Daily Routine......Have you got one??

Alpa,
You learned from TD! Does she conduct cookery classes? She is truly an inspiration for anyone wanting to learn Indian cooking.
Why don't you share some of your Italian recipes here. I love Italian cuisine. I'd love to try some of your recipes.

L

L

Adara,

sorry i missed out this post for long. I too think and admit that our moms had a better routine and were definitely better organised than us. But when I discuss with mom she says 'my times were different'... meaning she says she never had to involve so much with activities for kids, dad did all shopping for example etc., i suppose our priorities are different but that makes no excuse to learn from our moms, mils. my mom didn't even have grinder until we were like 6,7 yr old and she ground batter every 2nd day. no fridge even. besides it's also a matter of practise. my mom, for example, comes from a very large family of 12 siblings. being the eldest, since the age of 8 she had been helping my grandmom. so for her being organised is like second nature. whereas i was pampered and learnt cooking, running household only after marriage.

on week-days i get up bet 6 and 6.30. get kid ready for school, leave him at school around 8.30, do shopping, return home do few stuff... and it goes on like that. i'm still working on a consistent schedule and clearing up mess orderly and have a long way to go. i know of friends who have clear time-table on cleaning kitchen, cupboards, washing bedspreads etc., i do it with the flow and that's not always very efficient.

Latha

Hi,
I am a real lazy goose. I used to be organised some years back, but now with my husband being a very unorganised person, I too have become like him. I have to do all his work and so I have become so sloppy too.
For the past 3 years, I had been getting up at 4.15 as my son was studying and I had to wake him and keep him company. Now that he is in hostel, every day has a different routine now. Hubby works in shift and so nothing works out.
As you have said, my mother too had a routine and did so many things without any machines or outside help. But her time was different.
Even both my sils keep their routines religiously. A close friend is also like that. But they don't do anything other than household chores, no tv, no outings or other hobbies. And they don't like domestic help also and do all the work by themselves.
They are living a few years behind, with no knowledge about where the world is going. My friend has computer at home also, but is not at all interested in it and does not have net connection, though she can afford it well.
For good inspiration, please look up Ask Chitvish, our Chitvish has given good tips for good housekeeping. And foolproof recipes also.

Thanks for participating...Latha!

Actually, what I found is with regular schedule we do really lot of time for ourselves like pursuing any hobby or for that matter even applying henna on the hair which I used to always postpone since I would always remember while making dinner or talking to a friend about it. By writing down my plans I find I can fit in all such wants too.
I dont feel so exhausted as I used to do because I know if I cannot finish on something then it is written down and taken care of next time.

As for our mom, though they did not have to run around kids activities but the amount of physical work they had was enough to keep them busy all the time.

As you said, it is all a matter of habit.


Adara

Thank you Varloo!

I will definitely look at chitvish ideas.
I too have some friends who really don't know anything about the world outside their home and family. It is so suffocating for me to live like that. I have to log on to the net,watch TV, keep up to date with the news both US and India etc. Then call Parents everyday and there is 'family news'
Above all these I need to read every night before I sleep. I just cannot fall asleep without a book. There is no particular subject that I am dedicated to....it depends on my mood those days. The other day I returned all my books at the library and since it was Sunday so library was closed so could not check out new ones. That night did not have anything. Even the magazine was done so sat down with 6yr old DD's Junie.b.Jones book...

Since we are distracted more than the ladies without net or TV so that is why exactly I think we need to have a set routine so that we don't lag behind in our chores etc.

Adara

Adara...

Oh I missed this post for long time, today only I saw this. you initiated a very good thread which will be motivating all of us by learning something from others schedules and routine.

I am also trying to follow disciplined daily routine(though not perfect) trying to improve little bit day by day, if we are disciplined , and utilize the time well,then our kids will follow it naturally , my DH says I got my discipline from my mom .Yes my mom is my inspiration, as you said, even my mom used to do everything by herself and used to do daily tiffins in the eve by the time we come home and special snacks during festivals which will last atleast 1 week. used to plan very well to have some personal time to do kutch work and do sunday EEnadu magzine puzzles, play chinese checkers with us.

I wake up at 5:30AM, finish brusing , put vedic chants in youtube daily and do yoga with the background vedic chants and then pranayama, try to spend atleast 30Min daily for it. then make the lunch boxes ready for us and for my kid and take shower, wake up kid at 6:45, make him ready to take school bus by 8:00 AM, then little kitchen cleanup and get ready after eating my breakfast(usually sprouts, dates, even for my DH, so I never make breakfast in moring times expcept on weekends) and start to work by 8:40AM, come home by 5:45 to 6:00PM, put some rice, cut some veges for salad for that days dinner, eat some fruits, salad and little amount of rice as a dinner. at 7:30PM help my son in homework and make him sleep by 8:30PM. then watch TV for sometime and go to bed by 9:30PM. My major cooking will be done during weekends which we eat during weekdays, sometimes I make curry after coming home in the eve. cleaning the house, laundry, mopping will be during weekends and groceries I get when I am coming back home from work to save time on weekends. my routine was different when Idont work which will be little leisure but pretty much same except I cook daily then.

The thing I am missing is reading books, even I love reading books, I have subscription to my favourite magzines yogajounal, prevention but I am not having energy and patience to ready them at night, I have to improve on it.

Sujatha.

Thanks Sujatha for participating.

OH! How I love listening to the bhakti music early morning. That gives the day a nice,calm and peaceful start. I remember my mom used to put vishnusahasranamam or supbrabhatam early morning when we were kids. She does that even to this day. I enjoy all that when I go to mom's place every year.

I liked your breakfast idea....may be I will switch from my everyday idli to twice a week idli and rest of the days sprouts and dates. It is very healthy too. Will talk to hubby about this.

Adara

Adara,
a great thread..
I am awed to see the routines posted here. I am a very lazy person. I quit work some months back and came to US. Here, I haven't set a routine yet. Some days,house is clean and somedays,it looks very bad.

Now, I will also try to put some routine into place.

Once again,thanks for the thread.

Divya.

Ladies - I actually forgot to post my routine. I was awed by the wake up times posted by all. If I get out of bed by 6.15 AM it's my lucky day
DH is up at 5.00 and off to the gym. He gets back at 6.15 and wakes me up.
I turn on some naamams in the morning. After that, its coffee/paper time. My secretary and cook get in by then. I shower and then wake my LO up by 7.15 AM and get her to drink some milk. Then it's her shower time(she does it on her own lately, giving me time to get ready). I get her ready, three of us have b'fast and are out at 8.00 AM. The cook takes care of our lunches. I drop her off in her Van before heading for office. I get back from office at 5.00. LO is waiting for me when I get back. My assitant does a good job in picking her up from the van stop, giving her milk and snacks and getting her ready for the evening. I get back, have a cup of coffee and generally do some school work with LO. If she has a class I drop her off to her class. I try to light the lamp by 6.00 and chant a few mantrams while LO is in class. I pick her up from class, we go down to the park, where she plays and I have my friends to meet. We are back upstairs by 7.15(DH is back too around the same time). Dinner is ready(thanks to the cook) but I add some finishing touches to it. We all eat by 7.45 and she is in bed by 8.30. We then spend an hour generally talking to each other. I browse and read while he finishes off his work and we are in bed by 11.00.

Adara,

This is a wonderful thread and I'm sure lot of us will get tips and improvise!!!!
Routines are good for being organised and staying on track. Years back I read an article in Woman's Era about this. Simple routines like making the ed once we are up, laying clothes for the next day the previous night itself, cutting veggies and keeping ready, planning out a menu... all this helps. There was also a sugestion that one room a day, if taken care like clock work, then most tensions on cleaning would go away.
As for me, I try and follow some routines ... but I'm unable to catch up sometimes.
Like Latha had mentioned, those days our moms did not run around like we do now. This I say because even my mom tells me the same thing.
I'm still tryinglitlle by little to set my routine up.

Lets see what others say and learn from them.

Regards,
Viji