A Day In The Life

I’ve seen a lot of these posts in the blog-o-sphere recently and I really wanted to put one together. While every single day presents its own challenges and opportunities, I’ve really tried to build some routine and consistency in my days. These last two years have been extra busy so what little routine I can manage is a blessing! I decided to write a day in the life post now and another one after I graduate so that I can see how different life is...and how much extra time I have :)

Thursday, December 4^th, 2014

6:15am – Alarm clock goes off – Hit snooze (I am NOT a morning person)

6:24am – Alarm clock goes off – Hit snooze again and tell myself a ponytail is a very professional look for a 26 year old.

6:33am – Finally drag myself out of bed. I have my morning routine MASTERED. I pack my lunch and lay out my clothes the night before to save time. I turn on the Kuerig while I’m brushing my teeth then I throw on some makeup and decide my curls have cooperated enough to manage a headband instead of a ponytail (small victories).

6:59am – Fist pump for being 1 minute early and head out the door. Feel completely defeated when it dawns on me that I have an 8am meeting that I’ll probably be late for.

7:01am – Pull out of the drive and start the LONG commute to the office. Justin calls me every morning and we talk during my commute. Long distance relationships pretty much suck and our days are so busy that we only have time to talk during my commute. Justin’s commute is 5 minutes so he’s already in the office before I make it down the street.

7:55am – I landed a really bad parking spot in the back of the lot. Sprint to the office praying that others are running late to the meeting too.

8:01am – Crash through the meeting room door and try to control my breathing while everyone gets settled. Chug second mug of coffee.

9:15am – Slide into my desk chair, turn on space heater (why must the office be so cold!), and turn on my computer.

10:00am – By this point, I’ve cleared out all of the junk e-mails and answered a few easy ones. I flip over to my school e-mail for a quick check since we are trying to finalize our final project (due next week!). Nothing new, so I decide to take a health break and stretch my legs.

10:05am – Back to my desk with a third mug of coffee. Eat 2 fun size candy bars (a complete and wholesome breakfast) and answer a few more e-mails. FINALLY get to start working on actual work projects. I like my job, but some days I feel like I spend so much time answering e-mails that I don’t get to do my actual job.

12:30pm – Come up for air and head to the kitchen for lunch. I’m very predictable – soup or sandwich EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. There is no such thing as a lunch break in my world so I take my lunch back to my desk and answer a few e-mails while I eat. I did flip over to my school e-mail for a few minutes and work on that project to keep the group moving along.

1:00pm – Dive back into “work work” and pray the afternoon goes by quickly.

2:30pm – Head to the kitchen for an afternoon snack. Today it was pretzels, peanut butter, and a diet coke.

5:15pm – Come up for air and be completely jealous of the people leaving the office “so early.”

5:25pm – Give up on work and open up my school e-mail again. I am responsible for editing the rough draft of our 40+ page paper and making sure it flows. There are five people in my group and we have a similar writing style so I hoped it wasn’t going to be too terrible of a task.

7:15pm – Come up for air and realize I’m the only person left in the office. Look out the window and have a minor freak out because it is pitch black outside and I feel like this is scene in a horror movie. After saving my work and sending my team an update, I quickly pack my bag and head to the very back row of the creepy dark parking lot where my very lonely car is parked.

8:07pm – After cursing traffic for 28 miles, arrive home and immediately change into pajamas after deciding a sweatpants step is not necessary. Get dinner cooking and start packing lunch for tomorrow.

8:30pm – Sink into the couch and inhale some pasta and garlic bread. Eating at the table is over-rated. 

9:05pm – Jump in the shower

9:20pm – Lay out clothes, make sure my running bag is packed for tomorrow, and do a few dishes

9:50pm – Grab some leftover candy and my Ipad and head to bed. Justin and I usually try to touch base before bed but 9 out of 10 nights I’m asleep before he calls. I surf Pinterest, tell my self I should be productive and address the stack of Christmas Cards that are sitting in the box in the corner, but refocus my energy on Pinterest.

10:10pm – Justin calls. We talk for about 30 minutes and then I start crashing.

10:45pm - It’s BEDTIME.

*I probably left out a lot of details, but this is pretty close to a normal day for me! The lack of lunch breaks, school work, and LONG commute are really a pain in the behind. I rarely get to sleep 8 hours and I know I’m not eating right, but I do the best I can with the time I have. I can’t wait to graduate and [someday] move closer to the office….and hopefully be able to fit actual lunch breaks back into my work schedule!

 What are three things you did today?