Would this routine tire you?

[peachygood]

And if so, how many days a week could you manage it?

5.45am-7.15am - up, feed dog, get showered and ready for work
7.15-8.15/8.30 drive 50 miles to work
8.30-5pm - work
5-6pm either keep working or go to gym
6-7pm drive 50 miles home
7-7.30pm walk dog
7.30-8.30 cook and eat dinner, put a load of washing on, general housework
8.30-9pm relax, watch TV, play on phone
9pm bed and generally fall asleep by 10/10.30pm

I’m exhausted! But it doesn’t seem like a particularly busy schedule. Any tips for helping me feel less tired?

I have a long commute but get up and out of the house in 30 mins (35 if I have to wash and dry my hair) so get up at 5.50/6am. Leave at 6.30 get to office between 8/8.30 depending on if I walk from station. Leave at 6pm home by 7.45-8pm. BUT I don't drive so can ' relax' on train and I only do that 3 days a week - couldn't do it 5.

I do more than that and I'm pretty tired but not exhausted. My commute however takes 30 minutes or so. Doing a 50 mile commute would be exhausting.

Yes it sounds exhausting but not sure why you're getting up at 5.45 if you're not leaving until 7.15 ?

Sounds pretty normal to me aside from the commute, which I wouldn't like much - depending on what sort of driving it is. 50 miles of motorway where I could just crack on and drive with Radio 4 on would be fine.

But 50 miles of single track country roads would be horrific - especially at the moment in the dark, in ice.
What's public transport like? Getting the train, where you could have a coffee and go through emails, would be much better if it was doable.

Then if you're tired an obvious solution would also be not getting up at 5:45 when you don't leave the house until 7:15! You could easily get up at 6:15 if you are only showering, having your own breakfast and feeding the dog!

Although it looks on first glance as though you don't have much time to yourself the getting up at 5:45am and the hour at the gym are choices you make to have time to yourself in a different way (slow start to the day and gym is a hobby not essential as you also have time to do a long daily walk).

The commute remains the "problem" area, and otherwise you have choices around gym and get up time.

Use the morning time to organise the dinner- slow cooker, automatic oven, instructions for DS. That will give you an extra hour in the evening. I'd suggest eating earlier, taking the dog out for ten minutes in the winter, if he'll have it.

Get your Ds to alternate dog walk or dinner duty.

It only needs a little tweak to make it more manageable. The problem is you are full on all day. You need a break in there. Do you break for lunch? Could you Power Nap/meditate?

I'm 56 and that's my schedule. Love it.

It's a pig of a drive, I bet traffic is terrible too. Would they let you flex your hours to avoid rush hour? I'd definitely try to cut down the 1.5 hours to get ready in the morning but then I don't wash my hair every day.
I could probably do that routine long term if I had to, but it'd be pretty joyless, little time with your dc, no chance to see friends etc.

I’m wondering this too. Yes your schedule sounds exhausting 😐

I'd get up at 6.15 instead. You'd still have an hour to get ready and for me it would feel better.

My days are similarly long, but I do more and longer dog walks. I walk the dogs 6-7am, work 8am-6pm (with a midday dog walk), dinner etc, then another dog walk 7pm-8pm, last bit of housework/homework/TV, then bed at 9.30, asleep by 10pm. I don't feel particularly tired.

I don't know what your line of work is, but if it's an office type job I don't think you are moving enough, especially on the days you don't go to the gym. Sitting in a car, sitting in an office chair, sitting in a car, sitting on a sofa, that would make me feel tired too.

I would find the commute hard and I wouldn’t like to get up that early in the morning.

Could you cut corners somewhere to give you an extra half hour in bed?

I also wouldn’t like to go to bed that early although I know a lot of my colleagues do.

It's not a bad routine. An hour long commute is pretty standard and you're driving which is calmer than public transport. Can listen to music or podcasts/ audio books. I do drive walk tram walk and it takes 45 mins to get 5 miles away (morning traffic is terrible and parking £££).

I'd be getting up an hour later and shower / get ready the night before. I'm not a morning person.

Going to the gym is great I wish I could fit that in more often. I mamage 3 days swimming/ pilates but one is on my day off.

Having a dog is presumably also leisure and walking good for your health.

Your working hours seem pretty contained too.

Plus early bedtime. It's a good routine.

i dont drive 50 miles but it takes me 45 minutes.
it takes the op more than an hour to drive.
can you work from home one day a week?
is it worse now, in the winter?

Depends on so many factors. Is your job physical or sitting at a desk? Do you enjoy the commute? If you hate driving that's exhausting. Is the gym a leisure activity or a chore? And do you get up so early because you enjoy it/have time to meditate etc? It could be just that you're not doing enough of what you like, rather than the schedule itself which doesn't look to gruelling. Getting no enjoyment from your day is tiring.

I'd:
look for a job MUCH nearer to home - even a slight drop in pay would be better than driving 50 miles.
Get home earlier instead of going to the gym.
Cook and eat earlier
THEN take the dog out

That seems pretty standard to me. I think adult life is largely dull and exhausting. I think you couid probably stay in bed for 30 minutes longer in the morning.

You get up about an hour earlier than me but apart from that fairly similar days, and it's fine. The phone in bed thing is killer, stop doing that and you'll get loads more sleep!

If you only have yourself (and ddog)to think about then that should fine. But maybe if you want other things in your life it could feel monotonous and unsatisfying? Could perimenopause be making it exhausting?

I’d get up half an hour later and cut the gym and do a half hour run/home workout.

I get up at 5:25 and leave by 6/6:15 to do a 1 hour (drive) commute. And I leave work at 4 ish, so home for 5 ish. Sometimes I do a bit of work in the evening, but not every night.

Can you front load your day a bit more, so you leave for work earlier, enjoy the slightly quieter roads and be home earlier. It makes you feel like you have more of an evening.

I do it 4 days a week and it's tiring for sure, but on the 4 days I'm working, very little else gets done. I catch up on Fridays.

Are you taking vitamin D? Because you're not getting a drip of sunlight on your skin in this scenario. And being low or deficient can make you feel rotten.

The 100 mile drive can’t be helping.

To add, when I was single and younger I had no problem with getting up early and driving at east an hour to whatever work site I was at, doing the work, exercising eating, cleaning etc 3-5 days a week.

There's just no way I could manage that in even one day a week, never mind five. I suffer from fatigue and other chronic health issues though.

The commute is far too long.
Can your son take on some chores and dog walking?