Ok how do y’all fit in time for hobbies, exercise, cleaning the house, cooking, seeing people, sleeping, working, taking care of kids, etc.?
Do fully functional people have all this together? Or does at least one need to be sacrificed? I don’t have kids, and can’t imagine having to balance life stuff with kids.
Nope. Nobody “has it all together”. As per SituationCake, you deal with the most urgent dumpster first. Then other shit as it happens. Helps to have a rough idea of routine and priorities - which can be varied in accordance with circumstances. There is no law that states that THOU SHALT HAVE AN IMMACULATE HOME AT ALL TIMES OF EVERY DAY OR I WILL SMITE YOU. And nobody ever put “I was a perfect housekeeper” on their gravestone. Kids/pets come first if there’s a scheduling conflict, closely followed by partner. Everything else can usually wait a bit if necessary.
My own very rough schedule as a solo household is : I budget 15 mins for washing up & kitchen clean per day. This is not optional for me as I’m immunocompromised post cancer treatment and well, microbiology. Laundry once a week (mostly) depending on weather. Rest of house - I budget 2 hours on a weekend for tidy up and cleaning. That’s housework sorted mostly. Maybe do a more thorough clean at the change of season. Life is too short to wipe the top of cupboards or clean behind the fridge more than 4 times a year imo. For me, Saturdays are a write off anyway as I have to take an osteoporosis pill weekly that screws me over for most of the day (gotta stay within 30 seconds of the loo), so I might as well stay home and sort the house on that day. Maybe do some slow cooking if I can be bothered. Ditto gardening. Most of my friends are trained now and know that I’m not available on Saturdays for socialising.
Sundays are my fun days - I try to keep that day free to do pretty much whatever I want or see people etc.
Shopping : once a week for pantry/fridge. And stop on the way home after work for fresh stuff if needed.
Life admin : 1 hour once a month copes with most things. Or deal as they come up.
Cooking : breakfast isn’t really cooking unless you do eggs etc., so cooking is roughly 1 hour at the endish of the day. During the week I keep it very simple. A bit more lavish on the weekend - say 2 hours for 3 mealsworth. After dinner is relax/chill/net time or reading or hobbies.
Take home message - it all depends on circumstances. And nobody gets it all done all the time. And if they did, I would consider them to be robot aliens from a distant planet with good connections to the cosmetic and AI industries.
I struggle to do it all. Especially living alone with cooking and housework - if I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. Feels like I’m on the go every day and often just treading water. Prioritising is the only tactic I have to manage.
I think the 80/20 rule can lighten this mood. The theory that you get 80% of the result from 20% of the effort. Kids are a unique responsibility… To some parents. But the rest of the stuff, you don’t have to be perfect, but put some effort in. A bit of exercise, a reasonable diet, a job you don’t hate that pays enough. What gets marketed is people living perfect lives, the reality is few people have the energy or discipline to squeeze every moment.
You’re not meant to have to do it all alone. Usually there would have been a stay at home spouse, a multigenerational household and/or a support system
Edit: I’m chipping away at things in chunks but I’m not on top of everything either. Obviously the needs of my pet take priority, then mine, and everything is prioritised after that.
I chunk her twice daily meds in with her breakfast and supper, that really helps.
Ok how do y’all fit in time for hobbies, exercise, cleaning the house, cooking, seeing people, sleeping, working, taking care of kids, etc.?
Do fully functional people have all this together? Or does at least one need to be sacrificed? I don’t have kids, and can’t imagine having to balance life stuff with kids.
I don’t. 😞
( i think i spend too much time on the net )
(Same here)
Nope. Nobody “has it all together”. As per SituationCake, you deal with the most urgent dumpster first. Then other shit as it happens. Helps to have a rough idea of routine and priorities - which can be varied in accordance with circumstances. There is no law that states that THOU SHALT HAVE AN IMMACULATE HOME AT ALL TIMES OF EVERY DAY OR I WILL SMITE YOU. And nobody ever put “I was a perfect housekeeper” on their gravestone. Kids/pets come first if there’s a scheduling conflict, closely followed by partner. Everything else can usually wait a bit if necessary.
My own very rough schedule as a solo household is : I budget 15 mins for washing up & kitchen clean per day. This is not optional for me as I’m immunocompromised post cancer treatment and well, microbiology. Laundry once a week (mostly) depending on weather. Rest of house - I budget 2 hours on a weekend for tidy up and cleaning. That’s housework sorted mostly. Maybe do a more thorough clean at the change of season. Life is too short to wipe the top of cupboards or clean behind the fridge more than 4 times a year imo. For me, Saturdays are a write off anyway as I have to take an osteoporosis pill weekly that screws me over for most of the day (gotta stay within 30 seconds of the loo), so I might as well stay home and sort the house on that day. Maybe do some slow cooking if I can be bothered. Ditto gardening. Most of my friends are trained now and know that I’m not available on Saturdays for socialising.
Sundays are my fun days - I try to keep that day free to do pretty much whatever I want or see people etc.
Shopping : once a week for pantry/fridge. And stop on the way home after work for fresh stuff if needed.
Life admin : 1 hour once a month copes with most things. Or deal as they come up.
Cooking : breakfast isn’t really cooking unless you do eggs etc., so cooking is roughly 1 hour at the endish of the day. During the week I keep it very simple. A bit more lavish on the weekend - say 2 hours for 3 mealsworth. After dinner is relax/chill/net time or reading or hobbies.
Take home message - it all depends on circumstances. And nobody gets it all done all the time. And if they did, I would consider them to be robot aliens from a distant planet with good connections to the cosmetic and AI industries.
I can’t manage it all. I do some of the things some of the time, based on which dumpster is burning the most. Guess I’m not very functional.
It sounds like you eat, sleep and take care of yourself. Seems pretty functional to me!!
I manage sleeping and working, most of the time
I manage some of that. Not all, and not all the time.
Everyone’s winging it lol.
I struggle to do it all. Especially living alone with cooking and housework - if I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. Feels like I’m on the go every day and often just treading water. Prioritising is the only tactic I have to manage.
It’s a rotation of what’s important, things definitely get missed and there’s things on that list I definitely do not do.
When Miss Seagoon was at home she was the priority. Always. I mean, we would do other things but always considered her first.
I think the 80/20 rule can lighten this mood. The theory that you get 80% of the result from 20% of the effort. Kids are a unique responsibility… To some parents. But the rest of the stuff, you don’t have to be perfect, but put some effort in. A bit of exercise, a reasonable diet, a job you don’t hate that pays enough. What gets marketed is people living perfect lives, the reality is few people have the energy or discipline to squeeze every moment.
You’re not meant to have to do it all alone. Usually there would have been a stay at home spouse, a multigenerational household and/or a support system
Edit: I’m chipping away at things in chunks but I’m not on top of everything either. Obviously the needs of my pet take priority, then mine, and everything is prioritised after that.
I chunk her twice daily meds in with her breakfast and supper, that really helps.
Received a call from a recruiter that’s offering me a better role. Had a chat and he’s put me forward.
Let’s see how this plays out.