I was at lunch with a group of girlfriends this past weekend and the topic of work came up. I had designed a friend’s website and was scheduling a brief training call with her. A mutual friend heard me tell my friend/client that anytime after 10:30 was great to speak because that’s when I started my workday. She expressed her shock that I didn’t start work until 10 o’clock. (She had assumed that I started my workday earlier in order to get everything done.) I answered her question regarding my morning routine. Since I want to start sharing more snippets of my life again AND because I like hearing about the morning rituals of others, I’m sharing my typical morning routine during the school year with you:
7:30
I get up, make breakfast and get ready for the day with the boys,
8:20
The kids and I walk to school. The walk to school is one of my favorite times of the day. On the way home, I use my phone to go through my emails and flag the ones that need attention later in the day.
9
I straighten up our home. This goes pretty quickly since the kids are old enough to straighten up behind themselves. The kids clean their room before they go to school. I just wash up any breakfast dishes, wipe down the bathrooms and straighten up my room. I have a “thing” about clutter…I can’t focus if my personal environment is messy!
9:30
This is when I have my morning devotional. It’s a time when I read my Bible and pray about the upcoming day. (I tend to plan out my days the night before…)
10
It’s workout time. I’m really focusing on getting back on track with this, because I don’t especially like working out. I like what it does for my brain, mood and the fit of my jeans though! ☺ I had been slacking off in this area for a while but I’m back on track. (Knock on wood.) Listening to podcasts or audiobooks during my workout helps me to look forward to these times, so I have my playlist set for this month.
10:30
I (finally) get to work. I’m not a fan of working a lot of hours just to be busy. (I got that out of my system in my 20s while working in investment banking.) Rather, I find that I’m more productive when I have a set amount of time and a clear plan regarding what needs to be done. It’s paid work first. Since I plan my days out the night before, I’m usually pretty clear on what needs to get done and in what order. Design work and paid blogging assignments are followed by other “fun” work (events and such) tasks. I’m also a creature of habit, so the first part of Mondays tend to be focused on “money”/billing while the last part of Fridays are usually reserved for following up on any loose ends from the week.
2:30
It’s time to pick up the kids and begin the second part of my day. I’ll save that for another post one day…
Of course, I’m just describing a typical day. The beauty of the work at home mom lifestyle is that I can rearrange my mornings to fit my family’s schedule. For instance, today was a school half-day, so I took an hour and a half break to pick up the kids and let them have water fights with their friends in the park before I came home for a call with a web design client. One of Sean’s little friends didn’t want him to leave, so I explained that I needed to go home for a work call. “You can have the call on your phone here at the park,” he reasoned with me. I answered that I needed my computer too. “But I just got here,” he pleaded with his cute little puppy dog eyes. “Sorry, we’ll be back tomorrow hopefully,” I answered…and we returned home with one minute to spare ☺!
Anyway, that’s my morning routine. As I mentioned, I enjoy learning about other people’s morning rituals too. If you want to share yours, then that would be great. You can send me an email (kc@mominthecity.com) or leave a comment below letting me know how you begin your day. Thanks!