Women who do it all...What is your routine?

[Reearry]

Women who are able to be on top of work, kids, hobbies, fitness, learning, grooming, social life, mental health... What is your routine? What time do you wake up? How much time do you spend on hobbies? How much time do you spend on fitness and grooming? How are you able to manage daily house management, work, kids and be able to have time for self development? What are the tips and tricks to be able to do keep on top of it everything?

Shall be agree I had kids 25-29 and never worked without them - so never had 'chill' after work or lazy brunches etc .. will enjoy in my mid 40s when they're 15-30

Loads of outsourcing.

I have 4 DC; an extremely demanding and senior job and several NED and trustee commitments.

I get up early (5:30) so that I can run.

I don’t have many hobbies (other than running).

I don’t do any cleaning. I have a housekeeper who comes in 4x per week. She changes beds and does laundry.

I use a meal delivery service for 4 meals a week and get takeout on Friday. We eat out on weekends when covid allows.

I’m reasonably well groomed. Highlights, manicures etc. Never on weekend, late evenings only.

I barely watch any TV.

What I don't understand is why people think it's so hard to find time to do the things they want, yet spend a huge amount of time on the internet or watching TV.

I have 2 primary school children, I have a full time job, director level in a global corporation, and still have time to go to the gym, socialise (when allowed...), cook dinner and have hobbies. The only support I have is a cleaner for a couple of hours once a week. My husband works full time too and we don't have help with childcare.

My secret? We don't have a TV, which most people seem to find strange but personally I'd rather spend my time doing something else than watching telly. For me it's not about not having enough time, more about prioritising the time you have. I'm not a 5 hours a night sleeper either, I love sleep so I'm normally in bed by 10, and up at 6!

Is it a myth? Many theads where people don't mange. But plenty of people do. It's all about compromises. What matters to you.

Paying bills? Who does that? My finances take care of themselves and require no input.

I am Uber organised and rarely forget anything. And not much stresses me out. When I revive an email from school re a Christmas jumper or in the Olden primary days a mufti day, I get one, that day, from a friend, from eBay. And put it in my diary.

Yes, I only have 2 kids, and I only work 4 days. I sleep a lot. I spend loads of time with friends and on phone to my mum and friends. I have Tonnes of 'me time'.
I have no hobbies but that's because I choose that.
I have to compromise because my diabetes is so brittle. My life is great in many ways, but probably shit in other ways.

No you can't have it all. But you can have a lot. Of at least make choices.

I forgot to mention, cooking dinner is often prepped the night before - I love my slow cooker!

I have one child and work 2 days a week...any more than that and wouldn't be able to sustain my lifestyle

I don’t know a single person ‘who has it all’. Everyone juggles and compromises. Some people have it easier than others. Money and a supportive husband are key factors.

Well it all starts at around 7.30am each morning, when our nanny comes on duty... 😀

No, but seriously, as a lot of other posters have said, I outsource as much as I can (for example, we have a nanny rather than rely solely on nursery for the youngest or after school clubs and holiday camps for the eldest. This means things like a kid being off school sick or an inset day doesn’t throw us all off)

I also feel (almost) no guilt in regularly scheduling time for myself. For example, I’ll take a random day of annual leave when the kids are at school/with the nanny and just use it to go to a gym class, wander round the shops, go to the dentist, meet DH for lunch, tidy out the kitchen cupboards, go for a massage etc etc. Just having those small breaks to catch up on life make all the difference.

Work - flexible job earning about £20k below what I could be purely because of the flexibility

Kids - use wraparound care

Hobbies - largely involve crafts and things I can do at home

Fitness - exercise bike and yoga mat at home and workout app

Learning - via a senior apprenticeship meaning I get a day a week off work to do it but put in additional time in the evenings

Grooming - skincare routine at night, full face of make up (foundation, eyes/brows and lips) and straightened hair for work- takes 15 mins

Social life - mostly conducted via WhatsApp with the odd night out in normal times

Mental health - swings from OK to shot to shit

So although I may, on the outside appear to have all those things, they aren't to the level you might think and I have to sacrifice a lot to have them.

@Sportycustard

I guess some people would think I have it all together. I have teenagers, a board level job, go to the gym three times a week, am doing a masters, have a very tidy house, get my hair and eyebrows done every 6 weeks, wear makeup every day, have read 35 books this year and I don't outsource any help.

It's a constant juggling act and relies on me being an equal partner with DH. It's also impossible until your kids are old enough to help - I did buy in help when they were younger. It's also impossible if your partner doesn't help.

I watch very little TV so I can read and I am very purposeful about social media (strict time limits, try to spot when I am just idly scrolling and stop).

I plan 4 weeks ahead with DH so we can spot clashes (we both travel for work, obviously not at the moment). We agree who is doing what based on workload. DH cooks, cleans, irons etc as do I. We have a central list of household jobs like car insurance and changing energy suppliers which get picked up by whoever has capacity at the time. Often these jobs are done in hotel rooms on work trips.

I don't shop - if it can't be delivered I don't buy it. I use this time to catch up with friends. I have a handful of close friends as we've moved around a lot for DH's career (he is v senior but in a niche field where jobs are not common or close together) and I try and catch up with one each week.

I push back on school all the time. I tell them that they haven't given enough notice for events and I ignore invites to lots of things. When they were in primary I used to ask them which thing they wanted me to be at and I tried to make that one happen.

I get up at 6am and I got to sleep at 11pm. I need 7 hours sleep to function. It's later on Friday and Saturday and I set my alarm for 8.30am.

I read on trains, when waiting for children, at appointments and I often buy text books on kindle to help with studying. I sometimes use commuting time for booking appointments or updating online grocery shops and meal planning.

Cleaning is done by the organised mum method - 30 - 45 minutes every weekday. The kids also have small jobs each day. Today I am cleaning the kitchen surfaces, DH is doing the kitchen floor, DD is cleaning the main bathroom shower and DS will be collecting all the towels and washing them. We do cleaning throughout the week and gave weekends off which gives me a 4 hour block of time for my masters.

Like I said, it's a constant juggling act.

@Sportycustard totally beside the point I know, but I'm now trying to figure out what a board level job is. Are you on a board? If so, surely not full time - which may explain how you have more time? Maybe I'm just trying to find excuses to explain why I could never do all this alongside my full time job!

It's a tough one cos you describe it as having it all but that definition will be different to different people. I have a supportive DH and he does more than his fair share tbh. I work at home (as a cm so can be quite demanding) but at the same time I can get jobs done. I get up early to fit in my workout before starting at 730am but it just has to be done. DH has sorted out all the packed lunches for my own kids tho so that's half the morning battle.

@edwardson my job is a full time, senior level role with a team of 21 staff reporting in to me. I work around around 45 hours a week plus commuting. I do 2 days from home which helps hugely.

I could not have worked like this with young children and my career took off again when the children were in secondary school. I basically earn almost 10x what I was earning 8 years ago. It's very much easier when you have teens who can look after themselves and contribute to the workload of running a family and home.

Beta blockers and lots of counselling