Daily Routines -

MatticusMania · #1 12-28-2012, 03:08 PM

How many of you have daily/weekly routines? Im talking more than just the stuff that you have to do like sleep, work, eat, and the things in between, but things you want to do or get done... like, do you have a period of time set aside every day to practice your instrument, excercise, etc.?

Taking my post in the NY Resolutions thread into consideration, Im looking to see how Im going to fit various activities into my day. Where do I squeeze in an hour of meditation between getting home from work, and heading to my weekly Monday hangout? Hmm, Tuesday is band practice, perhaps I can forego solo bass practice that day. In the offchance that I have a gig tonight, what can I fit into routine between getting home from work and heading out at 8pm?

How do you guys do it? I never had much of a routine myself, outside of work and sleep schedules, and even then I didnt always adhere to them. Im trying to become a more productive person, and I think some routine would help a lot. I just drew up a 7day/24hour spreadsheet, and after blacking out work & sleep time... wow, do I want to fit a lot of stuff in. Thats cool, because I can now be more productive during those times I might sit around and watch TV or play some video games. Already, its helping my better prioritize my time.

zachoff · #2 12-28-2012, 04:17 PM

Monday is generally date night w/ my wife. Tuesday is generally music night (whether it be band practice or me sitting in my basement writing/recording stuff). Otherwise, it's kinda of all up in the air. I go to the gym on Mondays (after work), Tuesdays (after work), and Saturdays (around 10AM) for sure & also snowboard and/or cross country ski in the winter on a Saturday or Sunday and hike or fish during the summer.

Bloodhammer · #3 12-28-2012, 05:17 PM

Do you really want my daily routine or a Qintar-like adventure story? It might be more worth reading if I just make stuff up.

MatticusMania · #4 12-28-2012, 05:20 PM

Well, Im not really asking people what their routines are, rather Im asking how everyone goes about making enough time in the day to get done all that they wish to do.
That said, feel free to post your Qintaresque daily routine if you like.

Bloodhammer · #5 12-28-2012, 05:26 PM

Oh. Well I can't say I have more stuff to do than I have time, so it's pretty easy for me.

I guess because I work so much, I have no desire to find things to do when I'm not.

God I sound like an old man...

bluesblaster · #6 12-28-2012, 05:55 PM

As one sage philosphor once said " git er done "

basscooker · #7 12-28-2012, 06:11 PM

murphy · #8 12-29-2012, 10:05 PM

Never enough time

.........or energy

two fingers · #9 12-29-2012, 10:20 PM

Write it down! Do it the night before. You will never get to do everything you want. But if you make a plan you will be far and away ahead of most. Also, I've read that by writing it down the night before, your brain kind of "stews" over it all night figuring out how to get it done. That may be psycho babble but it seems to work for me. (Or at least it did before I had two kids. They pretty much determine when I get to start MY list every night.) Also, set GOALS. CLEAR goals. Once you challenge yourself to REACH something, you will work harder to get there. Just saying "I want to practice an hour" means nothing. But if you say "By the end of the month I want to be able to play fill-in-the-blank", then you have something to work towards. And, again, your brain switches into GET IT DONE mode.

"You cannot increase the quality and quantity of your achievement or performance except to the degree to which you increase your ability to use your time effectively." - Brian Tracy

Check that guy out. He changed my life so much that I just typed that quote from memory.

Clarity - WHAT do you want.

Goals - short term, long term, very long term

Plan - Write down a rough plan for the month and week, but a DETAILED plan of the next day the night before.

Slice and dice - Figure out a way to do away with all of the little time wasters that don't allow you to gain anything. Stop watching "The Daily Show". Stop reading that stupid political blog. Stop messing with your stupid stamp collection. (You get the picture.) You would be AMAZED at how much more you can get done if you just shove talkers out of your office, or quit waiting in line for coffee. It adds up.

Sorry this was so long. But I feel that many of us just "wing it" when having a plan to at least attempt would increase their productivity AND their quality of life. Good luck with your goals.

P.S. I tried it the Qintarian way. Didn't work out so well.

HaMMerHeD · #10 12-29-2012, 11:15 PM

I don't have enough time in the day or enough days in the week to get everything done. Thus, most things I want/need to do take more than one day, and more often, several weeks.

Working full time and being a single parent, some days I don't even have time to eat.

kanonfodr · #11 12-30-2012, 05:15 AM

I just stopped planning my life out and go with the flow. There will always be things to do, so do what you can today by priority and let the details sort themselves out.

Peace,
Greg

jasper383 · #12 12-30-2012, 12:24 PM

If it is genuinely a priority for you, clear a space for it.

One hour of meditation? Clear a space for it.

I recently read a piece on priorities--it said that people spend a lot of time on the internet/video games/etc., then say that they need to make more room for their priorities. If you are spending a lot of time playing video games/internet/etc., those are your current priorities.

Ziltoid · #13 12-30-2012, 12:26 PM

I'm bad at keeping a routine, I don't like it.

SoonerMatt · #14 12-30-2012, 01:44 PM

The only real routine I keep is exercising and going out with friends once a week. There's a networking group I'm a part of bit I only go to the ones that are close enough to keep me there longer than an hour.

Bloodhammer · #15 12-30-2012, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

I just stopped planning my life out and go with the flow. There will always be things to do, so do what you can today by priority and let the details sort themselves out.

Peace,
Greg

Yeah, I'm with you.

6jase5 · #16 12-30-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

I just stopped planning my life out and go with the flow. There will always be things to do, so do what you can today by priority and let the details sort themselves out.
Peace,
Greg

My thoughts exactly. There will always be more things to do than the time to do them. Some weekends I have so much planned, and my 2 year old daughter says "Daddy, wanna play with me?" No non-emergency project is more important than the answer to that question.

Mike M. · #17 12-30-2012, 07:40 PM

I work a long night....twelve hours to be exact. Given that, there's not much time to do anything but work and sleep. If I'm real lucky and can get by on not much sleep during the work week, I can exercise for half an hour...or play my bass for half an hour. But it's rare I can do both. That's my work week routine.

The good part is that I work Monday thru Thursday and have a three day weekend. On Fridays I generally get as many of the chores out of the was ASAP so I can then have as much free time as possible to do the things I want to do, like seeing my parents, seeing my son, his wife and my grandson and of course, practicing.

All in all it's pretty "routine" but I do what I have to do.

duff beer · #18 12-31-2012, 06:52 AM

I make my evening "plan" while at work. For example, I'll tell myself throughout the day: "When I get home, I'm going to work out, eat supper, and then fix that hole in the drywall. Then I'll learn song X so I know it for next rehearsal".

It may sound overly simplistic, but it works because I've been telling myself all day what I'm going to do that night, and if I don't follow through I'll often feel guilty.

MatticusMania · #19 01-02-2013, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasper383

If it is genuinely a priority for you, clear a space for it.

One hour of meditation? Clear a space for it.

I recently read a piece on priorities--it said that people spend a lot of time on the internet/video games/etc., then say that they need to make more room for their priorities. If you are spending a lot of time playing video games/internet/etc., those are your current priorities.

Thats kind of a part of it. I have been spending a lot of time playing video games or watching TV, not because theyre priorities, but because Im lazy. Thats really what I want/need to change. Im trying to be less lazy/distracted and focus more on things that matter to me. But, Im lazy.

EricF · #20 01-02-2013, 10:11 AM

Between work and family, I have a hard time finding time to do things for just me. Monday night is band rehearsal night, and I'm trying to squeeze in and hour after work on Thursdays to run. Sometimes I can find an hour or two on the weekend for myself, but not consistently. There's lots of things I would like to have more time for (bass practice, recording and mixing, more exercise), but it's just not realisitic in my day-to-day life. This is the life I have chosen, and I'm happy to have many awesome things in my life.