Ways to find joy even when life feels monotonous?

Hello! I’m so appreciative of this sub and thank you in advance for your help!

Overall, I have a really nice life and there are a lot of things I’m thankful for. I have a good job, people close to me that love me, I’m physically healthy, and I even have little luxuries here and there. I’m not saying this to brag, but to simply say I know I have a lot of things in my life to feel joy about and usually, I do feel just that.

But sometimes it just gets so monotonous! And when it’s NOT monotonous, it’s usually because I’m neglecting something that needs to be done. I’ve tried re-working my schedule many times to get the most out of my days as I can, but I understand most of the time will be… boring. I understand that not every day can be special and like I’m on vacation, but I guess I like the idea of bringing a little more fun into my normal, everyday life.

Right now my weekdays are usually get up at around 4:45 AM, get ready for work, leave the house by 5:30 to arrive at work by 6:15. I officially start work at 6:30 and work until 3:00 (writing this on my lunch break, haha).Then I’m usually home by 4:00. I sit down for a second and chat with family if they are home. I try to be fit, so I change into workout gear and get a little exercise. That goes until about 5:30 or 6:00. Then dinner, a little TV/unwind time, and then bed. Just to do it again. Four more times.

And then I get a weekend, which is nice! I try to make a point to do something fun like going swimming, seeing a movie with friends, going out to eat, etc. So I do look forward to things. But other than that, the rest of my weekend is just catching up on rest and cleaning my house.

As I type this out I can see how great things are going. But I guess the monotony of it all still sometimes gets to me. I try to eat healthy and save money, so I don’t go out to eat a lot during the week. I have an office job and sit practically all day, so my exercise time is super important to make sure I’m getting adequate movement in my day (and I don’t always do super intense workouts, but I try to at least go for a walk to keep from being too sedentary). I can’t really stay up super late during the week because I have to be at work so early. Cleaning my house is important so it’s not a pigsty when I come home (and I can’t afford a housekeeper, maybe one day though!).

Do you know any ways I could mix things up and still be a responsible adult? All the “life admin” tasks I do serve a purpose, and I do recognize that. Or is it a mindset shift I need? Like assigning more value to the tasks so even if they feel monotonous, they have a lot of worth in my mind and doing them isn’t so bad. And even now it’s not BAD to do all the stuff I need to, but I just kinda feel like life is passing me by. Weeks turn into months, which turn into years. I just don’t want many years to go by and to look back and think I led a boring, monotonous life.

Any advice?