Around this time of year, I typically complete Week in the Life, which is exactly what it sounds like. I spend an entire week documenting my day-to-day life. It’s one of my absolute favorite series, but I’m not going to be able to write it this year. I’m toying with the idea of doing it sometime in February or March, so stay tuned. 🙂
Anyway, even though I can’t do a full Week in the Life this year, I can definitely handle A Day in the Life, which is something I do so rarely now. (My last one was in 2014, what!) Here’s how yesterday shaped up for me:
4:45AM: First alarm goes off. I’m already slightly awake due to a weird dream, so I stumble into the bathroom, take care of business, and stumble back to bed.
5:00AM: Second alarm goes off, and I’m ready to get up. I check the weather (a balmy 73 degrees!), get dressed, and head out the door for a morning walk. I haven’t been doing any sort of exercise for the past month, but I’m trying to get back into my regular morning walking habit this week.
6:00AM: After three loops around my apartment complex, I’m back home and happy to see I’ve walked over 5,000 steps already this morning. I’m not attempting to walk 10,000 steps right now (maybe I’ll make that a goal from Thanksgiving – New Years?), but it’s nice to get some activity in early in the morning.
6:15AM: I finally take a shower after spending 15 minutes dilly-dallying around, playing on my phone. Once out of the shower, I do my hair and makeup, get dressed, make my bed, put away the dishes that were drying overnight, pack my lunch, and make my iced coffee.
7:20AM: All set to leave for work, but before I do that, I need to check and recheck that my hair straightener is turned off, and so is my oven and stove. Did I use my oven and stove this morning? Nope. But I still have to check all three things are turned off at least three times before I leave in the morning. OCD is not cute or fun, guys!
7:25AM: I’m finally headed out the door, but not before whispering to myself as I lock the door, “You just locked the door.” I commute to work and it’s stop-and-go traffic all the way until my exit. Fun times!
8:00AM: At work! I turn on my computer, put my lunch bag in the fridge, and then answer some emails before starting my first writing task for the day.
8:40AM: My stomach is grumbling, so I take a break. I walk to the kitchen to grab my yogurt from the fridge and get stopped by a colleague who wants to talk about a project that I’m the writing lead on. We chat for a while and then I head back to my desk, yogurt in hand. Just as I’m sitting down, another colleague walks by to talk about one of my clients.
9:00AM: I’m finally able to eat my breakfast, which I do while reading a few blogs.
9:15AM: I start working on a special project, something I’m trying to find the time to do in the midst of all my other tasks. I spend a little bit of time on it daily, and slowly but surely, I’m getting it done. It’s brainless work (recategorizing web content pages for a client going through a website redesign), so I can listen to a podcast while doing it. Yay! In the midst of working on that, I make plans for dinner with a friend and also discuss some of the logistics of this weekend with some friends. (We’re all sharing a house in Orlando for our dear friend’s wedding.)
10:15AM: I need a brain break, so I play Candy Crush on my phone and pretend work doesn’t actually exist for a few minutes.
10:30AM: I go back to my original writing task for the day (I’m trying to get five web content pages written and edited by the end of the day). I get sidetracked by emails and organizing an editing trade with another writer, but manage to get two of the five pages written before lunch.
11:25AM: My stomach is grumbling again, so I decide it’s time for lunch. I chat with a colleague while preparing my gourmet lunch of tuna salad, ;), and then go to my desk to eat it. I spend the second half of my lunch break outside, reading. (I also call a hair salon near where I’m staying this weekend to schedule a blowout for the wedding. Why not, ya know?!)
12:25PM: Back at my desk and I start the second half of my work day with editing. Once I’m finished editing my colleague’s pages (I don’t have much to say because she’s a great writer!), I finish up my writing task for the day. Once the pages have been written and read over, I send them out for editing.
3:15PM: I definitely have earned a break after all of that, so I snag a bag of popcorn from the break room, pop it, and eat it back at my desk while reading blogs.
3:45PM: I get back to work, publishing content on a client’s website. I sent off this content for approval a few days ago, and it’s a task I really need to get done today. It’s fairly mindless, which means I get to listen to another podcast. Yay!
4:30PM: Edits are back! I read through them, accept some of the editor’s well-thought-out edits, reject the ones that don’t make sense due to the client, read over the pages again, and then send them off to the client for approval.
5:15PM: I call it a day! I’ve accomplished five of the seven tasks on my to-do list, so it’s been a pretty successful day in my world. I make my to-do list for tomorrow, clear out my emails, and shut down my computer.
5:30PM: I’m out of the office and driving to meet a friend for dinner.
6:00PM: My friend and I meet at Capital Tacos, and my meal is incredibly delicious. We chat about the logistics of this weekend (we’re driving to Orlando together), plans for 2019, travel, blogging, and, like, a billion other topics.
7:20PM: After a delicious dinner and great conversation, I drive home.
7:35PM: I’m home and excited to see some packages at the door! I open them immediately when I get inside. It’s two books, a makeup brush cleaner (because I need to clean my brushes more than once a quarter, eeks), and a gentle fabric wash so I can handwash my new Thirdlove bras.
7:40PM: Put my hair up and take my makeup off (ahh!), and then start my nightly bubble bath.
7:45PM: My mom texts me, “Everything is okay, but can you please call me?” So I do! She was just having phone issues with another person, which is why she wanted to be sure she could receive calls. We proceed to talk for 45 minutes, haha. I eventually slip into my bath while we talk because there’s no use wasting bath water!
8:30PM: We hang up and I spend a little more time soaking in the bath before getting out, drying off, and putting on my pajamas. I brush my teeth and then sit down on my bed with my computer to start this post.
10:00PM: I finally finish writing this post and inserting photos. I’ll probably read a few chapters of my book before calling it a night. (I’ve already made the executive decision that I’m “sleeping in” tomorrow, which means a 6:30AM alarm, not a 4:45AM one.)
10:30PM: Lights out!
What time did you wake up yesterday? Tell me something you did yesterday – fun, boring, whatever!
So I never clean my make up brushes. Eeks. That’s something I probably *should* do but just haven’t gotten in the habit of doing.
I like that your mom says everything is ok when she asks you to call her. That is something I wish my mom did! She rarely tells me to call her but when she does I always have a mini-panic that something is wrong!
Yesterday I got up at 5:40 to pump. Usually I get up at 5:30 but I let myself sleep in an extra 10 minutes because Paul had a doctor appt so we left the house at 7;20 instead of sending him out the door with dad at 6:55. I didn’t really get any extra sleep, though, as he was up around 5 to eat and then cried quite a bit when Phil put him back down. I am really hoping that tubes make a difference in his sleep. He’s up 3 times a night which is a lot for his age. 🙁
Oh yes! My mom and I start every phone call with, “Everything is okay,” haha. We’re both anxious worrywarts, so we always get worried when one of us calls the other instead of texting.
I’m also terrible at cleaning my makeup brushes, but I’m hoping to get in a regular once-a-week habit with them now that I have a nice cleanser. And my makeup brushes always feel so much silky smooth after they’ve been cleaned!
Fingers crossed that those tubes help Paul sleep better at night. Ugh, I can only imagine how difficult it has been for both you and Phil!
I feel like you’re so linear & productive! Get it, girl. Inspire me. Ha.
It helps when I have deadlines staring me down! 🙂 Some days I am not productive at all. It ebbs and flows. 🙂
I love this sneak peek into your life! Your work flow is so fascinating — I have never experienced such an orderly and useful exchange of writing and editing. It sounds like a really supportive, collegial way to work!
It really is! Most of us are very nice and helpful in our editing since we’re all colleagues and in this together. 🙂
I must admit, your job sounds like an amazing place to work! I miss being in a work environment sometimes.
Yesterday (Wednesday) I woke up around 6 a.m. when my youngest crawled into bed with me. Thankfully it wasn’t long before my alarm was set to go off anyway, so I got some cuddles in before I had to get motivated for the day. I got to go to a “Read with Me” program that our school district holds for all grade 1 students, so I spent the morning learning techniques to help keep my oldest engaged in reading. Thankfully she has a love for reading already, but I did pick up a couple of new tricks!
Aww, morning snuggles sounds so nice! Especially since she didn’t wake you up TOO early, haha. 🙂 And that “Read with Me” program sounds fantastic! What a great resource for parents.
Tuesday I woke up at 6, which is a little unusual for me – I’m not a morning person so I constantly sleep through my alarm and my husband has to force me out of bed and to work. Tuesday I worked from home so normally I don’t have to wake up until almost work-start time of 7am, but I woke myself up out of a very strange dream and started work early.
I sat down with my brother and helped him with an end of the year budget, and then helped my son with his science project. It was a busy day!
Ah, isn’t it so wonderful to not have to wake up so early on work-from-home days? I love it! I always seem to wake up way before I set my alarm, but it’s nice to have a slower pace to the morning.
I love posts like this – it’s always so interesting to see how other people spend their days! Also, I have to say I am super impressed with your ability to get up that early. I struggle for 7 most days haha.
(and to answer the question…on weekdays? It was 7 – but barely and begrudgingly lol)
Haha – I am so used to waking up early on my work days. In fact, even on the days I work from home I’m usually up by 6 even though I technically can sleep in until nearly 8! It’s annoying. 😉
Cheers to you for getting your walk done early! I’m always happier when I get my fitness stuff done in the morning but it’s SO HARD in the winter. I just want to hibernate.
Oh, seriously! It’s been tougher in the past few weeks with our colder days. I don’t want to go for a walk when it’s 45 degrees outside and pitch black. No, thank you! (And yes, I’m a wimp when it comes to winter, haha.) That morning workout is always so, so worth it, though!