When I am sending my Sims off to dreamland for the night, after I click on their bed, I pull the little pull handle on the frame to set it to their 'standard wake-up' time. This time is always set according to the start time of their jobs/school. Sims who work in part-time jobs will always be set to wake-up at 10am. Sims who work in the military will have a set time of 5am. Unemployed Sims are always set to wake up at 6am.
Once they climb in bed and are asleep, I will drag the handle back to reset their time to the 'Sleep until Rested' time. If their 'rested time' is much longer than their 'standard time', I use that and just wake them up when their sleep meter is near full. Basically, this means I let them sleep as long as I can before they absolutely have to get up to start their day. If it falls before 5am or their 'standard wake-up time' I use that and then wake them up shortly after 5am. Hope that wasn't confusing.
Do you have a schedule when all your Sims have days off (Or the weekends)
-My sims don't have a weekend schedule per se, but I will use this time to get them to finish tasks which may be left over or neglected from the previous week. Otherwise, I listen (thought bubbles) and watch (wishes) for the things they really want to do--then I allow them to do it. If neither of us has any ideas for how to best fill the time, I sometimes will pack a picnic lunch/dinner for them, put balls, a book, a radio or some other something which they like in their personal inventory and send them to the park for a while. Spontaneity and autonomy usually makes for some great memories!
Do they also have a limited time before bedtime?
-I play to each sim as an individual, so that depends. If my sim comes home tired, I send them for a nap. When they awaken, they eat dinner, shower (or bathe) and return back to bed. If they are a student, and there is a little time before their actual bedtime, I'll have them do their homework. Otherwise, everything waits until the next morning when they are certain to get up at 5am well rested and in a much better mood.
Bridgeport
-Because this is a town which focuses on 'night time', the day schedule I use for other towns doesn't really work there. At least not for me.
EDIT:
Just realized I wrote something some folks may not understand and wanted to elaborate a bit. I know it sounds odd when I said I 'listen' to thought bubble. Let me quickly explain:
- Dialog balloons are things spoken to other Sims, while thought bubbles are things 'visually spoken' to the player. They are much better than wishes when it comes to knowing what your Sims actually want. Some wishes are paired with and triggered by certain actions and therefore aren't 'true' wishes. Whereas, thought bubbles (balloons) are a direct response to what is happening at that moment with the sim.
