Work Day In My Life: Quarantine Edition
I always WONDER how other people structure their days.
I look back at where I was a month ago (sitting in an office, checking the clock to see if it was lunch time yet) and never would’ve thought that my day structure would change so drastically. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work from home — and often times wasn’t too fond of the idea, but after these past four weeks, I’m pretty sure I’ve never enjoyed something so much in my entire life.
Was I born to WFH? (Probably so). But do I have enough discipline to WFH forever? (Probably not). I think a perfect medium would be 50/50, a few days in the office, a few days not.
Regardless, it’s been great having a flexible work schedule that is curated to exactly how I want it. And it definitely only adds to my point that the 9 to 5/40-hr-work-week is absolutely draining and actually prohibits productivity (but that’s tea for another day).
I thought it’d be fun to share with you what a typical work day looks like for me thus far. Seeing as it’s only been a month, I’m sure this will continue to grow and evolve as I get use to the new routine. Either way, I always like getting a peek into someone else’s world, so I hope you enjoy this peek into mine.
Work-day-in-my-life: Quarantine Edition
7:00am
A typical work-from-home day for me starts at 7am, refreshed and ready start a brand new day.
I’m totally kidding. real time = 9:15am
As much as I wish I could be the beautiful early riser that’s sitting in their kitchen drinking mint tea after a 5:00am yoga session, that’s not me at all. So, my typical morning looks like me rolling out of bed 5 to 10 minutes before my 9:30am check-in meeting. Which means I’m normally groggily throwing on pants, rushing to my computer and warming up my voice before dialing in. Sometimes I dream of a life of instagram story goodmornings (that are actually in the morning) and home-made oat milk lattes, but alas, AMs are not my strong-suit and I’m very attached to my late-night antics.
10:30am
After the call, I usually check my calendar to see what the rest of my day looks like and if I have any upcoming meetings while making my morning green smoothie (spinach + frozen mangoes + chia seeds + agave) . If my schedule is pretty open then after the smoothie I spend some much needed quiet time with God. If I have more meetings back-to-back then I schedule my God time for later in the day.
With all that’s happening in the world right now, it’s really easy for me to feel overwhelmed and fearful of what could happen- especially for my parents who are potentially more vulnerable to the virus. Listening to worship music, praying, and reading God’s Word has really centered my days and reminded me of His protection and restoration. A few people have asked, so I did want to share the Study Bible I use. It’s specifically a women’s bible and goes into the background of each book, as well as breaks down the verses. I also use this women’s devotional app, First 5. I found First 5 a couple of years ago and since then has been my go-to. They have devotionals based on each book of the Bible, and it really does a good job of breaking down the chapters and applying it to your life. It even has a comment section where you can read other women’s stories and connect with them. 10/10 recommend.
11:00 am
After my quiet time is when I normally get ready for the day (brush teeth + morning skin care routine). Then I make myself some breakfast (sometimes eggs and toast, other times oatmeal and greek yogurt) and eat while I tap into work. If I get into a good work-zone then I can be focused for the next few hours. I normally start off by checking my emails and responding back to urgent ones. Then I create my task agenda for the day and begin tackling my projects. Surprisingly, I’ve come to appreciate these moments of uninterrupted work-flow. When I’m in the office, it’s rare if I get more than 2 hours to myself without anybody asking for something or an emergency coming up. I’ve learned that when I take advantage of this time then it opens up my schedule later in the day. If I have a lot of meetings scheduled during the day, then I normally eat breakfast in between meetings and push my uninterrupted work flow for later in the day.
2:00pm
I normally break for lunch depending on what I’m working on or what meetings I have going on. I realized pretty early into this quarantine that nobody wants to watch you eat while you’re on a Zoom call, so I try to make sure I have lunch after my mid-day meetings. For lunch, I try to pull together a hodge-podge of nutritious things I made during the week to save time. Like tomato soup and hard boiled eggs (a weird combination I threw together since it was the quickest way for me to get protein). If I don’t have any meetings, I normally eat while I continue to work.
3:30pm
In the afternoon, I try to cross off at least one more thing on my to-do list before completely letting myself zone out. I always try to focus on getting my main tasks done in the morning because I know that once the afternoon rolls around it’s harder to keep me focused. If I had a lot of meetings during the day though, this is the time where I have my “uninterrupted work flow”.
If everything is pretty slow then I switch gears and take care of some other things, keeping my computer open in case I get any emergency emails. That can be anything from working on the blog, to doing my taxes, opening Amazon packages, filming some impromptu instagram stories, or even practicing afternoon yoga (ok this technically only happened once but it sounds cool).
5:30PM
I always try to round up my day with a workout from MadFit (she’s great and her dance workouts are awesome) before officially closing out my day. Then it’s dinner + catching up with bae via Facetime, a shower, and then some much needed me-time. Which basically means I stay up until 3:00am eating Talenti gelato and watching the entire Twilight Saga. #noshame. Also #TeamEdward.
things I’ve learned over the past couple of weeks
Although I’m still fairly new to this, there are some ground rules that I established for myself over the past couple of weeks that have really helped me stay balanced.
Some days are going to be more productive than others — and that’s okay.
It’s really easy for me to slip into a guilty mindset on the days where I haven’t taken full advantage of working from literally 9 to 5pm. But I’ve learned that it’s important to give myself grace. I’m allowed to to laugh about the days where you did absolutely nothing, just as much as you’re allowed to be proud of the days where you got so much accomplished. Often times they don’t negate one another, but balance each other out - so it’s important that we learn how to cherish them both.
When those unproductive days happen, don’t be too hard on yourself. These are interesting times that were in, and the last thing I want to put on my mental health on top of everything else is the pressure to constantly perform.
No work in the bed or on the couch. As tempting as it may be, I don’t allow myself to work while I’m physically in my bed. Muscle memory is important, and my brain automatically gets in a focused mindset when I sit down at my desk and face an actual computer. Plus, I made such a cute office nook, I wouldn’t want to waste it.
Don’t neglect the moments for yourself. Sometimes if I get in a really good work flow/groove, it can spill into after work hours to 7/8pm. I nipped that in the bud real quick. It’s important to remember that work isn’t going anywhere, and unless it was a hard deadline, it’s important that I make that clear distinction of when I’m working and when I’m not.
And lastly, your job is just a resource - not the source. We’re in a time right now where if you have your job, that’s such a blessing. But at the end of the day, our job isn’t the source of our income, but just a resource in which we receive it. The source of everything we have is God, and He has you at your place of work for more than just to collect a paycheck. So I always have to remind myself to check up on my coworkers and truly try to be a servant in different ways in my organization. Because there’s a bigger reason that I’m there and it honestly could be to serve as the closest thing someone has to Jesus before they actually get to know Him.
That’s all I have for you today! I hope this was helpful in any way, even for the sake of just getting a peek into someone else’s work schedule. If you’d like me to do a Work-Day-in-My-Life blog version, let me know in the comments below! Until then, sayonara!
With love,
The Corporate Queen
Reasons to rejoice
Psalms 16:11
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore