Setting a daily routine

Morning:
Wake up 6 AM
Drink a glass of water
Go walking at 7 AM
8 AM breakfast and medication
Shower, lotion, brush teeth, get ready for the day
Make bed

-daily activities-

Nighttime:
Shower, remove any makeup, brush teeth, lotion etc
Make plans for tomorrow
Bedtime 10 PM

Chores:
Wash bedding once a week (Sunday)
Laundry (?)
Mop floors (every other day)
Dishes (every day)
Mow lawn (once a week?)
Bathe dogs (once a week?)

-changes will be made once I figure things out-

Hello NicoleS It sounds like a great routine. You are very wise to know for our own benifit we have to have discipline. I wish I could figure things out and hope you can too. What once was easy now is difficult. Why? Just looking at your list is exhausting. Maybe one day I will have the courage just too make a list. Good Job!

I really appreciate the schedule you wrote out. I'm envious because I am still in a state of 'slowness' wherein completing the simple daily tasks requires so much energy.

I guess I can start off with my morning schedule for Monday? I'll go easy on myself.

1) Wake up at 8:00 a.m. Take meds. (huge challenge, as I've been getting to sleep around 3:00 a.m. for the past several weeks.)

2) Go for a walk around the park for 30 minutes.

3) Buy some vegetables at local market. Juice them.

4) 12:00 noon, eat lunch. Probably tuna sandwich and my homemade sweet potato soup.

5) 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., continue knitting my scarf which is 2/3 done.

6) 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Take a break and browse Psych Central. Catch up on online news. (I don't have a tv)

7) 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Do some housework: wash dishes, vacuum, laundry.

8) 5:00 p.m. Prepare supper. Typically a light salad with grilled chicken, and iced herbal tea, decaffeinated.

9) 6:00 p.m. Eat supper.

10) 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Take a break, browse online, watch documentaries.

11) 9:00 p.m. Prepare for bed, take a warm shower, no computer, no reading, dim the lights, take melatonin, practice meditation for 2-5 minutes, change into pajamas.

12) 10:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Goal is that I'm asleep by this time.

Note: If I get half done, I will be happy with that. One step at a time. I think this is the goal I'd like to have for my daily routines, so I'll reflect upon it every now and then, and like OP stated, things will change as we progress. I think I'll write this down in my calendar too. I just bought a really nice monthly calendar from Chapters the other day, and it's sitting around collecting dust...unused.

NikoleS and Wunderland, Great plans you have!
I want to work on my morning routines. I have been much down in the bumps this spring which has led to some bad habits; not get up when it is morning and more. Have read that it takes about 30 days to form a habit. I don't have to form it, only reestablish it. I have already started. This will be my third day:

07:00 Up, morning prayer, make bed and other important things like charge my mobile, take medication and so on.

07:30 Breakfast

08:15 Physical exercises, Prayer and then work for a while with my "antidepressant methods" (reading through notes, try to remember what are my triggers and how to act upon them ...).

09:30 Writing my shopping list and after that shower.

10:15 Some food before I leave home.

Let us encourage each other on our journeys to set good habits into practice, so we in our samll goals feel like

These posts have inspired me to create my own routines. Thanks for sharing! Best wishes.

I have routines based on what time I get out of bed ��.

So do I. My aim is to get up at 7:00 AM. But another goal is to have enough sleep. I need to go to bed at 11:00 PM to be able to get up at 7:00 the next morning. If I for some reasons am not in bed before 12:00, I set the alarm to ring at 8:00 AM.

But the "ingredients" of the morning ritual is meant to be the same every morning!

I have to put one extra thing on my list: To do the dishes.

I have done dishes for more than an hour this day! I don't want to have to do such a big job again. I will not put the dishes on my morning program. There is no room for it there. I have managed to continue the same morning things for six days, now! I'm satisfied with my progress! I will not "break into" something that works so good.

Still I need to have the dishes on my to do list. I have been thinking of it and come to the conclusion that I will do it immediately after coming home later in the day (before I make dinner or do other things).

So now "when to do the dishes" has entered my daily plan. I hope I will be able to just go ahead and do it ...

Wish me luck!

NikoleS, thank you so much for starting this thread! It has been very helpful for me to join. After a few days I have regained my sleep at night (let's hope it lasts!). This day I put in at what point of the day I should do my dishes.

It WORKED! I hang up my cloths when I came home, and went straight to the kitchen. I did the dishes and felt happy afterward! (Let us hope that lasts too, the new habit).

Once again, thank you so much, NicoleS!

Im struggling to with routine issues with what to do after breakfest since unemployeed... Any suggestions ..some days going to the market doing small stuff helping with housework.. Need to add something wht y suggest?

I would recommend a daily list that is not so difficult to follow. The most important is when to get up and when to get to bed (lack of sleep can make depression worse). Not regular meals may also create an imbalance in you and perhaps make your depression worse. Studies have shown that 30 minutes with physical activity each day (swimming, walking, jogging or whatever) will help to lower depression.

If I were you, I would have scheduled a time for these activities every day and set a daily goal to reach; go to the market / library / swimming pool / visit a park ...

If you have problems to motivate yourself, read about motivation and try to motivate yourself.

Good Luck!

Well, I have to admit that I didn't manage to follow my plans. I lost 8 days. It feels like a whole year. But as my new signature says, I have to go on ...

June 30 I wanted to use 30 days to make my habits sit. So what I do now is to subtract the 8 lost days. It is July 13 to day, so minus 8 (the first day included) = 6 days. I admit myself to say that I did fine for 6 days and have 24 days left on working on my habit.

I think this will work for me!

I'm done! I have missed feedback from NicoleS who started the thread and from others who wanted to make new or renew their routines. To work together on an aim functions much better than working alone.

My morning routines work automatically now (with a few exceptions). I will continue to work on them.

Thanks again to NicoleS who created the thread!

This is my last input on this thread. I have had my success and that's it!

My very best wishes for the other ones here who uthered that they would create a new routine.