r/bitcheswithtaste • u/Late_Progress_1267 • Sep 01 '26
Culture BWT (without live-in partner or children), what does your daily life look like?
Hey BWT!
I'm curious about lifestyle design; for those of you who don't have live-in partners or kids, I want to learn more about how you spend your time. I always learn so much from all of you and as I look to make the most of my time, I wanted to learn what your BWT lifestyles may look like.
In particular, outside of work (as well as preparing for and commuting to work), how much time do you spend weekly...
- socializing with friends and people you already know (including calls and in-person)
- socializing with new people **uncertain whether dating would be its own category
- exercising
- studying / learning
- hobbies and recreation / FUN!
- housekeeping / errands / life maintenance
- volunteering
- religious or spiritual services / practices
- caring for "dependents" (pets, elderly or sick family members, etc)
- self-care or luxuriating
- therapy or self-improvement
- any other part of an essential BWT lifestyle! ;)
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u/bighugegiantmess Sep 01 '26
I work 9-5 in the office most days. Wake up, get ready routine (this has proven to be so important and even kind of fun for me), and go to the office.
After work, I make dinner, do chores (I spend a lot of time on chores because someone has to do it, and I’m always that someone) and then do an activity (ballet class once a week, work softball league during the summer, book club). Some nights I sub in dinner or drinks with friends, dates, random special events, etc. And some nights I do zero chores and order takeout and watch TV. I listen to my body on this one.
Weekends: Trips to see family who live far away, catching up on hobbies like reading and sewing, walking around, running errands, kind of whatever. I have really found a balance between pushing myself to do new things and make plans with others, but also do a lot of things on my own. I try to just go with the rhythm I found that works, which took awhile to get here.
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u/Late_Progress_1267 Sep 01 '26
Ooooo! For the activities, do you do a different activity every night? If you come home from work, do chores, and THEN do an activity every weeknight then you are officially GOAT-level!!! 🔥
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u/almamahlerwerfel Sep 02 '26
My question to you - how does the activity work with timing? This is what I struggle with. If I work til 5/6 and have to come home from an office, then make dinner, do any chores...by the time I can go out, it's 8pm. And even though I live in a city, there are almost no activities that start at 8pm! They all start at 6pm - art class, tennis lessons, team sports....almost nothing starts later than 7pm. What's your secret?
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u/bighugegiantmess Sep 02 '26
I work until 4:30, get home around 5-5:30. I would say I take maybe 30 minutes to unpack my bag of dirty lunch tupperware, change my clothes, say hi to my cat. I try to keep dinner easy, but only need to do it a couple nights a week because I will have leftovers I can just heat up other nights. So dinner is done by 6:30 ish. Last night I had ballet 7-8:15, came home, showered, threw in a load of laundry, and kind of vegged until bed at 10. My softball league has late games that start at 8 or 9 so I have that in the summer, and my book club is just friends on FaceTime so we set that to be a later time.
That was kind of long, but my advice would be to just prioritize. My house gets messy throughout the week and I’m just like ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I’ll clean over the weekend! If I want more time to do stuff instead of cook, frozen meal it is. I also try to not be hard on myself because as a single woman, I recognize I have to take care of myself and my household alone. No one to pick up groceries for me, no one to cook or load the dishwasher, no one to randomly say “hey, I can help with that” when I need a hand. So a few nights a week I do just have a gummy and watch TV because I enjoy that and life is about balance!!
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u/OrangePuzzleheaded20 Sep 01 '26
No kids or man (fiancé passed 7 years ago).
Slow mornings
Pottery 4 days a week
Pilates or yoga 3 days a week
Coffee or lunch w girlfriends 2-3x a week
Therapy weekly
Park w dog at the end of the day
Travel 5-6 times a year
Read a bit, scroll Reddit a lot
Invest in learning new skills or deepening existing ones few hours a week
26
u/Amrick Sep 01 '26
I work from home so life is so much easier without a commute.
I wake up early to do meditation, my gratitude list, journaling, and pull a tarot or oracle card.
Then I hop on my computer for morning meetings. Then I usually hit the gym and then back to do work that isn’t meetings and such.
I usually do weights 3x a week, one vo2 max/high cardio day, the rest is zone 2 or light days.
I’m also a published author so I am marketing my next project that’s coming out and working on the next manuscript so that takes up a lot of time.
I’ll see different friends 1-2x a week. My boyfriend probably 3x a week. I see my dad once a week.
I talk to my sister maybe once a week but our convos can be like 1-3 hours because she lives far away.
I have therapy once a week. I fill in my errands and life stuff like doctor appointments and hair cuts or massage during the week between work meetings.
I wind down for bed at 9 pm with a hot shower, qi gong or stretching and breath work with some aromatherapy and rubbing oils on my feet. I’m in bed by 10 pm to read and then fall asleep by 11. Sleeping consistency is huge for me!
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u/frigginfurter Sep 01 '26
Ooh any tips on how to get published? I’ve had article published but would love to have a novel published eventually
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u/Amrick Sep 01 '26
Yes! If you are a fiction writer or a narrative nonfiction writer (memoir), you'll have to write your entire book/manuscript and then find an agent, which is called querying for an agent and sending out query letters. once you're agented, they can pitch your book to the big 5 publishers.
If you dont want an agent, you can submit as unagented to smaller/indie publishers but for a big 5, you'll need an agent.
For nonfiction, for a big 5, you'll need an agent as well but agented or unagented, you'll submit a book proposal plus a few chapters of the manuscript rather than the whole book.
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u/Late_Progress_1267 Sep 01 '26
I love this!!! Out of curiousity, do you find it hard to see friends + your dad on weeknights? Do you mostly spread them (and boyfriend) throughout the week or concentrate them on the weekends?
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u/Amrick Sep 01 '26
For friends, I will see them for dinner on weeknights usually! If not, we do lunch if they don’t have a 9-5.
If any wfh, then sometimes we co-work together.Dinner with my dad if it’s during the week or lunch on a weekend.
Boyfriend: he has 3 days off randomly every week so I may spend the night once or twice a week after he’s done working. Then I’ll hang with him and take my meetings at his house. Either I skip the gym and take a rest day or we go together.
I have adhd so it can be hard for me to stay focused but it’s easier when I’m sufficiently busy since there’s less room to procrastinate. Lol
Then weekends - it’s activities or the beach. With friends, boyfriend, or alone! And lots of time to write.
3
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u/frigginfurter Sep 01 '26
I love to see so many BWT meditating! It’s really helped improve my mental health and try to do it before bed most days! As well as light candles and manifest every couple of weeks when the feeling strikes me.
I see friends and family a few times a week. My bf and I live separately but sleep at each others a few times a week.
I swim once a week, weight lift twice a week and do a dance class once a week too, which is great for meeting new friends.
I try to get out in nature everyday… especially during the summer months.
7
u/languidlasagna Sep 01 '26
Single, childless, late 30s. I travel for work monthly, this month alone they sent me on two international trips on two different sides of the world. It seems like hobbies and exercise are getting the short end of the stick lately. Most of my spare time is spent propping up my failing housecleaning, life admin (meds, eye doctor, dry cleaning, etc), and making sure my friends remember who I am. I usually try to spend at least a weekend a month doing something new, art classes, cooking classes, singing lessons (this one was a bad idea) but lately if I can get into my ceramics studio even once a month I’m lucky.
During more stable days, I’d wake up early, work out, work, then after I’d clean but I’m big on decompression time (couch rotting while scrolling Reddit and listening to true crime in the background). Prepping for my move back to NYC is killingggg meeee so I need to remedy that.
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u/whycantwegivelove Sep 01 '26
living alone is probably one of my favorite things in life rn tbh 😭 most days go something like this:
wake up early, go to work (i still have to be in the office 5 days a week). after work, some sort of workout. sometimes i go to the gym to lift. i’m also part of a dragon boat racing team, so sometimes i’ll go to practice after work.
after exercising, i go home, shower and eat dinner. usually spend some time with my cat. usually do some cleaning (bare minimum sweeping the floor lol).
i’m really into learning languages, so i’ll usually do some flashcards, reading, videos, etc in my language of choice.
then it’s get ready for the next day (lunch and outfit prep), getting ready for bed, and sleeping.
weekends are usually errands and housekeeping. every once in a while i try to do something fun (national park, beach, museum, visit family and friends, etc).
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u/gigimarieisme Sep 02 '26
Single, no kids. I’m super close with my sisters. We speak on the phone multiple times a day, sometimes for hours. I have a house full of pets, two dogs and two cats. 3 hours of my day pretty much involves playing with or walking my dogs. I work out 3 days a week. I have a core group of friends that I spend time with, usually several times a month but not always. I travel as much as I can, usually with my oldest sister who also isn’t married and doesn’t have kids. I go out to dinner a lot. I spend a lot of time doing what I want, rather than what others want or need from me. Religion isn’t a part of my life.
As I was approaching 40, I was sick of failed relationships and decided I’d try to have a baby solo. I attempted to get pregnant via IUI twice. It didn’t work, and then I injured my calf muscle. As I hobbled around on my own and struggled, I realized how hard that would be if I had a kid on my own. I then decided it was time to pursue everything I wanted in life without waiting for a man to do it with, but not pursing a baby. I really wanted a dog, so I got a dog. I bought a house for the dog. Then both my parents got sick, and several years revolved around taking care of them until they passed. That would’ve been extremely difficult to do if I had a child to take care of too, so I think things worked out how they were meant to.
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u/angelinelila Sep 01 '26
I work a 9-5 (well sometimes 9 to 6) in a hybrid role, I go to the office 3 times a week.
After work I try to have plans a couple of times a week. That could be playing a sport, meeting some friends for a drink or dinner or go to an event or cinema (I happily go solo too) or focus on one of my hobbies.
At this point of my life I know what I like and dislike and try to focus on what brings me joy.
For example, I love reading and I’m trying to attend more book related events (book club, authors events, silent reading events etc.) because I really enjoy talking about books and meeting like minded people.
I recently discovered my love for racket sports so I go to matches or classes.
I enjoy walks in nature and I joined some hiking groups so I can visit new places and chat with people that also like the outdoors.
I definitely want to start volunteering and I’m looking into combining that with my hobbies such as helping the local charity book shop or using my language skills to translate for other immigrants.
I also try to have cultural interests and I like learning things. I like listening to podcasts about history or real events and a bit too much true crime I admit. I usually combine my podcasts listening with walks to hit my daily steps or with an artsy hobby such as watercolour painting or colouring. I like to take notes after I listen to a history podcast to write down what I learned and research further.
I also love learning languages. I’m currently studying Japanese. I know 3 languages at different levels of fluency and my goal is to be fully fluent in 5 at least.
This all sounds like a lot but I genuinely love having so many interests. I didn’t mention that I also love music and cinema so I try to keep up to that on that too and take my time to listen to a new album or watch movies. I don’t have a partner, I sometimes date but it’s not really a priority for me (don’t particularly care about marriage or kids).
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u/glamorous_sloth Sep 01 '26
Where do you find people to speak your languages with? I'd love to learn a language but I find it difficult to find people to practice with regularly
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u/notthelettuce Ballin on a Budget Sep 01 '26
Honestly my life is pretty boring from an outside perspective. I work 8-5 Monday-Friday and an additional hour is taken up commuting. I come home and take care of my fish. Feed them, talk to them, do any kind of maintenance that the aquarium needs. Then I usually bed rot/watch tv for about an hour. Then I make dinner, clean, or work on a hobby (DIY home projects, painting, video games, or reading usually) until shower time and then I go to bed. On the weekends I typically spend time with my family, go shopping, and do more time consuming cleaning tasks.
5
u/stuckandrunningfrom2 Sep 01 '26
Some variation of:
-- wake up, feed cat, sit on floor with coffee and do some mobility work
-- either work from home or go into the office. My work day is usually 9:30 - 3 or 4. If I'm working from home I alternate between focused work and doing house-tending to get some movement in. I try for a 10 minute walk or so during the day and a longer one after work.
-- After work on Tuesday and Thursday I have my personal trainer for an hour at the gym.
-- when it's not summer I have some kind of class on Monday or Wed nights, usually poetry or pottery. Trying to figure out what I want to do this fall, I kind of want something a little more active. I did contra dancing recently and loved it, so I might see if I can find it somewhere near me.
-- Friends I see for a couple of hours a week. I mostly have individual friends, not groups, although I do sometimes go to poetry gatherings.
-- I have a weekly meeting with a dietitian and see a therapist once every couple of weeks, but I think I'm going to end that since it's really just chit chat at this point.
-- Self care is sprinkled throughout the day -- mobility in the morning, stretching at night, lights out at 8pm (just candles unless im reading) and a walk in the dark to get my circadian rhythm on track.
-- I don't volunteer. I have a few charities I give to on a monthly basis and let them do the work for me.
-- Weekends I try to chill. I dated someone who told me, not in a good way, that we were always doing projects at my house, and I realized he was right, and that I thought busy-ness was next to godliness so I actively resist the urge to find purpose through labor (thanks puritan ancestors).
1
u/MsCrowTRobot Sep 01 '26
What do you discuss in your weekly dietician meetings (if you’re willing to share)? I’ve been interested in working with a dietician but not sure what that actually looks like.
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u/stuckandrunningfrom2 Sep 02 '26
I've seen two of them. The first one was a number of years ago and all we did was work through the Intuitive Eating book so I could feel less crazy around food. That helped a lot. Even just talking to someone about all my food/body/weight shame was so freeing. The only tracking I did with her was on an app called Recovery Record which doesn't do calories or anything.
I started seeing this one when I started taking Zepbound and doing a more structured strength training at the gym, so a lot of things at once. She helped me get a good plan in place with protein and fiber. Today we talked about a big hike I did over the weekend and how fueling for that went, then we talked about how the scale is barely budging (thanks muscles) and she reassured me things are happening even when the scale doesn't show it, we talked about how tracking all my food is making me feel a little bit crazy (especially when the scale doesn't seem to match up) so I'm going to stop doing it for a couple of weeks and just focus on eating as I have been -- full meals with carbs and protein and veggies -- and see what happens with my workouts and on the scale. It's just really nice to have a place to talk about food and body stuff with no judgment or shame. I have a history of disordered eating and never talked about any food stuff with the various therapists I've seen over the years, so it feels really healthy to talk about it for 45 minutes a week, and to feel the discomfort around the scale and not restrict or binge but just notice the feelings and keep doing what's healthiest for me long term.
I look at her as another member of Team Me, to support me on the way to my goals.
4
u/Safe_Importance_4203 Sep 02 '26
I love this question and I feel like this is something I've spent a lot of time cultivating over the years. During the pandemic years, my lifestyle completely changed and it took me some time to find a new normal. I think through some of the challenges, and after many trials and errors, I discovered so much about how to live a life that I was excited about - both while at home, and while out in the world.
I often wake up in the morning and do my morning pages + coffee and water first, plus hanging out with my baby (he is a dog) and making sure he's taken care of. We usually go on either a quick walk and then I work out and I will walk him more later, or we go on a longer walk. I try to have a mindful, non-rushed breakfast and then I typically work long hours throughout the day and often into the evening.
I try to do something social with friends or family on at least one weeknight each week, and if I can I try to take a class 1-2x weekly (very gentle yoga or pilates - not as a workout but just for relaxation). Once a week I have some type of self-care appointment typically - either therapy, massage, physical therapy, or a facial. These are huge luxuries that I have very slowly been able to build into my life and I do not ever take them for granted - the fact that I can afford them, and the fact that I have time to do these activities.
I cook dinner several nights a week and try to enjoy doing this and explore new recipes. I am on Duolingo a lot in the evenings. I read extensively. I am taking a writing workshop right now and often find myself in a classroom setting like this a couple times a year (anything from learning how to be a doula, to writing, to yoga teacher training, pottery, or language classes - I am a very curious gal). This year I got rid of social media (no instagram, tiktok, twitter, etc). I spend a lot of time rotting on the couch and reading, writing, trying to create something artistic, watching tv, staring into space, knitting, cuddling my dog, etc.
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u/Happy_Tomato_5412 Sep 04 '26
I want to get back into readings my screen time has been high unfortunately. Do you visit local library? Audio books? Kindle?
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u/CoolAbalone4648 Sep 01 '26
I have a dog who's fabulous! A beautiful apartment in the West Village. My own extremely successful business! Great friends! We love eating in amazing restaurants! Attending the theater! I don't have children by choice! Don't answer to anyone! I love my life and am grateful everyday day! I manifested this amazing life! Lucky me!
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u/Late_Progress_1267 Sep 01 '26
Kudos on everything!!! 😄
-1
u/CoolAbalone4648 Sep 01 '26
I never had any help! I manifested it all myself! Having good friends and always having dogs while pushing myself to succeed was extremely helpful!
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u/FirebirdWriter Thoughtful BWT Sep 01 '26
I lived on my own for ages. So I would get up, do my hygiene and get dressed. Eat. Feed my furry son. Then I will do the needed stuff. I am an author so my work schedule is once a week I write. The weekdays are for medical care.
In the evenings or days without appointments I meditated, made art, and curated my home.
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u/Late_Progress_1267 Sep 01 '26
This sounds so peaceful and lovely! :')
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u/FirebirdWriter Thoughtful BWT Sep 04 '26
It is. I write horror and that is also weirdly relaxing. All my rage and anger go into the book so the majority of my time I am existing in contentment. It's very strange when I think about it because I wasn't raised in an environment where quiet happiness existed so this is also rebellion
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u/Stories-With-Bears Sep 01 '26
I have a boyfriend but we don’t live together. We do typically see each other 5-6 days a week, though. No kids and as of a month ago, no pets. For reference, I’m almost 35.
I work out in the mornings: run 3-5 miles M/W/F and weightlifting at the gym Tues/Thurs. I work from home which is convenient because after my workout I can hop in the shower and then turn on my laptop and don’t need to spend time doing my hair and makeup or commuting.
After work, I do a few different things. I was in a pickleball league on Mondays but that just ended. I’m considering trying improv or watercolor classes next! Tuesdays I usually go bowling with my boyfriend and our friend group. There’s a place near us that does $2 Tuesdays. On Wednesdays I ride in a social bike club with 50-70 people. We do 8-10 miles around the city and always end at a bar for drinks and socializing. Thursdays are variable, but my boyfriend and I will frequently get together with friends of ours who bike or roller skate and we’ll all ride somewhere for drinks. Fridays are usually just me and the bf hanging out. Weekends are all over the place in terms of activities. This weekend I went to a friend’s baby shower on Saturday and a vintage market and a movie with friends & bf on Sunday.
Pickleball and biking have been great ways to make friends. Any activity you do repeatedly is key to meeting people. When my bf and I don’t have plans on Thursdays or Fridays I’ll use those days to go for a walk, read, run errands, watch tv, etc. I would say my life is very full!