I think one of the hardest things for me to accomplish as a bipolar woman is establishing some sort of routine. With that being said, I have been really trying to find some sort of routine during my foot and knee surgery recovery and that’s been a challenge within itself.

It took about a week and a half for me to establish more or less of a schedule to follow which will soon change when I go back to work next Monday. Here is my surgery recovery schedule:

• 9am Wake up
• 9:30am Go downstairs into living room for a “change in scenery” to help with depression
• 10am Eat breakfast
• 10:30am Do morning blogging
• 12pm Social media binge / Free time
• 1pm Lunch
• 1:30pm Nap time
• 3pm Research for future writing projects
• 5pm Dinner
• 5:30pm Social media bing / Free time
• 7:30pm Go back to my room
• 8pm Bible reading
• 9pm Social media bing / free time
• 10pm Night time journaling and write 10 things I’m grateful for
• 11pm Watch podcasts
• 1am Go to sleep

I think my schedule will look a lot different once I go back to work and start to gain mobility in my leg once again. There will be a lot less binging on social media and I will focus on my writing projects more, which is important to me.

I have posted my daily routine in the past which included about 5 hours of sleep versus the 8 I have been getting since I had surgery. I don’t notice more energy levels despite getting more sleep. I think I function better on about 6 hours of sleep because for some reason, I am less fatigued with less sleep than getting a full 8 hours like one should get.

Since I can’t cook or clean or do much of anything, I have been hovering over my MacBook Pro and writing like today is going to be my last, which is good in a sense. I have been getting a lot of ideas down on paper, but I have been fooling around looking at various social media websites. I’m trying to enjoy my time off from work, but this is not how I would ideally spend my time. If I could, I would be working out, cooking dinner every night, hanging out with friends, and doing more writing than what I’m doing.

So how do you organize your life and get on a schedule? It’s quite simple to create a schedule to go on, it’s a matter of actually following your schedule and making time for everything that is important in your life. My suggestion is to create a list of what you have to do every week and create multiple schedules that includes items on your list. I would say create a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule that changes month to month with events and plans made beforehand.

The best suggestion I have for you and your schedule is to be FLEXIBLE. Without flexibility, you are left with a rigid schedule and if something pops up, you can’t change your plans without everything else falling apart like building blocks.

1. Figure out what you need to add to your schedule: work, school, doctor’s appointments, time with friends, house cleaning, cooking, time with family or kids, leisure, hobbies, self care, etc.
2. Place the pieces that you cannot change i.e. work into a loose weekly schedule: Monday through Friday, Work 8a-5p
3. Create a supplementary schedule for cooking, cleaning, and other chores: Light cleaning Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after dinner. Deep cleaning Saturday morning. Create a weekly meal plan on Sunday and go grocery shopping. Follow meal plan Sunday-Saturday.
4. Place these events into a cohesive, time sensitive schedule including self care time
5. Allow yourself free time in case something comes up or for you to relax and enjoy 🙂

So hopefully this helps some of you get on a schedule.

Happy grooving, everyone!

Dani