If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’ve recently been made redundant. Obviously the most difficult part of the whole situation is my finances, but I’ve been making money since redundancy so that’s fairly okay, I’m managing that side of things. My mental health hasn’t been great and I’ve got a post coming on that in more detail soon, and I’ve realised that one of the things I’ve found hardest to deal with is suddenly having absolutely no routine. I have ADHD and I clearly do better with a routine, even though I think I don’t, I very much need some sort of structure. This post is talking about how I’ve been trying to get into a routine, whilst not having any sort of routine.
Daily to do lists
I make a list, generally the night before, of the things I want to do the next day. For me, this is a mixture of ‘work’ stuff (applying for jobs, freelance work, blog work) money making (matched betting, survey sites) and housework (cleaning, tidying, washing). I also try to put something ‘fun’ onto my list, often reading a few chapters of my book or listening to an audiobook for a set amount of time. On the days I do write a list, I fare better, even if I don’t always complete the list.
Weekly to do lists
As well as my daily lists I have an ongoing list of things I’d like to do that week. This can be bigger jobs like deep cleaning a room, self care things like doing my gel nails and dyeing my hair, and even things like visiting the tip or doing an order from a specific shop if I need things. I try to get a few things from this list done every couple of days and I feel like I’m getting somewhere when I do.
This week’s to do list has wrap Christmas presents, repot houseplants, do a tip run, put up some photos I’ve framed, and bleach my roots on it. All of these things don’t really need doing NOW, but they’re on my mind and once they’re done I will feel just a little calmer.
Decide on your end goal
As I’m writing this post, I know I have a job, starting at the end of November. This is great in terms of there being an end in sight, but I am very conscious I want to use this free time wisely. I need to carry on earning money of course, but I also want to look back at this time and be glad about the things I did, rather than spending the time on the sofa in front of another Gilmore Girls rerun.
I’ve given myself the end goal of getting my blog content written and scheduled until the end of the year, so that December can be focused on my new job. I also want to earn a certain amount of money from matched betting, so I can start the new job with some money in my pocket. I want batch cooked food in the freezer for those few weeks when I’ve been training all day and I have no energy to cook, I want to get another half a stone of weight off and back into a good gym routine, and I want to write a 50,000 word novel through Nanowrimo (the month of November). All of these goals feel achievable, so wish me luck!
Maybe your end goal is ‘find a job’ or something more open ended, and that’s fine too. Having an end goal helps to know what you’re working towards, and it’ll really help your mindset.
Creative time
As a blogger, Inside Laura’s Head is a creative outlet for me, but it’s one I take really seriously, rather than being just for fun. So I’ve decided I need a crafty hobby I can do just to learn, have fun and develop my skills. I’ve bought some clay, clay tools and paints, and I’m going to have fun making things out of clay. So far I have a trinket dish I’m quite proud of, which is drying, waiting to be ready to paint. Slotting creative time into my week, somehow, is becoming really important to me.
What’s the daily routine then?
I’m still not FULLY in a routine, at all. I’m trying to get up around 9:30 (eventually this will become 8:00, as I’m determined to be a person who has a quick walk and some breakfast before work, and my new job feels like an ideal time to implement this!) I tend to wake up, scroll through my phone for 20 minutes or so and then get up. I have breakfast, then I take my laptop and my water bottle upstairs, often with another coffee, stick Kisstory on, and start my ‘working’ time.
My first job is to check Outplayed, the matched betting site I use, to see if there’s any good reload offers for me to do that day. I normally spend between an hour and two hours completing these offers, as I have to prioritise earning money over everything else. I have Prolific open in the background so I can do any studies that pop up-this does distract me from what I’m doing, but if I don’t do studies as they’re there I will lose out. Prolific covers my gas and electric bill each month, often more, so it’s well worth the stopping and starting to do it this way.
Once I’ve done my matched betting I’ll check and respond to emails, deleting the junk and actioning anything that needs it. I’ll then do a quick check of my bank account to make sure I know how it’s looking (erm, empty!) and if there’s a bill due, I’ll pay it. It’s then time for a cup of tea and usually some lunch.
Once I’ve had lunch, often after a walk, I come back to my desk. Before I knew I had a job I’d spend an hour applying for jobs and another half an hour finding jobs I wanted to apply for the next day. Once I knew I had a job lined up, this time would be spent applying for freelance work on Upwork. I’d find any work I knew I’d enjoy writing and pitch for it (and I ended up writing a book, Greater Than A Tourist-Leeds, this way)
At this point it’s usually mid afternoon, and it’s time to write. I will work on a blog post, like this one, for an hour, or longer if I’m really in the zone. If I don’t need to research things, or if I’ve done the research and the photo editing, I can get a post ready to go in an hour so this time is really productive for me. I’ll then spend some time promoting some recent, and some older, content on my social media channels, before logging off for the day.
Do you have a daily routine, or are you a winging it sort of person?
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