daily routines.

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how do you develop a daily routine and keep busy when your unemployed?
are you the type of person who makes a daily to do list and uses that as a daily routine or do you make a weekly to do list and and try and get everything done within a week?

Hey,

Determining what needs to be done, making a realistic time schedule, and discipline. Keep in mind that a daily routine can be concrete (like eg cleaning, cooking chores and brushing teeth etc) or more abstract (like developing, building up, studying, etc).

I'm someone who generally makes a to-do list to try and get all the stuff that I need done that day. It's not perfect by any means, but it generally works and I get far more done that way than if I were to try without one.

I can really struggle to get anything done, even when I have responsibilities. I'm very avoidant of things I don't want to do/ am not interested in.

I do find to do lists are helpful for visualising what tasks need to be done and also setting goals. The trick is to be realistic so the tasks you set yourself are achievable in the time you have.

Having a healthy sleeping pattern is also very helpful, as is eating healthily. It will help your overall productivity and mood. It's very easy to get 'stuck in a rut' when unemployed.

I am unemployed my moment due to other disabilities, and do have a daily routine.

I don't make a list to do, but find I get things done throughout the day, although at the same time each day. For example, I will go on a walk each day at 2PM, get things done when I arrive back home, then do some gaming at 7PM, and other things I fit around this.

I have always found I had a kind of schedule, not written, but is just the way I like to do things in a routine way. I guess it is not for everyone but I find it helps.

I have been unemployed for 5 years, but I do volunteer work from home.

I have a daily schedule though it's not super tight. It goes like this roughly:

* 8 am wake up for medication and breakfast, or earlier (I am an early bird)
* Then work or something to do with writing or other computer related stuff till 12
* 12 noon medication and lunch
* Noon spent either with an appointment, using my cinema card (it's quieter then) , or drawing/playing computer games or another hobby
* 17.00 cooking
* 18.00 dinner
* Cleaning up cooking utensils etc
* 20.00 last meds of the day
* Reading or social media
* 21.30 bed

I was unemployed for nearly 5 years but I done voluntary work at a charity shop some of the days during the week. You could try volunteering somewhere, and you meet new people too, and it's not too overwhelming if you struggle with socialising. Even if you just do about 2 or 3 hours a day, it still gets you out and you can have it become part of your routine. That's what I did.

During the weekdays. I wake up at 5:50 AM. Takes my dog outside to use the bathroom. Eat breakfast. Take my meds. Walk my dog. Then school. After school. Walk my dog again. Brush him so less fur will be all over the house. Give him his vitamin E pill for less shedding. Take my evening meds. Then play on my tablet or watch YouTube on my TV. And random 2-10 min chores my grandparents make me do. Like get the landery and take out the trash. But that doesn't happen every night. And weekends go like this. I go to bed super late. Like 2 AM or so. And sleep in super late and wake up naturally. Or wake up when my dog starts whining telling me to wake up and take me outside.

To do lists don't much work for me... even though I get a weird sense of satisfaction from crossing things off lists. I think I find the to do list too overwhelming. Over the last month or two now I have been slowly building a routine by adding a new thing or two on the the previous week and so on. It's proved to be more habit forming and I like it. I can also pace myself better this way and not over do it and exhaust myself (mentally or physically) and then end up getting behind while I play recover from earlier. So yeah, I thought about what I wanted to do and then just slowly started implementing those things one by one and as soon as the new thing became the new normal I'd add another. It's worked great for me since I started. Hopefully it will continue to work out.