No time to do anything...aibu in not seeing how I can easily create more time?

[toomuchtodoandnotime]

Am really struggling at the moment to find time for everything I need to do, short of going pt at work (not an option) I can't see what I can change.

At the moment I leave for work at 730am. I go to the gym 2 nights after work, when I don't get home til 8pm. On one of the other nights I go to a weight loss group, and don't get home til 9. The other 2 nights I get home around 630, and then spend the evening with my bf (we don't live together) and my DC. Every evening I come home and cook, wash up, do some laundry, put out rubbish, tidy, etc - though some of this I don't do on the nights I get in late, but always cook/ wash up.

I have 2 DC who are teens. They do some work around the house but forget unless reminded and I don't have time in the day to keep chasing them and sending reminders. When I'm home I can get them to do some tasks with me.

At weekends...alternate weekends I spend with my bf, so am not at home. The others, on Sat I go to the gym, catch up with friends, do my shopping, etc (as much as I can in the time) and Sun I spend with bf and his DC.

This isn't enough though. I have loads of jobs at home that need doing - decorating, gardening,that I never have time to start. I also need to get some building work done but I can't find time to get the supplies I need, plus find someone to come and quote me for it.

More pressingly bf really wants me to learn to drive this year. I passed my theory 6 months ago but am struggling to see where I'd fit in driving lessons with everything else, especially as I've been told I should have at least 1 2 hour lesson a week.

number3 I don't agree most people could manage on that little sleep. some can im sure but not most, I can do it short term but feel so much better when I get 7+ hours

I do think the issue is teen dc and lack of prioritization. And this thread has made me really sad and I'm sorry for the op. Genuinely do hope you find more time and manage to dump the controlling arsenal of a boyfriend

Stealthpolarbear I agree, it's not for everyone, but even with 7+ hours OP should still be able to manage her time better.

I certainly wouldn't ever manage on that liitle sleep. We are all different and just because you can it doesn't mean it applies to anyone else, and it really isn't the case that if you can then she "should" be able to.

I think with all the op has said it isn't a case of being able to magic up more time. She isn't willing to alter anything, or adjust how much time she allocates to the different aspects of her life, so to me it's a case of having to accept that that means she will have jobs that she never gets round to, and that she doesn't have time for driving lessons.

I need a lot of sleep.

I get up at 5.30, do an exercise video, take the dog for a run, come back, clean kitchen, bathroom, hoover, washing etc, get kids ready for school and send them on their way. Go to work, get home anytime between 5&6. Sort food out, clean up again, spend time with kids, get them up to bed then either do more work or sit and fall asleep in front of watch TV for an hour or two before I go to bed.

Weekends are spent doing jobs and spending time with family.

Have just finished 2 courses, and kids have lots of additional needs.

I really don't think that you don't have enough time OP, you have some conflicting priorities and do not want to do anything differently. That is fine, your choice but no point getting fed up about it. Just do something about it.

I tried so hard not hard enough to resist the temptation to share my routine with you, as I'm aware that it can turn into one of those comedy sketches about how hard your childhood was (who was that?), but just wanted to offer some perspective that actually everyone has demands on their time but the difference is the way you think about and approach it.

What Mrsstarlord said ^

Sorry, but with all this insistence that you come around to his a little bit of me wonders whether or not he finds caring for his own small children hard going and rather appreciates an extra pair of hands/pair of eyes...