What's new

Structure or Chaos? | Pad Patter 8.14

IntenseMagic

IntenseMagic

Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.
Pollywog
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
13,319
Don't get me wrong, I love love love summer vacation and everything that goes along with it...even the chaos. But, I go back to work tomorrow and part of me is really craving the structure and routine. I always think that during the summer I will get all organized and on track, but I currently feel behind in every aspect of life :giggle. I'm hoping that getting back into the school/work schedule will help be to be a little more organized with my time. I think when I have more time on my hands, I tend to waste more time.

How about you? Are you good with chaos or do you need structure?
 
I was a teacher too and was so much more productive back then with the structure. In retirement you have all the time in the world to get nothing done. :hammock
 
Last edited:
Structure is nice and I do try to at least keep to a "schedule" even in retirement. In other words, I have a routine for the first couple of hours of the day. After that, whatever I feel like.

Living alone there isn't much chaos unless something unexpected like a power outage happens. Then I stress about how long it will be out (especially in the winter since I have electric heat).
 
Iowan said:
I was a teacher too and was so much more productive back then with the structure. In retirement you have all the time in the world to get nothing done. :hammock
Click to expand...
I'm at the point now that I just keep thinking "awww I'll get to that in retirement" :giggle:giggle
 
HavaDrPepper said:
Structure is nice and I do try to at least keep to a "schedule" even in retirement. In other words, I have a routine for the first couple of hours of the day. After that, whatever I feel like.

Living alone there isn't much chaos unless something unexpected like a power outage happens. Then I stress about how long it will be out (especially in the winter since I have electric heat).
Click to expand...
I hate the stress of the power going out in the winter. We have electric heat as well.
I tell myself before every summer starts that I'm going to have a schedule and it just never seems to work out lol.
 
umyesh said:
I love structure (even though my house is always chaotic lol).
Click to expand...
My youngest is a senior this year and I keep thinking that this time next year I am not going to know what to do with myself so maybe then I'll get all the things done hahaha
 
I do well with routines and it's nice to have some so you don't have to thinking about whether and how to do a thing, but I also do fine with some chaos. I'm practical and efficient and can roll with some chaos and make some order out of it.
 
We were just talking about this with all the wedding planning we're doing for Aspen... only about 3 weeks until the big day. I thrive on structure and Aspen works well in chaos, so I've been trying to structure the chaos so we can get it done. :agree
 
I used to be very organized but not so much anymore. We fly by the seat of our pants around here and it's kind of fun. I'll pretty much drop anything to go have a good time. Most of my family live on the same property, so we tend to do things spur of the moment.
 
I love structure during our normal life but can tolerate a bit more chaos if we’re on holiday. There are a few things I need to happen everyday irrespective - like a clean kitchen, having food available to make school lunches etc - but I am learning not get as frustrated by my menfolk’s lack of concern for scattered Lego models or impromptu cricket games in the hallway.
 
I think a little of both. Organized chaos is my life most of the time. I have a to-do list for the day and that works better for me than a schedule, even a block schedule. There are a lot of personalities in my life that create chaos, so I've learned to adapt and roll with it during the day. Plus, I like to roll with how I'm feeling for the day/moment. Cleaning mood? Organizing/decluttering mood? Photo Organizing mood? Nap? I roll with it.

At night though? Organized schedule. Dinner, clean the kitchen, walk the dog, other people up to bed, my computer quiet time. And Friday is laundry day. Unless there's a chance of mold or crazy stains, all laundry is washed, folded, and put away on Fridays. So, I plan other activities around the time that each load is passive.
 
I love to have free time, but I definitely do better if I have a plan for what I want to do with that free time, otherwise the whole day can fly by and I haven't "done anything". I'm a planner at heart and like to know what to expect for the day in front of me... even if it is full of doing whatever I want. :giggle

Hope you have a good first day back at school today Jan! @IntenseMagic
 
I'm better with some sort of a routine, even a loosey-goosey one, otherwise I just fritter away time.

I hate losing power in the winter. I have natural gas heat, but the thermostat, along with the furnace's igniter and blower, are electric.
 
I need structure to feel secure, at least the basic ones like morning, afternoon and evening routines. It helps with my anxiety a lot to know what comes next. But with a little toddler, life can be pretty unpredictable so I'm learning to go easy on the scheduling.
 
I love routine. Even during summer when my kids were little we had some type of loose routine/structure to follow each day.
 
I thrive on structure and routine. I'm sooooo ready to get back in the swing of our regular schedule.

With that said, I do have 7 kids so there's definitely chaos in my life but I try to keep it as organized as possible.
 
I hope your first day back was a good one!

I can thrive with either. It's pretty situational. I don't need routine, but I do like some level of predictability, so I guess I'm somewhere in between. I actually get joy out of creating structure out of chaos, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment.
 
I always thrived with structure/schedule, but over the years my chronic back pain has wreaked havoc on my planning. I can plan out my week on Sunday and color block my digital calendar along with reminders/tasks, but a bad day with my back pain and all that gets flushed down the toilet.

I love a structured/organized home, but again, that nagging back pain always inserts itself and causes chaos in my home life.

I have found I at least have to TRY to have structure; otherwise, like most of you, I don't get anything accomplished.
 
Back
Top