A question that I get asked a lot is how I manage to fit everything that I do into my schedule and how my days look. Questions deserve answers and I’ll be trying here to break down a little of how one of my typical days would look like.
The Morning
I usually start my day with the alarm sounding at 5:30am. Why so early? While I love my bed as much as the next person, I know I solve complex problems best with a fresh mind in the morning and I plan on using that to my advantage.
After a quick shower, I sit down with the first morning coffee and breakfast and have a look through my email to see if anything urgent has appeared. I’ll go through my newsfeeds on Flipboard and Feedly and occasionally check some newspapers too. This prepares me for what’s going on in the industry and the world.
This morning routine is (usually—when there’s not an emergency) very soothing and gets the day off to a great start!
The Office
I’m usually in the office no later than 7:30am to get started on the most important project for the day. After a couple of hours of uninterrupted, and by the time the rest of the world is starting to “wake up” it is usually time to check in on the email again to see if there’s anything special to attend to this morning.
The rest of the day then depends on what is most urgent and what’s on the plate. Meetings I try and keep to the afternoons if possible but calls are sometimes inevitable and the day usually contains a few more of these blocks of project time. Every day is unique in what it contains.
Flexibility… Every Day is Different
Some days will feature working from a café for a few hours to get a change in scenery (especially for writing) and some days I might work more from home, have lectures to give or attend, or be on the road. At least three days I week I try and head to the gym in the morning or mid-afternoon too depending on my state of mind.
The Evening
Having gotten an early start, I’m usually heading home by 4-5pm when I’ll get something to eat and get the household chores done. Usually I’ll do another round of check in my email in the evening and catch up on writing/email before. Before going to bed at 10pm, I spend at least half an hour reading some interesting articles or books to clear the day.
Overall
One of the benefits of being a business owner is that you can be flexible and shape your days as necessary. My personal struggle is always the low level of energy right before lunch and in the middle of the afternoon, which is why I try and schedule meetings at those hours (social events are energizing!) or get to the gym to regain some energy.
With the flexibility comes great responsibility and clearly some days the energy just isn’t there, which is when you have to try and be smart about it and stir what you need to do around a bit to make the best use of the time and energy you have (and the things need).
What’s your daily routine like? I’d love to hear it!