The underlying causes are identified in macro social processes that are deemed to re-order the temporalities of daily life. These include processes of consumer culture, the restructuring of labour markets, technological innovations and the cultural conditions of reflexive modernization. The 1937 ‘day in the life of’ diaries are then discussed in relation to categories: temporal rhythms; negotiating time; relationships; and temporal experiences. Temporal structures were held together by a combination of fixed institutional events and constraints surrounding practices of domestic life, paid work, consumption and network interactions. Collective rhythms and routines of daily life remain, only they are not ‘institutionally ordered’ in the same way as they were in 1937. Indeed, the de-institutionalization of many times creates multiple and overlapping routines. Routines and rhythms are made and remade everyday, in micro and detailed ways. In 2000, inter-personal relationships were critical to the temporal organization of daily practices.