This “How I Structure My Day” Series started from a post I did on the topic in my own life, under which a woman asked if it would be possible to see how a woman working a more full time job did it. I asked women to share, and here are their responses! If you would like to contribute, you can here. All responses are shared anonymously here and on Instagram. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do!
The Woman:
- Profession: Associate Dean at a medical school
- Partner: Yes
- Kids: Yes – 12yo girl & 9yo boy
- Hybrid, though in office most days
Do you WFH, in the office, or hybrid?
Hybrid.
- I go in most days and work from home every other Thursday when our house cleaner comes.
- I also have flexibility to work from home when kids are sick or have day off from school.
- I also leave at 3 to pick up kids each day and work from home a bit after that.
On a typical work day, what does your morning look like? (Feel free to distinguish between WFH home days and in-office days – and that goes for any question)
- Right now I’m prioritizing sleep, so I’m waking up naturally around 6:30 with my husband’s alarm going off a little before 7.
- I get out of bed by 7:15, feed the cat and give her medicine, refill her water dish, scoop litter box, grab laundry at the bottom of the laundry chute and put in hamper (litter box is in laundry room), holler upstairs to ensure both kids are getting themselves ready (their alarms go off at 7 – they do snooze them).
- I get myself ready (wash face, brush teeth, quick skin care stuff, get dressed) and am out in the living room around 7:30.
- I refill water bottles, pack my lunch, get lunchbox for my oldest if she is packing, get my work stuff together.
- Both kids are typically downstairs by 7:40. My husband usually comes out around then, too.
- I help my oldest brush her hair (it’s down to her rear) and ask my youngest if he wants breakfast.
- I make sure my oldest has all her stuff (computer, phone, etc.) for school, and we give hugs and goodbyes to the boys and take off for school and work by 7:50.
- I drop my oldest off at school around 8:05 and my husband typically lays back down while my son plays in his room. My husband helps my son get on the bus at 8:25.
- I get to work around 8:30.
Do you have any hacks that help make your mornings run as smoothly as possible?
- Driving time and bus pick up time are in my calendar so I get alerts on my phone/watch. I do have an alarm that goes off at 7:40 to remind us that it’s time to get shoes on and leave, but I think I need to scoot that back because we have shifted to leaving a little later this winter (by 10 minutes) probably just because it’s dark. [side note: ok, I just did that, let’s see how tomorrow goes :)]
- I want to be the person to pick out my clothes the night before, but I don’t. I also don’t really plan lunch ahead of time – I just grab a soup or leftovers.
- I print lunch calendars for both kids and my daughter X’s out days that she does not want to buy (only one meal option at her school) so we know to pack that morning. My son always buys because they have 4 options.
How do you transition between personal life into work mode?
- After I drop my daughter off at school, I drive to work while listening to podcasts. Sometimes I sit in my van in my work parking lot and check email for a bit before I go inside. It’s not a hard transition to work.
What does your work day tend to look like? What explains variation if intentional? Any strategies/tips for how you manage it?
- I get into my office around 8:30 and kinda putter around a bit doing email and reviewing the day before and the upcoming day. I’ve never been able to hit the ground running with deep work in the morning.
- I try to take a walk with colleagues in the morning around 10 or 10:30 (it’s calendared as a reminder).
- Typically after my walk, I can start with deeper work.
- Right now, typical weeks have about 10 hours of meetings, so 2 a day is average (I have 3 today but only one yesterday).
- I do time block my schedule (shout out to the Bright Method) in my digital calendar. I hold things loosely and am fine moving things around.
- I’m an Apple gal, so iCal and Apple Reminders are my work brain. LOTS of recurring reminders. If I’m working from home, I tend to mix in some home tasks (laundry, phone calls) throughout the day.
- My alarm goes off at 2:50 to remind me to leave to pick up my daughter from school.
When do you eat lunch (or other snacks)?
- I have 12-12:30 blocked on my calendar for lunch. On days with meetings during that time, I’ll eat before or after (or break up my lunch into some pre/post meeting).
- I might grab an afternoon snack around 4 after I get home.
Do you schedule in breaks?
- I have “take a morning walk” in my calendar at 10 each day. I really try to do that.
- I also have a standing desk and walking pad, so meetings that I don’t need to be super active in or webinars tend to be good times to walk on that while working.
- (side note: using the walking pad during certain meetings tends to make me not as aggravated with specific individuals because I’m doing something physical)
When do you tend to leave work / stop working?
- My phone alarm goes off at 2:50 to remind me to stop and get my daughter from school. I love this because I can be completely immersed in my work (afternoons are prime productive work time for me).
- We get home around 3:45.
- I have a 4-5pm meeting about 2 days a week. Other days, I sometimes work and sometimes I just read a book.
How do you transition out of work mode?
- That’s been a challenge I haven’t quite figured out. I get home at 3:45, start laundry, get my daughter settled. I meet my son off the bus at 4:10 (if I’m in a meeting, my daughter meets him), and then often do a little more work but it’s not deep work since kids are home and I need to monitor homework, snacks, etc. I’m trying to do a “wind down walk” on our treadmill around 5 each day as that transition, but it’s not quite working.
What do you do from when you’re done working to your own bedtime? Feel free to share all the details!
- Misc family stuff. If we eat stuff cooked at home, I cook 90% of the time. Then clean up and dishes (I do that, too).
- My husband likes to watch TV, so we will often watch last night’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert that we recorded.
- Monitor my son’s homework.
- I try to get some reading in.
- My daughter has gymnastics on M and W nights and son has piano on M nights, so my husband and I typically split the driving.
- Kid bedtimes (pretty quick) around 9.
- Typically my husband wants me to watch TV with him.
- Shower for me at night and then bed.
- I like to be in bed by 10. I’ll typically read on my phone (yay for Libby!) until I get sleepy.
How do you tend to use your evening hours (post-kid-bedtime hours if applicable)?
Typically my husband wants me to watch TV with him.
What are your nighttime non-negotiables and/or things you do if you have energy?
- Dishes
- Laundry
- Shower
- Read
Any tips to making your afternoons/nights run smoothly?
- I set Facebook to “hide and need FaceID” so I don’t even see the app icon on my phone (it’s in the hidden folder).
- I try to have a good book on my phone (Libby or Kindle) that I’m excited to read so that it draws me in (I’ve read 2 books in the last 2 days).
Do you outsource anything on the home front?
- We have a house cleaner that comes every other week. LIFE CHANGING!! When I got my promotion, this is what I asked to do with some of the extra money. Worth. every. penny. I wish I had done this sooner.
- We outsource lawn mowing.
- We also eat out / have take out a few times a week.
If you haven’t answered already, do you move your body/exercise? If so, what does that look like and how often? Thank you!
- Once it starts getting lighter earlier, I’m going to try to get back into the morning 6:00 workout (strength, HIIT). It’s just been too hard lately so I’ve given myself a pass.
- I try to take at least 2 walks a day. I have a dietary health goal that is taking priority right now. In a few months, I’m hoping that is more automatic and I can move to adding back in more fitness. Really trying to do one thing at a time to make it stick and not go all “new year new you” for a week and burn out and change nothing.
Anything else you’d like to add? I think we all enjoy hearing details that might feel odd or small to share, so add anything you’d like!
My calendar and reminders run my life. I set them up, so I’m in charge, but it is SO GOOD to not have that mental load. It’s all in my calendar. I just follow my plan.
I’m in a salaried position with the expectation to work a minimum of 40 hours a week. I did a time audit a while back and saw that in reality, I’m working 8:30 – 3 (6.5 hours) and then if I’m lucky, another hour from 4-5 after I get home for 7.5 hours a day (35-37 hours a week). A lot of times I get 30 minutes of work in, sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything after I get home. So I don’t. I think people assume I’m working crazy hours because I get a lot of stuff done. I’m efficient. The way I see it, I’m hitting my goals and I have no complaints about my work (quality nor quantity). So I don’t stress about it. In the summers when my kids are not in school, I have child care that runs 8-5:30, so I do stay at work until 5.
And if needed, I do work the crazy hours (big project due Dec 30 so Christmas was fun this year… not) or spend a couple hours on something during the weekend. But typical times are not crazy and I don’t force myself to work crazy hours just for the sake of the hours. (Obviously if I had to bill for my hours, it would be a different story, but that’s not the case.)
That’s a wrap for this one!
Thank you so much to this woman for generously sharing. This is part of a series, so stayed tuned for more each Thursday here and on Instagram. The goal is to show how women from different industries, with and without kids, with and without partners, with family living with/near them and not, wfh to 1+ hour commutes, etc. structure their day. Enjoy!
And if you would like to contribute (all posts are published anonymously to allow you to share the nitty gritty details without concern), you can by filling out this form. Thank you!
New here? Welcome!
I’m Kelly Nolan, an attorney-turned-time management strategist and mom of two. I teach the Bright Method, a realistic time management system designed for professional working women. In addition to this fun new series, I share realistic time management strategies here, on Instagram, and on my podcast, the Bright Method podcast. Thanks for being here!
