How much down time do you have in a typical day?

At 60 I'm still working 45 hours a week so very little down time. I have to make the time to get anything beside my normal job done. Cleaning and organizing are a chore and there's always something that needs my attention. If I want craft time or "fun time" I have to schedule it.

I have a really difficult time just doing nothing. I do generally sit down to watch tv for 2 hours after dinner is cleaned up.

DH is retired and it drives me crazy that he has no daily projects or goals - he has no issues with just doing what he wants when he wants to do it. I feel like I will never get to that point! I also have grandkids I visit or babysit most weekends.

Since starting a new job (in July) I have found I have a lot more free time. My other job was very consuming of not only my time but my mental capacity. Now when I leave work I get to actually leave work. I normally have 2 hours every night for me. Somtimes DH and I watch one of the few TV shows we both watch but most of the time I do whatever I feel like doing. I just started rehabing an old miniature dollhouse so that's been my nighttime project. Other nights I just lay on my couch and watch useless TV.

Weekends are a bit different. I have normal adult stuff - grocery store, laundry, etc. DH and I do lunch every weekend which is nice. At least once a month I take my camera and go explore somewhere. That's my favorite way to spend my alone time.

Outside of the 12 hours each week that I teach lessons and the time I spend managing the business of my studio, I do what I want when I want to do it. I do keep the house pretty tidy and I do any yard work or plant tending that needs to be done. I manage our day to day finances and pay the bills. I plan and cook our meals. I practice guitar and bass and learn a little Spanish every day. I do stuff for and with my adult kids. I go to the gym and walk the dogs. I spend time with DH. And I spend a fair amount of time doing “nothing” - usually reading or being online. I watch baseball and crochet. Not much other TV these days.

I feel no need to be productive every moment. My parents were like that and it didn’t get them anything. Mom died at 57 and I am now 51. Life is short and I don’t intend to spend it staying busy out of some sense of obligation or guilt.

I use a cube timer for nearly everything I do. It's an ADHD trick to get me to sit still. But I use for everything, work, cleaning, crocheting, etc. I do use it for online time too. But I still can't seem to get out of the habit of checking things in the little stolen moments of my day, kwim? It's a distraction thing.

I totally get it. Every so often I think I should go off my ADD meds but then I find myself totally distracted and an hour has gone by while I watch tick-tok. Back on the meds I go! 

I work 4 days a week for 12 hr shifts in a manufacturing plant.... it isnt gross and grimey but it is still production...

The great thing about my job is i clock in do my job and clock out... i dont bring it home with me... i dont stress about it... when i am off the clock there are 3 other people covering my machine... we have 1 2 3 4 rotations...

During the 4 work days i do not do anything!!! I make dinner and dishes are done but that's it..

Since I work 4 days I am also off 4 days... my 1st day off i try to completely unplug... i try really hard... does it always happen??? No but i do my best... this is the day i get my house back in order...

The next 3 off days... i do whatever i want... no i don't feel guilty... i can sit around all day doing nothing but tv... or craft from sun up to sun down... sometimes i go in for overtime... sometimes i literally do nothing...

I dont feel guilty about how i spend my off time... i work hard.. my house is good... my dh is taken care of... my kids n grandkids and doing fine...

Im free

Retired person here!

I do all my chores, household projects, shopping, appointments, workout, etc. in the mornings. Most days by 12:30 I can have lunch, read (nap! haha), craft, or whatever relaxing thing I feel like.

When I first retired, I thought I had to keep busy all day. Over time it just happened that my routine evolved into what it is.

I usually have several hours of free time every day. Some days more, some days less.
These days, with work.... I am a bit more than part time.
With age, I have found myself slowing down physically, my energy level is not what it used to be......compared to my younger days.
I tend to get less things-responsibilities done in day and have to spread it out over several days.

I read a lot, scrapbook or putter around with my scrapbook stuff(which includes a scrapbook-mixed media style book I am writing), do self care stuff, go online (social media, pinterest, check my various accounts(bank, credit card), errands, household chores, my nightly routine >> (pay any bills, straighten up purse, wash any dishes, go over next day to-do list, moisturize my face and body), etc.....

At least once a week or every other.....I try to do a project, meaning >> go through one of four closets, kitchen cabinets, file paperwork, upload photos for printing, go through bathroom cabinets, clean car trunk, etc... I have quite a few things in the rotation.....so each gets done every few months or so.

To keep myself organized with daily to-do lists (index cards), some days there's nothing to-do, some days there are several things on the list. 

As I've aged, I've prefer more stay at home time.
I am much more selective about going out and about, socializing, accepting invites, etc...
Part of it has to do with my lack of energy. Part of it has to do with "it's okay to say no thank you" and it okay to not overschedule myself and it's okay to not feel obligated accept every little invitation.

I am an empty nester - stay at home wife. I can pretty much do whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it. That said, I do schedule things into my week so I know when I will get the more important things done. Like, I know I am grocery shopping every Friday and I pay bills on Monday morning.

My girls are grown and it’s dh and the dogs and me. I work FT. I chose a schedule where I work 9 hour days and get a day off every other week. It makes the week nights have less time but I find after work I am pretty spent anyway and prefer to have an extra day free where I can really enjoy the time. My weekends and that every other week day off are free and basically all downtime. I feel zero pressure to do anything. I do what I want when I want to. I like making dinner for us and I do that and clean up. When I feel like a want to spend a few minutes running the vacuum or cleaning a toilet I do that. But same with napping or scrolling on my phone or anything else- if I want to do it, I do. I can’t imagine feeling the pressure to be “productive” it sounds exhausting. I just thinking of it as being kind to myself and listening to what I need right now - physically, emotionally and allow myself to do that. And it might be organizing a drawer that been bothering me or just eating some chips.

I make sure I have lots of downtime. I read, nap, play video games or binge shows. Those are my main hobbies and I live alone so I just tend to enjoy my own company.

(((Hugs))) you are definitely in the thick things.

I go to bed at 11pm and get up when I'm tired of being in bed, about 10am. Every day's like a Sunday (a day of rest).

I’ve been retired for four years, after teaching for 42 years. My husband died the year before I was planning to retire, so it’s just me here. Not what I’d planned, but it’s the way it is.

When I was teaching I lived my weekdays by the clock, always watching the time so I could pace things, and when to get one group ready to go out the door and be ready for the next (reading specialist, worked with small groups and individual students).

NOT living most days by the clock is one of the best parts of being retired. Unless I have appointments or things that involve other people, I can be flexible and do things when I want. I usually wake up fairly early still, sometimes go back to sleep, but most days I wake up my brain by listening to the news and reading more news on my phone. 5-6 days a week I ride my recumbent exercise bike while watching Garden Answer YouTube videos. I generally aim to be on the bike around 9:30, but if I have an appointment it may be earlier, and it may be later if I’m not so motivated.

I keep a running list of things that need to be done, appointments, events, etc., so I always have things I can work on if I feel like being productive. I may make a list for a specific day, but that’s subject to change - for example, looking at the weather forecast and other things going on, I decided yesterday morning that I would go out and weed and clean up flower beds and trim back a few things.

I don’t have many things that are done on a set schedule, although I do get into routines. But I’m flexible and will change plans on the fly if something comes up, the weather changes, or I just don’t feel like doing something. I have lots of free time to do what I want, when I want. I love looking at the calendar and seeing nothing specific I have to do for the week.

I do not feel like I need to be productive all the time. I’m on my devices a lot, sometimes reading, sometimes watching videos, sometimes on social media. I don’t watch a lot of network TV or movies, but most often have news on in the background. Sometimes I’ll binge watch on Netflix. I work in my craft room, do puzzles, putter around the house and yard, read, occasionally take a nap or just chill on the screen porch.

I don’t feel guilty, nor do I feel like I’m bored. There are plenty of long-term projects to work on when I feel like it (reorganizing areas, clearing things out of the basement), and always smaller things to do, the chores of maintaining a home and paying the bills and taking care of myself. I often work on something, take a break, work on something else, take a break …