DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WORK AT HOME MOM
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I used to do these posts all the time when I first started blogging. Actually, I would do these once a week and share what I ate… but that was back when I was a food blogger. (OMG, I should have NEVER been a food blogger… y’all, I don’t even COOK!)
But, I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek into what my days typically look like! I’m sure I’ll have to revisit this again in the summer and then again when BOTH kids are in school, but several of you have asked for me to start doing more posts like this, so how can I possibly say no!
And maybe you’ll even get a little inspiration from what my day looks like and start implementing into your day. My days are very MORNING heavy because that’s when I have the most energy (and typically am guaranteed time alone to WORK), but that might change in the future, so it’ll be fun to come back and revisit this!
MORNING
My day starts at 4:45AM during the week, and it ALWAYS starts with a workout. There is just something about getting a workout in to wake me up, clear my head, and get my MOVING that gets my day off on the right foot.
Since I’m unofficially “retired” from competitive running, I don’t really have a training plan that I follow, but I DO have a routine. Because if I didn’t know what I was doing everyday, I’d be so tempted to just stay in bed instead of get up and workout. Yup, just because I do LOVE my workout time, doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with wanting to hit snooze or turn off my alarm for an extra hour or 2 of shut eye.
My workout routine is as follows:
>> Mon: strength (legs) + HIIT run
>> Tue: strength (chest + triceps) + HIIT run
>> Wed: 5-6 mile easy run
>> Thu: strength (back + shoulders) + HIIT run
>> Fri: 5-6 mile easy run
>> Sat: 5-6 mile easy run
>> Sun: 5-6 mile easy run
My goal is to just get some sort of movement in, so some days I might just lift + not run, or vice versa, but I try to do a workout of some sort every single day. And if you’re wondering the programs I follow, I am subscribed to the Sweat app + Peloton app (my gym membership is free, so I figure I can pay for these 2 things), so my strength + HIIT workouts come from those 2 apps.
I typically finish my workout between 6 and 6:30 and head home to hop in the shower. At this point, everyone else in the house is still sleeping (except for the cat, who can never figure out if she wants in or out of the bathroom…) so this is really the time I get to myself, so I take my time getting ready. I would LOVE to tell you that I can get ready in 5 minutes, but that’s just not the reality…
At 7, I’m still usually getting ready, but I get the kids up, get them some breakfast (this lazy mom serves them Poptarts #sorrynotsorry), get their bags packed, and finish getting ready.
By 8, we’re all usually ready and need to either head out the door to get Miles to school, or I start picking up around the house before getting Kenna on the bus at 8:30.
At 8:30, I start doing some chores + picking up around the house. I don’t get everything done, but picking up allows getting those chores done a lot easier.
9AM is when I sit down to start working, regardless of the day. I call the hour between 9-10AM my POWER HOUR… I drink my smoothie, read my devotional, respond to emails, send birthday messages, respond to comments + messages on Facebook + Instagram, and build some relationships on Instagram.
The rest of the day really depends on if Miles is home with me or not. He is only at school Monday, Thursday, and Friday, so my work time looks different on the days he is home with me.
On the days I have Miles at home with me, I try to get in about 2-3 hours of work time outside of my POWER HOUR. On Tuesdays, I try to work in the morning since we schedule calls during this time and play with Miles in the afternoon, and on Wednesdays, I swap the times, playing in the morning and doing work in the afternoon.
Let me just note one thing here…
Working from home when you have a kid at home is HARD. Yes, I am so so thankful to have that time with him and the flexibility to be able to work from home now… BUT, the “mom guilt” is REAL when it comes to working and not spending that time with him. I try to not let him just sit in front of the TV while I work, but sometimes this is the reality. I’m FAR from perfect, but I try to make the most of the time I do have with him when I’m not working.
The days I don’t have Miles, I finish up my POWER HOUR and then it’s work time. I work in 50 minute intervals most days. I set a timer for 50 minutes to work and then take a 10 minute break. During those 10 minutes, I clean the house! I would LOVE to hire a housekeeper, but right now, it would not be a financially smart decision. So, I do housework in 10 minute increments because (1) it’s manageable and (2) I don’t feel like I’m spending HOURS cleaning. And then I don’t have to clean on the weekends! I have an old blog post on my old site, but I’ll be sharing it over here soon too!
Work looks like creating content for MY businesses (like writing this blog post) or working on things for my clients, which varies A LOT. I do a lot of website updates, email creating + scheduling, but my favorite thing is creating sales pages or landing pages for people. There’s just something about creating a beautiful webpage for people that gets my creative juices flowing!
AFTERNOON
At noon, I take a SCHEDULED break. The entire hour is off from work, social media, etc. I get to have lunch with Miles 2 days a week (without having to bring him McDonalds at school) and we spend some time playing after lunch too. If he’s not with me, I eat lunch and read and do some more cleaning around the house, or catching up on something I know I need to do (like working on our refinance documents like I did this week). Once it gets warmer, I’m hoping to start walking for 20-30 minutes after I eat. My body took a HUGE hit when I started working from home (more on that next week), so I want to make an effort to move more.
After my “lunch hour,” it’s more wrapping up work in the afternoon (or playing with Miles, depending on the day) until around 3PM. At 3PM, I wrap up everything, close my laptop, and am DONE for the day most days. (My afternoon workday when Miles is at home I work until 4PM.) I go to pickup Miles at 3 and then head home to snuggle on the couch, play cars or Legos, and wait for Daddy + Sissy to get home.
We get Kenna off the bus at 4:15PM (yup, it’s a LATE bus time) and then the rest of the afternoon is catching up with each other, doing homework, and just spending some time together.
EVENING
Dinner is ALWAYS at 6PM. Like, ALWAYS. Ha! I’m such a creature of habit, but it makes it easy for the kids too to know what time they need to come in from outside and when family time truly starts.
From dinner until 8PM is family time almost every night. Fridays are my favorite because it means Family Movie Night and lots of snuggles on the couch - and the kids get to stay up a bit later. But, typically, we start getting ready for bed at 7:30PM (and baths typically take place after dinner too during this time). We have a routine I love for bedtime…
>> Brush teeth
>> Potty + PJs
>> Read 2 books as a family
>> Say prayers
>> Sing songs (Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs, and Jesus Loves Me)
Then it’s bedtime for the kids.
8PM on is OUR time. OK, that sounds like we really truly spend time together, but I’m married to a teacher, so he sometimes has work from home and I do calls with my team on Monday nights at that time. But, it’s definitely our unwind time. We might watch a show together (lately, we’ve been watching That 70s Show on Netflix) or we just work on our computers or I’ll read a for a bit, trying to keep my eyes open.
By 10 (if I don’t fall asleep on the couch), it’s time to get up off the couch, wash my face, and get into bed. We watch the news in bed (mostly for the weather) and I typically fall asleep to Jimmy Fallon.
Then it’s all rinse + repeat!
So, that’s a snapshot of what my days typically look like! Anything surprise you?!
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