A Day in the Life of...Me!

I wrote a few years ago about my morning routine, and it surprisingly turned out to be one of my most popular blogs. Since then, things have changed as business has shifted and Willow has gotten older…and, of course, when she started daycare a little over a year ago. So as an update to what life looks like for me on a day-to-day basis, here’s what I do!

Note: I feel like I have to mention first that I have learned to not adhere to a schedule so strictly that I can’t give myself a little grace, breathing room, or a random day to sleep in here and there. Then the rest of my day can fluctuate as needed.

Morning
- 5-5:30am: my alarm rings, and I may hit snooze once or twice before I roll out of bed. I’m trying to be better about this, but some days I just want an extra few minutes!
- After I get up and get ready, I generally go on a run, especially during the summer when I’m trying to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
- 6:30-7:30am: this is the morning crunch time. I eat breakfast, shower, maybe make coffee, and do whatever else I need to get ready while I listen in for Willow to wake up. If I have time, this is when I try to read my Bible so I don’t forget later on.
- 7-8am: some days she wakes up early and some days she sleeps in, so this time wildly fluctuates, along with my morning! When she’s up, Nathan and I try to spend time with her while feeding her breakfast and getting her ready for ‘school.’ Once all of that is taken care of, I’ll drop her off. Since the daycare is so close by, this only takes about 10-15 minutes thankfully!
- 8:30am: ideally I’d like to start work before this and I often get to, but this is the latest I start my working day.

Afternoon
First, let me talk about the rhythm of my work schedule. A long time ago, I learned it was good for me to have some ‘recurring tasks’ that I handle on the same day every week. For instance, I’m usually playing catch-up on Mondays, doing things to work on my own business, and scheduling posts for some social media clients. On Tuesdays, it’s work-on-other-people’s-business day, and I spend almost all of my time doing various tasks for my clients, depending on the current workload. On Wednesdays and Fridays, I usually keep Willow home with me, so those days involve much less work! I begin Thursdays with my mastermind group at 8:30am, have a meeting with my office manager in the afternoon, and do a combination of website updates, social media, and more.
- 11:30am: ok, I know this isn’t afternoon, but I’m usually hungry for an early lunch. Since I run and/or go to the gym so much, I usually work while I eat so that I can take time off later for whatever else I need to do.
- 2:00pm: at some point during the day I take a break to go on a walk. This changes depending on the weather and what meetings I have going on, but it’s absolutely necessary for me to get fresh air and move my legs a little bit.
- 4:00pm: this is my normal ‘turn-off’ time. I might go pick up Willow or wait for Nathan to bring her home, and at that point my first priority is to talk with her and catch up from her day away. We usually spend time outside or playing something fun.

Evening
- 5:30pm: by now-ish we’re sitting down to dinner (blame the early meal on the early lunch) and catching up on the day. Every week or so we watch a show - call it a marriage compromise - and, to be frank, this is often the most stressful part of our day. Ever since she was tiny, Willow has had a knack for throwing tantrums around dinnertime. It is what it is!
- 6:00pm: cleanup, playing with Willow, and/or whatever evening events we have planned when we’re able to see people. Each Tuesday we host a Bible study at our house, but otherwise we don’t have regular weekly events, so this time changes from week to week.
- 7:30pm: Nathan and I tag-team putting Willow to bed, which is usually pretty fun. The not-so-fun part happens if she cries after we put her down and we have to walk back upstairs, but we’re working on it…
- 8:00pm: one of my favorite marriage rituals was born out of quarantine. If we’re both home, at some point in the evening we stop what we’re doing (for him it’s studying, for me it’s reading books), grab a snack or drink, and watch a show together. Currently we’re going through Monk, which I’ve been loving! Around this time I cut off any social media and most phone use, though I’ll read the news if I haven’t earlier.
- 9:30pm: when I’m disciplined, this is when I start getting ready for bed, and I try to be in bed by 10pm. Lately I’ve wanted to go to bed a little earlier, but somehow this is more difficult than I imagined…either way, between 9:30-10pm I’m in bed and ready to get well-rested for the next day to come!

What about you? Does this look anything like your routine? What helps you get through each day successfully?