i think that's what starts the slacker ball rolling.

i'm huge on routines, they're incredibly important to my sense of well-being. i like getting up in the morning after feeling well rested, and it feels fucking great to go to bed by 11. that said, i don't really go to bars and most of my social life involves 1.) hanging out with my girlfriend, whom i live with and 2.) hanging out with friends who share equally strict schedules. none of my friends really have erratic schedules.

it helps that i'm out of college, with a 9-5 gig. being in school and having a daily, strict routine is extremely difficult, but i managed to do it fairly well during my last year of college. it helped that my girlfriend was already working full-time, so i kind of based my study habits around her 9-5 schedule. i learned to love the 9-5.

so now it's

10 pm - 6:30 am: sleep
6:30 - 7 am: yoga
7 to 8:15: shower/breakfast etc
9 - 5 pm: work
5 - 10 pm: fun stuff - music listening, movies, cooking, hanging out with girlfriend, etc.

weekends obviously more spontaneous, but i still don't really go to sleep later than midnight or so.

i'm huge on routines, they're incredibly important to my sense of well-being

this part is really cruical. a lot of people claim they "need" routines, but as long as it's motivated out of just intellectually knowing that "routines are what productive people have" (which is not actually true), then good luck establishing those routines.

i used to get up three hours before work to do two hours of exercise, in bed by 11 every day. it was very important to my sense of well-being to do that. right now it's not, so i don't. if i wanted to re-establish that routine right now i'd have to do some real hard convincing myself of it's worth first, otherwise i'd probably manage it for about three days and then quit.

Conflicting pleasures are the problem: I like being well-rested so should go to bed earlier, but also I like having 'me time' - so stay up late.

routines i love them i am all about them. especially for bed/sleep/work type stuff.

some of my friends would probably suggest that i am too tied into my routines but whatever.

friends can suck it

I got friends already. a remotely healthy diet and sleep schedule, I need

if i force myself to have 4-5 (or more) hours a day where the internet (or weed or whatever) is just not an option i find i get soooo much more done

-- max, Tuesday, December 18, 2007 11:54 PM

^^^^ this

6:00 - wake up
6:15 - baby stuff
7:00 - shower, dress, take vitamins
8:00 - leave for work
8:20 - .36 mile walk from parking lot to work.
8:30 - Write/Edit
11:00 - Daily Report
11:30 - slack, finish up morning
12:30 - lunch at one of eight different places
1:30 - Write/Edit
3:30 - 2nd Daily Report
4:00 - eNews
5:00 - .36 mile walk from work to parking lot
5:10 - leave for home
5:30 - play with baby, catch up with sunny
8:30 - rock baby to sleep
9:00 - dinner, more sunny time, be obstinate to ILX
11:00 - bedtime

Pretty much every weekday of every week for the past six months. Love it.

I've been going to the doctor once every two weeks and miss work and family. The worst part is leaving the routine.

Good luck having a routine when you have kids. This is not so bad - I love my kids - but it's devastating on the work. That said I do need to re-establish "flexible routines". :-)

The key to changing habits is to spend a lot of time and effort drawing connections between your new habits and the benefits you expect to get from them. Without a strong grasp of the rewards, and the desire to get those rewards, your efforts to change will easily tail off and you'll return to your older, more established habits.

It might seem dumb, but keep telling yourself how great it will be when you've succeeded. Spend plenty of time imagining your swell new future. Brainwash yourself, iow. It helps.

i need some of this. working weird hours, split shifts, studying fulltime, not eating right at all, erratic sleep patterns... i just feel anxious all the time. and i'm too run-down to find the energy to make any changes.

^^^ sympathy & empathy.

I was a lot better off in many ways when I was in a LDR (regular weekend travel), working full time, and going to school two nights a week. Now I have lots less to occupy myself, I find myself accomplishing jack of all shit, in any arena of my life.

i need to program my computer to turn off at 11pm and not turn on again until the next morning. with no override.

heh it's 2am!

going to be late to work again tomorrow no doubt.

I was a lot better off in many ways when I was in a LDR (regular weekend travel), working full time, and going to school two nights a week. Now I have lots less to occupy myself, I find myself accomplishing jack of all shit, in any arena of my life.

for me it has the opposite effect: i feel so overwhelmed by all the stuff i need to get done that i end up not really doing anything.

eg. 10 minute oral presentation + written report due tomorrow morning. have made little progress because i keep staring at my computer and feeling like i've already failed it.

I was a lot better off in many ways when I was in a LDR (regular weekend travel), working full time, and going to school two nights a week. Now I have lots less to occupy myself, I find myself accomplishing jack of all shit, in any arena of my life.

Seriously, even if you do different stuff each night, as long as you make Monday night your night to "fuck around on the Internet," Tuesday night is read a book night, etc.--no matter what you choose, it sounds like a schedule will help. Otherwise=too many options.

I'm getting old and routines are important- had a friend say "you're depressed!" because I NEED to be in bed by 10:30 and get 8 solid hours of sleep. I'm not in my 20's or 30's for christsake and eveyone I know who is has the same schedule as me.

I will take my rut.

lol old

the hangover thread used to be my sanctuary. NEVER AGAIN (at least for benders)

The only successful routines I've managed to implement are laundry (I try to do one load per day - barely enough with two kids and a husband with a running hobby) and my own exercise routine. I guess I usually eat at the same times every day, but honestly I'm so bored by everything we usually eat that at the moment that just feels BLAH.

I find myself getting annoyed at friends who want to me to do spur of the moment fun things (I HAVE KIDS, MUST PLAN!) and at the same time I desperately want to be able to drop everything and do whatever I want to sometimes. Sometimes I hate myself for wanting to have social time at all (I could be at home being productive!!!).

my crazy ass fucking shit job is keeping me from having a comfortable routine. i work 12-10pm daily (weekdays), except thursdays when i work 9-6. Fucking terrible work hours. I hate my job and it has really fucked up my sense of well being.

i usually find that i get back on a normal sleeping/eating (mainly sleeping) during breaks from school when i have nothing to do and therefore go to sleep early because im bored and wake up early and eat lunch at 12-1 etc. i would kill to be able to be on a schedule/be organized/be productive, but idk fuck i've kind of given up. and i really have no reason not to be a person like pleasant plains which is the worst part.

basically my problem is the internet. the one time out of three that i took my computer to the library when i went to study i got literally nothing done out of the 6 hours i was there. the two times i purposefully left my computer at home i was more productive than i've been in years.

there should be some mention of last week in there.

my crazy ass fucking shit job is keeping me from having a comfortable routine. i work 12-10pm daily (weekdays), except thursdays when i work 9-6. Fucking terrible work hours. I hate my job and it has really fucked up my sense of well being.

-- deej

the nice thing about that routine is it lends itself well to:

11pm - hit the club
1 am - get home, go to sleep
8 am - get up
9 am - work out
11 am - shower
12 - work

repeat

i did that for ... 3 years after college?

the only things that never got done were grocery shopping, laundry, post office, paying bills, hardware store ... you know, adult stuff.

Can we re-open this thread? I have been doing a lot of reading on habit loops, willpower and the effectiveness or otherwise of routines.

Some questions I have asked myself and I now put to you - How do you parse out your good and bad habits and judge the effectiveness of your routine? Is it according to how many "to do"s you strike off of a list or how much time it takes you to do a particular thing? Do you find there are always tasks or projects that require periods of sustained effort or concentration that you cannot fit into your schedule because it is concentrated into dedicated little parcels? Has anyone here ever found an effective method for reversing a long-time bad habit or tendency?

Recently, I have been overhauling my finances and realizing that, is unappealing as it sounds, it is important to both take a long view and maintain a balance where every increment of value (call it money, time, energy, whatever) is divided out evenly. The result is that I feel much more in control but also have to get used to a feeling of delayed gratification that I am simply not used to. And I wonder how realistic this is.

Also - do you find that your job is the key to all this? Is it the case that if you spend the majority of your time resenting what you have to do and feeling in some way deprived that you seek excess gratification in your personal life? And how much are we supposed to expect from our day jobs anyway?

I'd like to read more about this stuff.

Good habits: yoga about 3/4x per week, cooking about 3/4 x per week, mostly eating healthy
Bad habits: drinking too much wine at home, spending too much money, not saving money

I seem to function better with a job than without. Without a job I tend to sleep all day and not get much done at all.

I don't resent what I do . . . but I do seek gratification or soporificism outside of it (even though my job is very gratifying in its own way). The tricky thing about gratification, is that after a certain point, it becomes non-gratifying.

i think i have a lot to say about this but need to reflect further

I judge the effectiveness of my routines by the amount of negative stress I experience. Least negative stress = effective routines. Current good habits: regular sleep pattern, putting important things in the same place so they are easily found, keeping track of money both spent and future. Current bad habits: 3-4 diet Cokes/day, eating badly "because I deserve it", impulse buying, moderate procrastination.

Also, not exercising ever and obsessive knitting.

A good thing I have found is taking care of things that need to be done as soon as they arise, usually just little things like putting away dishes or answering mail or getting oil change. Make them immediate as possible.

Many things I have read speak to the value of making gradual changes rather than doing a sudden 180, being brutally honest about your own limitations (e.g. can you wake up at 6 every day or are you simply not wired that way?) and testing yourself, trying shifts in your routine for short periods at a time and seeing what works. Also looking beyond gratification to see other, wider patterns.

I've introduced a lot of changes in the last year or two, though I still feel I have a long way to go, probably would never feel I didn't.

Taking care of little things like dishes etc immediately is so incredibly beneficial for me, also the value of doing things like cleaning regularly, ie a short clean of my room or the kitchen each night rather than one mega-clean when it's descended into some hellish state.

In terms of a more macro picture I try and make large lists of, not quite goals, but things that would improve my life. I know it's not possible for me to do all of these things, but I do think this tends to make me at least do some of them, and no harm to keep the more ambitious ones in the back of your mind for the future either.

Exercise is vital for me, the more I'm running the more I keep on top of everything, plus the more mentally at peace I am the more doing everyday things acts as a ultiplier for that.

Also - do you find that your job is the key to all this? Is it the case that if you spend the majority of your time resenting what you have to do and feeling in some way deprived that you seek excess gratification in your personal life?

It's got to be a huge part of it, 40 hours in the place each week. I made a slight career shift last year to something a little less glamorous but more well-paid and more demanding in terms of me showing responsibility and organisation, and I guess challenging in an office sort of way.

I think this has had the effect of me not expecting creative gratification at work, and allowed me to pursue more things outside of the office. It also means I have more money to pursue routine-changing things.

I guess what I'm finding now, and it feels quite adult I suppose, is that I'm more comfortable pursuing the things I love in an amateur or afterwork way, eg I hope to do a diploma in drama next year after doing a class the last few months.

And I exercise and eat out a lot, and still can go to clubs or pubs or whatever at weekends.

I live my life in compartments at the moment, 9-5 weekdays is work, mon-wed or thurs is for my own development a bit more and I don't see friends or go out. And the weekend is for partying, with a bit of exercise thrown in.

oops, that's quite long, hopefully some common ground there...

I'm coming up empty on things I would need a routine to make myself do, tbh. The only thing I resent/dread is going to work. I might put off cleaning for a bit, but I'll do it when it starts to bother me at a level that intrudes on my enjoyment of other things, and then both sides are happy.

I have to do laundry so I can get dressed for work, which means handwash and stuff at night. But other than that...it's all going to be work tasks.

It's got to be a huge part of it, 40 hours in the place each week. I made a slight career shift last year to something a little less glamorous but more well-paid and more demanding in terms of me showing responsibility and organisation, and I guess challenging in an office sort of way.

I think this has had the effect of me not expecting creative gratification at work, and allowed me to pursue more things outside of the office. It also means I have more money to pursue routine-changing things.

I think this is very key, though it may not apply to everyone. I'm finding "creative" work very frustrating and exhausting at times and at the end of the day I feel tapped out when it comes to my own projects.

I also seem to know A LOT of people who produce a lot of creative work and never feel like they should have to work full-time, which is good for them I guess, but I think a 9-5 or whatever is pretty much a reality for me, and probably does ground me in certain ways. Money is nice.

I don't understand how they have time to be so creative--I can barely get my own grocery shopping & laundry done--but I do socialize a lot.

I also seem to know A LOT of people who produce a lot of creative work and never feel like they should have to work full-time, which is good for them I guess, but I think a 9-5 or whatever is pretty much a reality for me, and probably does ground me in certain ways. Money is nice.

think i'm too far into the having money maze to suddenly go down to nothing again.

I cycle through moods with the seasons, roughly

spring - energy and renewal (activity!)
summer - lethargy and introspection (talking/planning)
fall - anxiety and dread (mixed with yay cooking again!)
winter - cold dead heart keeps moving forward to spring (making tons of cookies and warm meals helps)

repeat

my ability to accomplish things changes accordingly, but i am pretty happy with my personal schedule and rate of return for the work i put into stuff
i dunno
on a good day, i try not to do anything i don't absolutely want to do
on a bad day, i eliminate irritants until i deserve a break, then i take one, then back to the irritants

think i'm too far into the having money maze to suddenly go down to nothing again.

I more or less agree, although I can see how one could start getting obsessed with having money to the point where it can even become sort of stressful, or at least take up an excess of mental energy.

on a good day, i try not to do anything i don't absolutely want to do
on a bad day, i eliminate irritants until i deserve a break, then i take one, then back to the irritants

I like this too

My habits are of an absolutely inviolable invariability. I begin the day at 7am with two fresh quail's eggs and a poppadom. Well, I say that, actually the day begins with harvesting the quail's eggs and making the poppadom. An extra hour is needed for these activities, so I begin the day, in fact, at 6am.

The quail's eggs are relatively simple to harvest; I just need to crawl through a nearby forest playing on a decoy whistle the mating call of the male Rufous-breasted Wood Quail. The females flock to me, realize they've been tricked, then return with heavy gait to their nests, leading me straight to the delicious brindled eggs.

Well, I say "straight to the delicious brindled eggs", but sometimes the lazy quail hens haven't laid yet, and I'm forced to wait until they do. So factor in another hour and let's say, to be realistic, that my day actually begins at 5am. But then there's the little matter of the poppadom flour. I'm a stickler for authenticity; it must be urid flour made from dried whole black urad lentils.

Although lentils cook quickly, there's no rushing the process of skinning and splitting them and removing the hulls. So let's say my day actually begins at 4am. But of course they must be purchased at a good price, which means my day begins, invariably, at 3am at the farmer's market.

I say "invariably", but I haven't factored in the time needed for the cooked lentils to cool and get mortar-and-pestled into flour, which takes at least another hour, so we're probably talking about a 2am start, realistically. Make that 1am if I am forced to source the mortar and pestle. Damn things get easily lost when kids sneak into the kitchen and start playing with the utensils.

But where the hell does one find a mortar and pestle at midnight? One is forced to make them oneself. And of course that requires clay. Luckily, clay can be made from flour. For convenience I use the same urid flour with which I make my poppadoms, mixing it in this instance with a tablespoon-full of cream of tarter. But where to find cream of tarter at 11pm?

One is forced to create it. Potassium bitartrate (cream of tarter) is a crystalline resin made in wine casks, a by-product of the fermentation of grape juice, a process which takes at least six months. So strictly speaking my day begins (if it's July) in early February. But then there's the process of making the fire that lights the kiln that bakes the clay. It generally takes me years of fiddling around with twigs and tinder before I can get a suitable spark.

you don't say

A good thing I have found is taking care of things that need to be done as soon as they arise, usually just little things like putting away dishes or answering mail or getting oil change. Make them immediate as possible.

― The Merch Seat (admrl), Tuesday, July 17, 2012 6:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is "touch every piece of paper only once", major productivity truth bomb dropped in the 50s? i think

I study early in the morning, do programming/engineering work up until lunch, then creative work in the afternoon.

I have been thinking about that phrase "we have a problem flapping" that I think tracer introduced? don't let problems flap

i have a very strong morning routine, to the point where i eat the same thing for breakfast every day (though i change the kind of fruit according to the season/sales)
and then it all kind of spirals out from there

I eat the same thing every weekday for breakfast and lunch. Makes things a lot easier.

me too - fries all the way