A Day in the Life

CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE LOOK

Today’s post has been one I’ve been meaning to write for awhile now. One of my most commonly asked questions, whether it is from an aspiring blogger or just someone who is curious, is how do you find time in a day to do everything? Everything includes finding balance between blogging and being a School Psychologist, plus all the other every day things in between. I think it can be helpful to know more about the day-to-day of the person behind the blog your read or a social media account you follow, so today I thought I’d break down what a day in the life of me might entail and share how I go about finding balance.

First things first, I don’t have what I would consider a typical day, but then again, who does? Every day is different and might include a different event or errand, so I’m going to give you a break down of the things that are more routine during the week and share what different days might include.

5:00- My alarm goes off. I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, put in my contacts, and change into workout clothes.  This takes me like fifteen minutes because I’m usually pep talking myself the whole time so I don’t go back to sleep. Some days it doesn’t work, haha. Working out in the morning might include some toning exercises or some cardio depending on what my afternoon plans are and if I want to redo my hair or not. #truth

6:00/6:15- When I’m finished working out, I usually make an almond milk chai latte and take out my dog and feed her if my husband hasn’t already. Then, I  start getting ready for work. I often eat breakfast on the go or just wait until I get to work, but occasionally I’ll make something at home or eat what my husband has made if he is awake. He sometimes is still asleep when I leave for work, but I always love when he is up with me!  Sometimes, I have some time to spare before leaving for work so I’ll do a few Instagram stories like sharing my blog post for that day or I’ll respond to some messages on Instagram.

7:15- I get to work around this time. My day technically starts at 7:30, but I tend to be early and like a few minutes to ease into the day. My day at work includes anything from doing cognitive and achievement testing or behavioral, social, and emotional testing with children. I may be working directly with students, observing in classrooms, consulting with teachers and/or parents, doing paperwork, analyzing behavior data, attending meetings, or writing reports. Each day is different and since I work with special needs children with behavioral challenges, my day can take a turn at any time.

Lunch- My husband and I switch off who lets our dog out at lunch or some days we take her to doggie day care to play. If I’m not letting her out, I may grab lunch with a friend on occasion for a little mental escape or run an errand or two, but otherwise I typically eat lunch at my desk while I work or eat quickly between meetings.

3:30- I finish my day at work around this time and depending on what the week looks like, I may have a few reports due or paperwork to complete and may have to finish it after my typical work day hours.

4:00- I try to make any appointments such as mani/pedis, eyelash fills, hair, or doctor appointments at this time. If I don’t have an appointment then I may have a call scheduled with a brand. Otherwise, I’ll run an errand or two if needed and then go home. I take my sweet pup out for a walk or some days will take her to the park to play and then the blog work begins! Some days I have events in the afternoon or evening that I attend. Sometimes it seems like there is a different event (or even two) almost every day, so I try to be thoughtful about what I do and do not attend. If I don’t have any events, then I typically work on my blog and then take a break to cook or eat dinner with my husband. There are some nights I work ahead so that I have a night each week with him where I’m not working on my blog once he gets home.

Blog work includes everything from shopping for and planning outfits, steaming clothes, answering e-mails, drafting posts, creating a posting schedule, reading contracts, reviewing analytics, pinning on Pinterest, replying to messages on Instagram, linking products, and more.

I try to go to bed by 10:00, but that doesn’t always happen. If an event runs long and I have a post to finish when I get home or outfits to plan, then I may be up until 11:00 or even 12:00 sometimes. In the evenings I also plan out all of my Instagram posts for the next day.

The biggest thing I tell people who ask how I do it all is that I make a lot of sacrifices. The thing I sacrifice the most is sleep. I also sacrifice down time and time with friends or family. Most days, I work between twelve and fourteen hours or more between my day job and my blog. I also work a ton of hours on Sundays. I try not to work on Saturdays, but sometimes it has to happen to get things done. I meet my photographer each week on Thursdays right after work to take photos. I usually spend Friday afternoons cleaning my entire apartment or am up doing that on Saturday mornings because even though I’m a neat freak, it doesn’t always happen as much as it should during the week days.

Working for a school gives me great flexibility with hours and even though I start work really early, I love that I am off and get some time in the afternoon before the average person is off of work. I get several days off for Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, Spring Break, and two months in the Summer in addition to ten vacation days a year. A flexible schedule like this is super helpful and one of the biggest perks of my day job!

Regardless of the sacrifices, blogging is rewarding and I love it. It so rarely feels like a ‘job’ to me because it’s also so much fun and has led to so many amazing opportunities and friendships. Like anything, it has its downsides, but its such a passion for me. My ultimate goal is to find balance. I know that might not happen easily every day, but I try to balance out my weeks with at least one day with no work to focus on my time with the people I care about.

Hopefully learning a little more about what a day in the life for me might look like helps you get some insight into the ‘balance’ between a day job and a blog. I also help it helps some people closer to me understand why I am so exhausted some days! Being so busy has definitely made me prioritize what I do in my spare time and who I spend my time with. It’s a valuable perspective for which I am grateful.

CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE LOOK

If you have any more questions about my day to day or balancing a job with a blog, feel free to reach out. I definitely want to show you all more behind the scenes of my days on Instagram stories and talk about it more on the blog if it is something you are interested in. Some days, I feel like I am so busy or so boring that it’s not worth sharing, but I know some people love the day-to-day of people they follow, including me! XO