Living without a Routine: When too much free time is overwhelming

It’s been almost two months since I’ve had a full-time job yet it feels so much longer that. Possibly because these days, I don’t have a routine. It’s like being on summer vacation. I go to bed whenever I want (which can be any time between 2-5 am), since I usually don’t have anywhere to be in the morning. I begin each day whenever I’d like --sometimes I sleep till noon, other times I’m up at 10 am. Sounds great, right? Well, it’s not as great as you’d think.

While a part of me appreciates all of this extra time I now have, the other part of me misses my past routine: wake up, go to work, have lunch with friends, go home to relax, go to the gym, watch TV, go to bed. Repeat the next day.

Now that I don’t have a set schedule and can basically do whatever I’d like, I’m a little lost. Honestly, I don’t do well when given a plethora of options, I find it overwhelming and it kinda makes me freeze up. Those 10-page restaurant menus freak me out, especially when they don’t have pictures. Give me 4-5 entree choices and I’m good. That’s not to say I am an indecisive person. I am very comfortable making decisions and sticking with them. But when there’s too many options --like, now, I have TOO MANY hours in the day to myself-- I’m kinda like, ‘Uh, what do I first?’ Or I’m like, ‘I have plenty of time, I’ll get to that, eventually.’

So, I’ve decided that I need to create a schedule for myself. I need a specific purpose for each day and I need to introduce some kind of “routine” back into my life. Who knew that having too much free time could be a bad thing?