A day in the life of a "lockdowner". (Feel free to pass on by if this is boring, and don't make snarky comments)

[pollyglot]

How do you spend your day under lockdown? Perhaps I'm just a bored curtain twitcher, but I do find it interesting how people manage on a day-to-day basis.
Polly's day (recently retired teacher, over 65, living very remotely)

6.00 Get up to enjoy the early dawn and watch the sunrise. Tea x2
6.30 Feed cats-our two, plus all the strays that have adopted us
7.00 Watch BBC news.
8.00 Mooch, coffee, toast, chat with 'im indoors. Basic housework
9.00 Into garden -2-3 hours heavy digging/weeding to work up
sweat
12.00 Lunch. Wine. nap
2.00 Working on computer - researching family history. Also doing
Future Learn on-line studies. The Old Guy in workshop.
5.30 Wine. Prepare supper. Feed cats
6.00 News. Wine
7.00 Supper. Tidy up. Chat online with kids. Feed cats.
8.00 TV .
10.00 Bed. Listen to podcasts in the dark.

My own kids, with their own families, obviously have a very different lifestyle. One working from home, with a toddler, one on the hospital frontline, one on furlough with 2 smalls. Wish I could help them out a little. Have SO much admiration for all you young 'uns coping with babies and small kids in confined conditions.

Loving this thread.

8am: Get up, put on radio 3, coffee, pint of water, fire up laptop and read emails etc. Feed cats.
9am: More coffee, an Actimel drink thing. Dd2 (14) usually surfaces for breakfast around now.
10am: Get dressed, check dd1 (16) is still alive, go out for walk. I live by the coast, so I am lucky to have lots of gorgeous scenic routes to choose from.
11am: Work from home.
12am: Lunch, chat with dc and dh (who is wfh in the spare room upstairs).
1pm: More WFH. Dc will be doing school work (dd1, despite having no GCSEs any more, is preparing for A-levels and keeping up her maths skills) or reading/painting/making music/face-timing with friends.
3pm: Housework hour! Yay!
4pm: Coffee, feed cats again, mess about on internet.
5pm: Start thinking about dinner.
6pm: Dinner, then laundry.
7pm: Watch TV or film with dc, do local paper crossword together.
9pm: Dc decamp usually, but not always. Spend time with DH, maybe with wine about twice a week, but not tonight.

Variations for weekly supermarket trip, WhatsApp calls with family, dd2's Zoom/face time musical theatre and music lessons. As I WFH anyway, it's not that different from my usual routine tbh, minus meeting friends for coffee or going for a mooch round the shops. A lot less ferrying of dc to and fro. Plus it starts 2 hours later, which I can't say I mind too much .

7am woke up.
7.30 DH brought me tea in bed before he started work, then napped/on phone.
9.00 up, breakfast, caught up on news
10.00 cleaned bathroom and did floors
11.00ish snack and news, fiddled about with yoghurt making
12.00ish gardening
12.45 lunch then knitted
14.00 more gardening, cleaned out chickens, potted on some seedlings
15.30 sat on bench and chatted to teenage DS. Identified birds on the feeder (he was for once quite interested, but he’s probably just bored)
16.00 knitting, Facebooking, eating junk
17.00 started dinner
17.45 ate dinner
18.30 slobbed about, listened to music, on internet till DH returned from supermarket.
20.00 helped put shopping away
20.30 binged-watched The Good Doctor, ate crisps
23.30 bed

I’m furloughed and bored.

I completely agree that we older retired people who have no caring responsibilities have it very easy!

I'm furloughed right now. I wake up between 7-8, often depending on when DDog2 needs to go out and starts squeaking. Coffee, then feed the DDogs, more coffee, something to eat. Hit the shower between 9-10 (bit later yesterday as was under the weather with IBS). Put out recycling, empty the dishwasher. Put a wash on, probably. Any other bits of housework that needs to be done. Then sit down and start stitching late morning/early afternoon and that's me, apart from meals, until about 11pm. I usually stop stitching about 9 and then play games on my ipad. I'm in bed between 11-midnight.

I'm enjoying the chance to just relax, although money is going to be tight and there's no guarantee I'll have a job to go back to when this is over. If I could retire now, believe me I would, but sadly I can't afford to.

Family of 5, DH WFH, me furloughed and kids aged 9-13

8-9 get up, breakfast, bag kids to get dressed
9-10 keep nagging kids to get dressed and start school work. DS2 remembers he hasn’t had any breakfast. Put on some washing
10-12 sit down with DS2 to do some online school work set by his teacher. DS1 and DD also get on with school work. DS2 wriggles, kicks the computer desk, twirls the chair around, tries to lay across the desk while I’m trying to get him to stop messing about and get on with his work. Bribe him with going on fortnite if he does it properly and doesn’t type random numbers into his mymaths in an attempt to be ‘funny’ he settles down and I realise he’s actually really good at maths when he starts saying the answer before I’ve even finished reading the questions
12-12:30 attempt to get kids to do something active while DH goes for a run. I did do the 1st run of C25K the other day but I really didn’t enjoy it. Kids ask if jumping on the trampoline counts.
12:30-1:30 make and serve lunch.
After lunch - Try and do some sort of non electronic activity - science experiment (which doesn’t work, DH says I must be doing it wrong, doesn’t work for him either) or planting some seeds in the garden or playing a board game. Also try and get kids out for a walk. DS2 needs to be bribed with playing Pokemon go while we walk.
4pm - allow kids to go wild on YouTube and video games while me and DH sit down for our daily matinee of a marvel film which we are watching in order.
6pm make tea, kids take it in turn to help cook. They all argue over who’s laying the table.
After tea watch a bit of tv until everyone goes to bed.

Rinse and repeat

You drink less than me OP!

Here’s my typical day... DH working from home, three DC aged 6, 4 and 1.
6am 1 year old gets up. DH and I take it in turns to take him downstairs and sit him in front of peppa until...
7am 6 and 4 year olds get up.
7.30 am breakfast for all, get everyone dressed, DH watches the DC while I shower and vice versa
9am Some form of home workout for the older 2 (Joe Wicks etc). I try and keep the toddler out of the way while they do it.
9.45am I set them both up with some school work. Try and help them with it while wrangling toddler.
10.30am snack and outside play time
11.15am Do a craft activity with older two while I wrangle toddler
12 lunch
12.30 toddler goes for nap. I spend another 45 mins doing school work with older two
1.15 chill out time for the three of us until toddler wakes
2pm toddler wakes
2.15 we go for our daily walk. We aim for 5k (with toddler in pushchair
3.15 playing in the garden/with toys in the house while I prepare dinner
5pm DC eat
6pm DH emerges from office and does some sort of activity with older two (board games/puzzles etc)
7pm bath for all DC
8pm DC bedtime
8.30pm DH and I eat dinner, clean kitchen etc
9.30pm sit down to watch a bit of TV/read
10.30pm bed

I'm a single parent. Ex is WFH in another city. Lives with his mum who is a nurse so no chance of having the kids anywhere near them. Doing everything myself. No other support or adult to talk to. No kind words from anymore. Mental health dangerously bad now.

I just get "Mammy Mammy Mammy MAMMYYYYY!!!!" all day from light until dark, and I am beyond exhausted being their entertainment, educator, cleaner, referee, cook. Asking them 20 times before they'll do something. I do activity books and twinkl and scrapbooks, and painting rainbows and baking and a walk each day etc etc etc the very best I can, but if we reach bedtime all alive and fed and happy I class that as winning.

Right now I'm getting "Mammy look!! Mammy Look!! Mammy LOOOOK!!" from my 3 year old. Loads of washing to put away and all the washing and drying up to do because I have no dishwasher, or draining board. I just want to scream.

Very interesting reading! Thank you for starting this. Mine is deeply boring and also inactive compared with most of yours. I'm 50, household is DD 22 and me, and has been just us for 22 years - luckily we get on well. We're both working full time from home. I'd only been in my job (finance manager with a team of six) for two weeks prior to lockdown; DD had been in her job for only a week (first non temping job).

6am wake up, get up, drink loads of tea, send personal texts and emails, cuddle cat.
7am DD gets up, steals cat, makes intricate breakfast.
8am both start work. Cat goes out. I work in the dining room; DD in her bedroom. I'm much less disciplined and take regular breaks to make tea. I have loads of Skype calls, emails, queries to get through. Still learning the role, trying to keep in regular contact with team to build a relationship remotely. They are all lovely which helps massively.
12pm I eat lunch.
1pm DD eats lunch and sits outside.
Afternoon as above .... I keep my personal phone off during working hours as I'm easily distracted.
5pm DD finishes work.
6pm I finish work - it's too easy to stay logged on.
Evening - generally get dressed (!) at this point and go for a walk, separately. Several supermarkets within walking distance so get anything we need, maybe twice a week. Check on my mother (nearly 90) by phone to see if she needs anything. Speak to various other friends. Three evenings a week, a Zoom AA meeting which have taken getting used to, like everything else. Sometimes a WhatsApp video call.
10pm bed for me
Later bed for DD

DH and I are both self employed , and we have been closed down for the foreseeable , so after a couple of days of panic and running round like headless chickens ....

7-30 wake up , have coffee ( me ) tea (DH ) watch news in bed

9 get showered and dressed , have breakfast

10 DH checks emails and does any work maintenance needed , I make some bread

11 do some gardening , Check the greenhouse

I’ve started the C25K , on week 2 now , I’m doing that 3 times a week
At some time around now DD will appear , she’s 23 and was working in Spain , she’s now unemployed and enjoying the time off too

1 have some lunch

In the afternoon we go for a walk , once a week we go to Tesco , DH waits in the car , I shop , do some of the jigsaw or colouring

7 have dinner , with a couple of glasses of wine

FaceTime DS who’s working from home , the other side of the U.K.

That’s my day

Ps and oh yes I forgot... Motivating the teenagers to do work jas been by far the most stressful and repetitive job. Lots of arguments especially with ds13 who likes a debate. Have resisted getting drawn into it but I have had the 'you are the worst parents in thr world/you don't understand me" levelled at me. At least they can't accuse me of having double standards, as I am working all day so can't argue why should we work when you are not (which they would!!). 😆

@@me

Usually I have a nap while my two dds are in school, have always struggled for sleep during six weeks but usually my mum who is registered as my DS carer comes round too give me a chance to sleep but with new rules we been trying not to mix households. But if I really need a sleep she will come over just avoiding it as I'm on shielding list.

Our household is me and DH working full time in busy jobs from home, with DD 16 months. Typical day is:

5:30/6am - DD wakes up and I BF her in bed
6:30-8:30 breakfast and get DD ready (work on laptop sometimes while she’s eating)
8:30–12:30- work as much as possible whilst looking after DD between myself and DH
12pm -lunch for DD while I work on laptop next to her
1pm- lunch with DH
1pm-5pm- back to work again whilst looking after DD
5-6:30pm - dinner
7-8pm - bath time, get DD ready for bed, stories and BF to sleep.
8:30-10:30pm - log back on and work again.

We’re both knackered and I feel like I’m not doing a good job at work or parenting.

You are all so busy and hard-working. I salute those of you managing little ones at home.

I’m 53, DH is 72.

My day goes something like...

8 or 9 ish, get up, make coffee, check messages and faff on MN.

11ish, exercise of some sort, which on a good day is a run in the park or some hand weights at home.

DH does a ninja route to the newsagents to socially distantly acquire his newspaper.

12-4 will be phone calls and Skype related to my work, DH reading, me chasing him out of the lounge so I can work. Or on non-work days, I’ll be doing some studying.

5- call my mum.

6- that’s news and making dinner.
7- onwards is usually TV, Netflix etc.

Tis a quiet life and I’m earning zilch, but trying not to worry about that too much.

staycatstrut lots of sympathy for you - it sounds really really tough.

Damn, I'm very jealous of you retired folks! You deserve to have these nice chilled days tho, you've done your time hHa

Oooo good idea for a thread. Think especially atm I like being nosey into other people's lives like this.

My day is as follows
8am wake up
8:30 breakfast
9.00 Joe Wicks
9:30 check emails check mumsnet
10.30 have a coffee and read newspaper
11. Do a bit of a project/ housework
1pm lunch
2pm project work
3pm walk the dog
4pm have a cuppa read a book
5pm nap and watch news briefing
6:30 tea time have wine
7-11 watch tv chill out
11ish bedtime

As I was typing this plans changed as baby fell asleep on me... so not accurate times but as is life with babies & small chlildren. Today so far/plans:
6am: Get up with baby
8am: elder 2 wake up and make breakfast
8:30am: get nappy wash on
9am: Get myself and baby dressed, send elder 2 to get dressed
10am: craft activity
11am: English
11:30am: maths
12pm: I’ll make lunch and hang out nappies
1pm-5pm: Boot big 2 into the garden whilst I put baby in sling on back to do ironing. Don’t really have any specific plans in the afternoon really other than sort out ironing pile.
5/6pm: make and serve dinner
7pm: bedtime for children
7pm+ baby will only sleep cuddled up to me so I’ll watch Netflix in bed for a little bit.

51 (between jobs, like to stay positive about it all)

06.00 Let big dog outside, smoke in garden, feed fatcat 1st breakfast. Make tea. Drink tea. Enter negotiations with big dog re his coming back inside. (This is not a quick job)
06.30 2nd smoke due to stress from negotiations.
07.00 More tea. Check emails, skim Facebook & Mnet. Job search (off and on all day)
07.30. Decide what I want to do. Plan what needs doing. (Usually end up doing neither)
08.00. Feed fatcat 2nd breakfast. Feed slimmercat . More tea. Let oldlady dog outside. She'd rather not go and is very quick about it

Sometime between now and later on I'll shower, dress and possibly tidy up. Dogs in and out so lots of trips to the garden.

12.00 feed cats again. Have something to eat. More tea.

13.00 - 14.00...... Chat with DSs after they arise from their slumber and leave their caves to find food and drink. More tea.

Continue to potter about, drink tea, smoke, chat, let dogs out, let dogs in. Argue with fatcat about food. Pander to slimmercats peculiar demands.

17.00. Think about making food. More tea
19.00. DH home. Eat. More tea. Feed all animals. Dogs outside. Argue with big dog again.

Do whatever feel like doing until too tired to carry on doing it. (It's been family scrabble all week). More tea.

Bedtime.... dogs out (more one sided arguing) dogs put to bed and tucked in. Cats fed. Bed. Audiobook for 8 mins. Wake up in night to remove headphones from face.

This is such a lovely thread.

We are: me (furloughed) DH WFH, ds 17 Dd 16 and ds 8

6am DH gets up

7am ish, maybe later, I wake up and send him a text, usually a funny gif or just ‘morning my angel’. Five minutes later he brings me a coffee and we have a little chat before he either starts or gets back to work.

I watch tv for a bit, piss about online. About 8.30 DS2 will come in and we’ll have a snuggle before going downstairs for breakfast.

So 8.45 go downstairs, feed the dogs and let them out. Make breakfast for me and ds and coffee for me and DH.

9-12 I basically watch telly 🤷‍♀️ Ds 2 will be either watching a film with me or playing in his room.

12 DH stops for lunch so I make lunch for him, me and DS2. Teenagers tooif they’re up.

Afternoon the teenagers will emerge, tbf they’ve both been up for ages but just stayed in their rooms doing ‘homework’. They’ll raid the kitchen.

DS2 and I will do something like a few Twinkl sheets, make pasta, colour in posters for the windows, learn Chinese on Duolingo (seriously, this was his idea not mine) or some days just continue watching telly and pissing about online 🤷‍♀️

3pm DH finishes work and brings me more coffee. He’ll go and have an hour of playing guitar or doing his Wing Chun stuff. Then do a piano lesson for ds. Maybe some Lego or PS4 with him.

Dd will have been in and out all this time asking what we’re doing today or sending me links of things she wants to buy.

It’s about 4pm now and I’ve probably had at least one g&t. The last few days that’s been in the garden and we’ve had a family jigsaw puzzle on the go that we’ve all dipped in and out of, finished it yesterday. DS1 has probably joined us in the garden with his guitar.

I’ll cook dinner for around 5.30 ish. We all eat together in the dining room and have enforced family time and conversation. DH asks us all what we’ve done all day. We laugh and take the piss.

Evenings DH will try and usually fail to get us to all play a board game. We have done it a few time tbf. I’m well into the gin unless it’s Monday or Tuesday (got to think of my liver). We might all watch something together, we’re working through some classics with the kids right now, Crocodile Dundee, Groundhog Day (apt), Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice.

At some point we all go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

Love reading these.

7am. Up and shower. Drink of hot water whilst catching up on emails, news headlines and MN.
8 am. Get dressed and have breakfast with DH
9am DH walks the dogs whilst I do some jobs in the house.
10.30 thirty minute phone call with friend who lives alone.
11am snack and a drink. Then maybe tv or reading
12.30 lunch with DH
13.00 up to horse to muck out, make up nets, maybe ride in the ménage if weather is good. (Not hacking out at the moment as he’s not good in traffic and whilst there is less traffic comping through the village, most drivers are now coming through at 40 rather than 20)
14.30 more jobs, gardening, reading etc
17.00 prepare and eat tea (northerner!)
18.30 I take dogs out for a second walk.
20.00 find some rubbish to watch on tv
22.00 read in bed for an hour or so.
23.00 try to sleep.

Not very exciting!!!

My day - I was a SAHM (job hunting) before this anyway with a pre schooler at home, DC age 11, 8 and 4. DH is working out of the house, much longer hours than normal.

6.30 DH alarm goes off & he gets up.
6.45 4 year old comes in & I read him some stories
7.00 DH brings me a cuppa as he leaves for work
7.00-9.00 go down for breakfast, kids appear, let dog out for a wee, empty dishwasher etc
9.00 make kids do Joe Wicks
9.30 they all disappear to listen to audiobooks (just got Alexas for them)
10.30 finally drag them out for a dog walk
12.00 back from walk, start to faff around with lunch
1.00 day descends slightly into chaos. Maybe some arty activity, playing outside, board games? Never manage to achieve half of what I want to achieve.
4.30 my mum video reads them a story on the laptop & I start thinking about supper
5.00 telly time! 11 year old goes off to her room to be superior.
6.00 supper
7.00 wrangle the younger two into pyjamas
7.30 DH gets back from work, 4 year old is in bed after stories, read a story to the 8 year old
8.15 - 8.30 go through interminable goodnight ritual with 8 year old
8.30 watch an episode of Friends with 11 year old. Apparently all her friends have seen it. It feels so dated & sometimes a bit inappropriate.
9.00 send 11 year old to bed so DH and I can chat, and watch Sex Education
10.00 have a nightcap
10.30 take dog out for a wee
Lights out!

Me and DH are working, and we have 2 kids (1 primary, 1 secondary). We alternate looking after them mornings or afternoons. Finding it hard to stay motivated but both our jobs are at risk and so we’re trying to work hard while not panicking and while giving the kids enough attention and time. And trying not to feel jealous of all those pottering about in their gardens and enjoying time off (which isn’t fair or rational, so I keep telling myself off for that, too!).

A typical day when I have the kids in the afternoon:

6am wake up, straight downstairs, coffee

6.15am-1pm work (no breaks, so I get almost 7 hrs done)

1pm lunch with kids, then shower, get dressed (I save time in the morning by waiting until then to do it!)

2-5pm walk with kids and then activities with them, plus housework and cooking. Possibly a few work calls.

5.30pm Tea

6pm check emails

7pm housework, call family, watch TV

9pm we’re all in bed, usually read or Mumsnet

10pm sleep!

birdsnotbees comparison is the thief of joy etc, but I often catch myself feeling jealous of those who have two parents in the house, posting on social media about nice stuff etc, as my days feel very long & devoid of interaction. But it must be very hard juggling work & kids at home.

I'm unemployed although fighting be fueloughed as I was laid off 10th March.
DH self employed but zero work..2 young adult children out of 3 home from uni. DS high risk.
My day starts later than most on here.
8.30/09.00 Wake.Make coffee. Hang washing on line/put in tumbler. Go back to bed and watch news.
09.30/10.00 Coffee. Phone a friend or my mum.
11.00 Exercise machine and weights in garden.
12.00 Shower get dressed. Brunch.
13.00 house admin. Gardening. Reading.
17.00/1800 Sort laundry. Prepare evening meal
1800/1900 Family meal..wine beer or gin
1930 shower and get ready for bed
2000 TV.family chill out time.
2300 put a load if washing in machine and pit on timer. Load dishwasher general.pre bed tidy up.
23.30/00.00 Bed, read, Netflix
0200 Sleep
23.30

8.30 wake up realise that yes it is still real, have a shower and get dressed.

9.00am turn on my laptop and start working.

9.01 get bored and look at my phone

9.05 look out the window and make coffee.

9.10 actually get my head down.

1pm-2pm lunch

2-5.15 panic about my productivity and work like mad.

5.15 -Finish

6pm dinner

7pm moan about telly a lot

...,,,,