This week, I am documenting my life in a series of “Week in the Life” posts. I hope everyone enjoys this little peek into my day-to-day! Read all about Monday and Tuesday.
This morning, I woke up a little before my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. I was having an anxiety dream, and it involved Dutch, my mom, and my brother (read: the three most important people in my life) so I was more than happy to wake up from that!
I took Dutch on his first morning walk, fed him and emptied the dishwasher while he ate (he won’t eat unless I’m physically in the kitchen with him, so because he’s spoiled, I stay in the kitchen and if I can make my time productive, even better!), took a shower, did my hair and makeup, got dressed, packed my lunch, and then took Dutch on his second morning walk.
I left for work around 7:10 and managed to score a prime parking spot in our parking garage. Woohoo!
Once at work, I made my breakfast shake, chatted with my coworkers for a bit, and then got started on my day. I edited the rest of the articles I had written yesterday and sent them off to my proofing partner, and then wrote four more articles.
A little after 11:15, I left work to drive home and take Dutch on his afternoon walk. Fairly uneventful – we walked, we snuggled, I left. I did manage to snag my same awesome parking spot when I got back to work, which never, ever happens.
I had the most unproductive afternoon at work – it was seriously impressive how little I got done! I managed to finish one last blog article, and after editing the articles I had written earlier, I sent them to my proofing partner. (Another client finished for this month – yay!) From then on, though, it was a struggle. I refreshed Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram approximately four billion times. Played at least a dozen games of Candy Crush. Read blogs. Sigh. At the end of the day, I managed to edit and send off monthly content to one of my clients, and write a half-page of content for another client. Not ideal.
Since I’m technically still on schedule this month, I didn’t beat myself up for this unproductive afternoon because they definitely happen here. There are only so many days where I can sit and write, write, write. It just means I have to maintain my focus for the rest of the month. I can do this!
I left work at 5 and got home a little after 5:30. While the commute to work is easier than it was when I lived in St. Pete, the commute home is definitely worse. I guess it all balances out, though.
Once home, I took Dutch on his walk and then chatted with Roomie for a little bit. Right before I decided to sit down and do my NaNoWriMo writing for the day, Dutch threw up! He hasn’t thrown up since the night he was super sick, so it was a bit troubling. But he seemed okay, so we snuggled on the couch and I started writing.
After I wrote 1,000 words, I decided to take a break for dinner. I took Dutch out for another nighttime walk, fed him (I gave him some bland GI-safe food that he scarfed down), and then put a frozen pizza in the oven for me.
As my pizza cooked and then while I ate it, I finished Monday’s episode of The Voice, and then finished up my NaNoWriMo writing for the day (1,668 words total).
It was around 9 p.m. at this point, so I cleaned up the tiny mess I made in the kitchen, took a bubble bath, did my nighttime routine, and then snuggled in bed with Dutch and my book.
Lights out tonight at 10:30 p.m.!
Thoughts on today: As you can probably see, my nights aren’t exactly the most thrilling. Sometimes, I feel bad about that but most times, I don’t. I really, really like having low-key weeknights. My job can sometimes take a lot out of me, and I like the days when I can just go home and relax on the couch. Plus, with Dutch, I hate leaving him at night when I’ve left him all day. (I try to avoid this whenever possible.) I’m not someone who thrives on being busy (in fact, it’s an anxiety trigger for me!) and as an introvert, I need these low-key nights to recharge. The last thing I will ever do is apologize for doing something that feels good to me, so you can have your busy schedules. I’ll take slowness any day.
Do you find that you follow up super productive days with an unproductive one like me? Are you someone who thrives on busyness or slowness, or do you fall somewhere in the middle?
I do better with short deadlines when it comes to work. I’m a professional procrastinator so if something isn’t due for a while, I become unproductive. I personally like to stay busy, even after work. I’m also an introvert so most of the time, I’d prefer to not be around people, other than my spouse, but I need to stay busy. It helps with my depression. If I have too much down time, I start getting anxious, which leads to overthinking, and ultimately puts me in a bad place.
I do find that I will have a less productive day after having a really productive one. Yesterday was a pretty unproductive day for me as it was SOOOO quiet in the office since it was a trading holiday. Most of the people on the floor weren’t in so it felt like I shouldn’t be at work! So I did not get a ton done but oh well.
I think that I thrive more on busyness and I find that the busier I am, the more I get done, if that makes any sense? I think a busy schedule just requires me to make use of my time so it pushes me to do more when I have downtime. However lately my schedule has been TOO busy. Tuesday was my only free night of the week and I have a busier weekend ahead of me so I feel a little worn out by my schedule but I am planning to do a plan-free week in the month of January.
I totally follow up super productive days with unproductive ones! Sometimes those big days take a lot out of me, especially if they involve a lot of human interaction. Like you, I’m pretty introverted and need my alone time to recharge.
I seem to thrive on having a big project with a set end goal, but if I have too many projects going on at once (like I do at work right now :P) I get majorly stressed out and start to procrastinate/try to hide from my responsibilities. I’d rather approach things one or two at a time and do them well than have so much on my plate that I feel like all of my time is spoken for and I can’t finish anything to my standards.
Ok Dutch gets A LOT of walks! What a lucky little guy!! Chloe is extra lucky if she gets 2 walks a day haha 🙂
I agree with Lisa that the busier my schedule is the more I get done because of how busy it is I just know I have to get stuff done!! But if that goes on too long (like it has this fall) I start to get very tired and burnt out.
Yes, I have unproductive days after I have busy ones! You’re not alone in that. Yesterday was so quiet in the office it was almost painful. Of course once I left for the chiropractor lots of things happened (figures).
Our evenings are quieter this time of year: workout, jack walks, dinner, clean up the kitchen, do some laundry (if necessary) or other tidying up and that’s pretty much it! We are SO exciting around these parts. There’s not a lot to do outside of the house this time of year apart from shop/spend money or go see a movie. I’d go to the movies if they were less horrible, so many bad reviews!
I always “celebrate” being productive by “treating” myself to a lazy day!
I think I fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to being busy and being low-key. I get overwhelmed and worn out if I have too much going on, but I get bored and fall into a funk if I become too much of a couch potato. If I accomplish one or two things a day, I call it a win, even if one of those things is just cooking dinner, lol.
I think everyone has unproductive days! It’s hard to maintain focus over time and I think they allow us to recharge. And I’m with you on the week nights – I never, ever plan anything other than maybe a dinner with family.