Because it’s easy to fall into a slump and get distracted by things that don’t truly matter, having a routine is useful. But it’s important to make it something you can stick to consistently for years. If you burn out, you’ll end up backsliding and making less progress towards your goals than you would have done with a more moderate approach. Play the long game.
This is the approach I’ve found helpful.
I usually wake up at 7am. The aim is then to say a prayer before I get out of bed. Sometimes I forget because I pick up my phone to stop the alarm and there’s a work notification. But the aim is say a prayer first thing. This starts the day right.
I’ll then have a glass of water and teach a lesson from 7.15-8.15am. This means I get some work done while the rest of my family are asleep or just waking up.
From 8.15-8.30am, I feed the animals and make sure my kids are finishing their morning routine. I then drive the ones who go to school in for their day. Sometimes I listen to a podcast on the way, but mostly I just let them listen to the radio. I get back by around 9.20am.
I then work until about 1.30pm. This is usually more lessons but can also be some content creation. That’s the bulk of the day done — generally 5 hours of work in total.
I then take my dog out for a fast bike ride before having lunch with my wife and my kids who aren’t at school. I mostly play in the garden with my kids afterwards when the weather is good. Normally, I’m some kind of monster on the trampoline — Grendel vs. Beowulf or Skeletor vs. He-man. I’ll push my son to the point where he’s a bit scared, make him overcome it to defeat me and then make a big deal about how strong he was. I also make him rescue his sisters.
At 3pm, I do the gym for an hour and read the Psalms in between sets. I train pretty much every day and have done for years. Consistency is king.
I usually have another lesson at 5pm then have dinner with my kids at around 6.30pm.
After I first got sacked, I had to teach all evening to get us another house — sometimes working 5-6pm then 6.30-7.30pm then 8-9pm and finally 11pm-midnight. I did that for 2 years, but now I finish at 6pm.
Before my kids go to bed, I read them a bit of the Bible and a lesson from the Baltimore Catechism. I ask my wife questions about it because it’s my responsibility to instruct her in the Faith as well. Afterwards, the whole family prays the Rosary. This takes about 15 minutes. If my teenage son is being effeminate and slouching because he’s tired, I will make him say the whole thing standing up without fidgeting at all.
If anyone complains about any of this, I don’t argue with them: I just ignore them and repeat the fact that we’re doing it. If a man gets into an argument with a woman or child, he loses the argument. Just give commands. Don’t get sucked in.
After everyone has gone to bed, I do the routine for the animals and a bit of reading and writing between 11pm and midnight before going to bed.
I have lessons on Saturdays until noon then have the rest of the day off. I still have a couple of clients on Sunday mornings before everyone else wakes up because I had to work 7 days a week after I got fired. But I won’t replace these after they finish with me.
After the Sunday morning clients, I take everyone to Mass, and then I take all the teenagers in the gym in the afternoon. I will also check up on their homework.
I cap my teaching at 5hrs a day and my content creation at 2hrs a day. This means I’m working a maximum of ~50hrs a week while getting in daily prayer, lifting and teaching my family. That means all the important stuff is covered.
As St. Bernard said, ‘In the Lord, be diligent in preserving order that order may preserve you.’
I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments.
Could you describe a bit more how the whole family prays the Rosary?
What are your thoughts on a man dating or marrying a woman who is around a year older (provided that they are both persons of virtue)? Is that risky in that it potentially gives the woman a temptation or an added difficulty with submitting to the slightly younger (and thus ostensibly or perceivably less wise) man? Ought the man to be older for such reasons as this?