My day is pretty scheduled. You make me laugh. And here's why:
1. I remember my best friend (when she was single), telling me she didn't have time to do laundry, much less cook.
2. I remember my good friend in DC's schedule, much like yours. Started with getting to work at 6:30 am to get parking, ended with eating dinner at 9 pm (takeout) in front of the TV
3. I remember my schedule when I was single. It involved:
- working 9 hours a day
- working out 1-2 hours a day
- playing in volleyball leagues 2-4 days a week
- taking classes 2 days a week
No wonder.
So, how do we do it?
1. It is extremely rare for me to work >40 hours a week. My husband does, but he gets a lot less sleep
2. Food prep on the weekend. I cook 2 big meals on the weekend, and in addition, spend a couple of hours washing and prepping fruit and veg.
3. Kids pretty much demand your attention, and they like to eat 3 meals, so you can't just ignore your hunger.
4. My workouts are short, and not every day. I probably swim or run 30-40 min 2x a week, do a long run (2 hours) once a week, and lift for 15 minutes once or twice a week. I walk 30 minutes on my lunch break.
Typical day:
4:40 am: alarm goes off. Wake up, do my morning stuff.
5:10 am: at the gym, waiting for it to open
5:30 am: gym open, go to pool, get my favorite lane. Swim 30-45 minutes.
6:30 am: back home. Spend 20 minutes packing 3 lunches. (Kid: fruit, raw veg, string cheese, sliced turkey. Me: salad, fruit salad, pasta. Hubs: salad, fruit salad, sandwich. He makes his own sandwich). Drink coffee, make toast and egg for breakfast. Eat.
7:20 am: leave for work
7:30 am until 3:15 or 4:30 pm (depends on if kid activity): work
3:15 pm: leave work. Go to school. Pick up kid. Go home, get him in uniform. Drop off at baseball at 4 pm. Go to preschool. Pick up younger kid. Back to baseball game.
5:00 pm - 6:40 pm. Take turns watching baseball and playing on playground with hubby.
6:40 pm: go home, make dinner so as to avoid takeout. Baseball not over yet. But I can prep and microwave a vegetable and cook up chicken or fish or quesadillas before hubby and big kid get home.
7:30 pm dinner done, do dishes.
8:00 pm, chill with kids
8:30 pm start bedtime for little kid (hubby does this)
9:00 pm my bedtime and big kids'.
If it is not a sports day, then I leave work at 4:30 pm, get home at 5:15 pm, chill a few minutes, prep dinner (usually a fresh veg and whatever leftovers from the weekend). Dinner at 6:15 pm, dishes at 6:45 pm, then more time to play with the kids, do some crocheting, whatever.
The hard part with kids is sick days, dr's appts, these make it literally impossible for me to work a full 40 hour week. My spouse can swing it, because he either does not exercise or gets a lot less sleep.