My friends always ask me “do you even work?!”
Ah, the beach life…
I work for myself, which means flexibility. It’s something I value above all else. I go to the gym when I want, I basically alternate between PJs and gym clothes, and – best of all – I can work from anywhere.
One of my favorite types of posts to read are “day in the life” stories. Today I thought I’d try my hand at one, along with the usual WIAW post.
If you’re interested, this how I spend a typical 24 hour period (this happens to be Monday). If this is boring to you… well, I can’t say I blame you.
A day in the life…
6:30 AM – Hitting Snooze
Vegas’ alarm goes off. She hits snooze for the next 30 minutes before rolling out of bed. I sleep for 30 minutes more, spreading out to take over the whole bed. Finally alllll mineeeee!
7:30 AM – I’m up, I’m up
I wake up, check my phone, go #2, and stumble to the kitchen.
8:00 AM – Morning drinks
Every day starts with a cocktail for both of us. We’re addicted. I take/chew my vitamins, then pour a cup of coffee. I move to the couch to drink my coffee while checking email, reading blogs, and watching the news. Because that’s so uplifting.
8:45 AM – Baking Fail and Breakfast Recovery
Sometimes I’ll do a little cardio first, but I had a morning meeting so breakfast is early today.
I felt like baking. It started out promising. The batter was good, but upon baking… meh. It was wayyyyyy to dry. So I angrily chucked it and made another breakfast. Vegas came out of her office to eat with me. I love that we both work from home; we work separately, but get to have every meal together.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIVDCgMhNEM/
The chocolate-avocado protein sauce was just a little mashed avocado, 1/4 scoop chocolate cake batter protein, and water, to thin. (Vegas had toast and PB. Sweet potato and protein sauce is a little too weird for her.)
9:45 AM – Work
I had just enough time to check up on some emails before my call. Dial into conference call, make presentation updates, emails, etc.
Here’s what my workspace looks like (I rarely sit down):
12:15 PM – Finally Getting Dressed
At this point I still haven’t washed my face, so I decide to try to look human. I put on a little make up; I never go anywhere without at least mascara. It’s my one girly attribute.
I change into gym clothes. Fabletics, as always. I just cleaned out my closet and I’m still wondering why I kept 99% of it. I literally only wear Fabletics leggings (the Navassa crop is my current favorite), sarcastic tank tops, random tees, running shoes, and flip flops.
12:45 PM – Lunch
Then I make lunch chicken salads for lunch. I used rotisserie chicken and tossed it in mustard and Greek yogurt (mayo for Vegas). Add veggies. Eat. Quick and easy!
1:30 PM – Gym Time
I walk 5 mins to the gym. Gym time is my favorite part of the day. Sort of. I like that it breaks up the day. I love to lift. However, I hate cardio. I “reward” myself for cardio by starting with half the cardio, then breaking to lift (the fun part), and finishing with more cardio. I take a mini break during cardio #2 to take a call from a client. It was nice to have an excuse to jump off for a second.
The highlight of the whole experience though was a 40 minute voice message from my Swiss sister. She recorded it to entertain me because cardio is SO BORING. That’s a true friend. I was laughing out loud, responding to her life updates in my head (I hope), and generally entertained for the entire experience.
New workout music helps me get though cardio too. Check out my summer playlist here. It’s eclectic… to say the least.
3:45 PM – Gym Recovery
Protein, then shower. I was burning up so I made a giant bowl of chocolate-banana protein ice cream.
Chocolate-Banana Protein Ice Cream
- 1 scoop Vanilla Rice Protein
- 1 scoop CocoCardio
- 1 T cocoa powder
- Handful of spinach
- 1/2 a frozen banana
- Liberal shake of cinnamon
- Water and ice, to blend
Blend up the mixture, adding a little water at a time so it doesn’t get too thin. I use my beloved Vitamix.
Scoop it into a bowl and topped with chia seeds!
4:25 PM – Back to Work
More email, social media management, and editing a flier I’m designing. Writing copy is difficult for me. I love to write, but not being too wordy is so hard. As if you couldn’t tell from this 1300 word post…
In between all of this I’m texting my mom and sisters, trying to make chicken thaw faster with hot water, drinking kombucha (with a little vodka… detox to retox!), and listening to Vegas’ commentary about the DNC.
6:45 PM – Cook/Eat Dinner
Finally the chicken is thawed. I cook dinner while running between the kitchen and living room to watch Michelle Obama speak. Nearly gave her a standing ovation in the living room.
Post-Michelle speech, I pause for a quick work call. (I love multitasking. Multitasking is my favorite…)
Back to dinner. I made chicken teriyaki, basically the same way I did this shrimp teriyaki. Super easy.
I plate it two ways – over salad with a mix of rice and kabocha for me, over rice with green peas for Vegas. She’s spoiled, no? 🙂
Side note: Vegas usually does the dishes. We don’t have a dishwasher and I hate hand washing.
8:30 PM – Winding Down
We check out the end of the convention, I do a little more work and respond to blog comments. Eventually Vegas turns it to Friends and I’m thankful for a little comedy. I start typing this post… because ADD multitasking.
10:30 PM – Nighttime Snack
Vegas has a cold, so she knocked herself out took a Benadryl and went to bed early. I made a midnight snack. I’ve been making my Carrot Cake Protein Batter since 2012.
This bowl was just like the original, but I froze it for ~30 mins. It gets a froyo consistency that’s perfect for summer. I topped it with cocoa “fluff” (equal parts cocoa powder and coconut flour mixed with a little stevia and water), cacao nibs, and hemp hearts. Perfect night time recovery meal after a 2 hour workout today!
I continued typing this post and texted with a friend while half-watching Fresh Prince. Ate half a Quest bar Vegas left behind. I can’t be trusted. Mwhaha!
11:30 PM – Time Warp
I have no idea what happens, but the last minutes before I go to bed (or anywhere) disappear. I’m all ready… and then I time warp to 30 minutes in the future. Does anyone else do this? Time flies, I suppose.
12:00 PM – Bed
This is a typical bed time for me. I joke that I do my best work between 11 & 2 and 11 & 2. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always liked consulting.
I always drink a glass of water with Natural Calm before bed and take a Vitamin C. Then I brush my teeth, take out my contacts, and crawl into bed next to my passed out wife. Benadryl is no joke!
True story: When we couldn’t sleep growing up, my mom gave us Benadryl. She also did it on long car trips. She was drugging us! I totally would have drugged my childhood self too. 😉
[Tweet “A day in the life of a self-employed gym rat. With ADD.”]
It’s WIAW time! Link up to Jenn’s WIAW baby below and check out how everyone else spent their days.
***
I forgot how much I liked Fresh Prince. I can still sing the whole intro song, but I couldn’t tell you the difference between a sin, cos, or tan. A youth well-spent.
Does anyone else have days as unorganized as mine?
Do you prefer to sit or stand to work? I concentrate better standing.
Laura, please come to my rescue again! I really don’t think this link up likes me… Or my back links 😭😭😭
That’s so awesome she sent you a 40 minute voice message! That would be the best! I loved this post too. Fun to see your daily rituals:)
I work from home too and love the flexibility. and ha to the benedryl! my son’s pediatrician had us try some when he was little to try to get him tired at night to go to sleep lol
HAHA! I think that’s where my mom got the idea. Whatever works!
I want your life 😀 I work from Whole Foods. Which is fine, but I spend way to much money!
I don’t know if I’d ever get dressed if I worked from home! My husband works for home and I’m always impressed how put clothes on first thing in the morning.
Oh, I don’t… I go between PJs and leggings. 😉
I can’t believe you go to bed at midnight! OMG I’m getting so old. I’m also up at 5 so that may be why I go to bed early!
If I got up at 5 I’m sure I’d be in bed earlier! I was born nocturnal.
HAH! I love a Day in the Life posts. It’s so interesting to see what people do! It looks like a good day 🙂 I love going to the gym to break up my workday, too!
I feel like I would have zero discipline if I worked from home. I kind of like having a whole crew of hilarious co-workers to get through the day, too. That being said, if I could work from home for 1-2 days out of the week, I wouldn’t complain about that either!
You get used to it… it makes a BIG difference when you work for yourself. If you don’t do work, you don’t get paid!
I love this post! Your life is so different from mine. I can’t imagine working from home would be like. Though I’m at home a lot more these days on maternity leave!
After a day like yesterday, I’m pretty sure your mom was onto to something.
I love audio messages from Lucie. They’re kind of the best.
Day in the life posts appeal to the voyeur in me and this was no exception.
I’ve decided I’m going to work from home too. Now I just need to find someone to pay me for this service. 🙂
Using words like voyeur makes it sound so risqué. I like it.
A midnight bed time? I’m exhausted just reading that. I’m an early bird however, so I’m at and at it by 5:30 every morning. Early bird gets the worm, right? 😉 Or just multiple cups of coffee….
Errrrr… I never liked worms. LOL!
I’m dying at your time warp – EVERY TIME. Ugh. Even worse is when I put the babies to bed and I’ like OKAY LET’S GET STUFF DONE. And then it’s 1 am and my husband is coming home and I’m rushing around so it looks like I did all the cleaning I planned to do. Wtf.
I don’t know how it happens! I feel like I have no excuse since I don’t even have kids to worry about!
I love this post!! I would love to work from home or from the beach! Actually I’d be fine if I could work at the beach. 🙂 Benadryl is no joke at all! LOL I can take one and it will knock me out cold for 8 hours straight! But, I always get a really good sleep when I take it. I also stay up really late every night. It’s usually close to midnight when I finally go to bed. I’ve always been a night owl, but I am NOT a morning person at all! I hate to even be talked to until I’m fully awake! LOL
If only there was wifi at the beach… 😉
So good to hear there’s another night owl out there. I feel like everyone who works out is a morning person. Notsomuch.
Love me some natural calm! It is so funny how some people work so much better at certain parts of theday. I’m practically worthless pass 9:30 unless you want incoherent sentences and made up words! Love me some natural calm though!
Natural Calm is the best! I even take it on vacation. 🙂
RAISES HAND: YEs, I am totally like you. I also work from home which doesn’t mean that I’m not productive, but it does mean that um… my days are a bit more ‘multi-tasking’/unstructured. And seeing that you have a midnight bed time kind of made me feel better, cause I go to bed really late every day. I’m just always busy writing at night. . . Although I am more of a morning person, I seem to concentrate on blog posts better at night. Also, I love standing to work. I definitely concentrate better that way too!
You make ME feel better! Always nice to know you’re not alone. 🙂
It’s definitely hard to stay organized when working from home. I always say I need to be making more to do lists to keep my mind straight, but it never happens. It’s definitely a scatter brained life. But I do love being able to cook mid-day or make a more complicated dinner with the extra time.
Same! I used to pack meals and everything for work, but I’m too spoiled now!
Loving looking at day in your life. Vegas is definitely spoiled by your special meal prep- my husband can have what I’m having or he can make something for himself (luckily he is the least picky eater on the planet and will always try my random creations). I need to make your carrot cake protein batter- every time you post it I’m like yummmm- If I ever come to San Diego I’m going to request it, haha.
HA! I read this to her. 😉
And please do come to SD!
I want you and Vegas to adopt me! I love reading your posts and that you made #2 an agenda item. And tell me, what is your favorite place to get sarcastic tanks from?
HA! You’re welcome over here any time! Annnnnd… #2 is a big deal around here.
I order most of my tanks here: https://www.buymebrunch.com/
I definitely like to stand when I work, too.
I’m with Vegas. I’d probably do the toast and pb over the peanut butter and protein sauce. But, hey–you do you!
Lol I can’t function after 8pm yet we don’t eat till like 9pm. I blame wine at 8pm pre dinner. But then I somehow get warped into working till 11:30 and then up at 5:30am. Pass the benedryl .
Clearly we’re meant to be European!
I have that same time warp phenomenon!
Wow, that is certainly a multi-tasking day if I’ve ever seen one. You pack a lot in! Love that you both work from home and get to have your meals together.
Obviously I haven’t been around here (or any blog) in awhile, but I must say you are looking GORGEOUS (and so is your food). I am currently “working from home” (also known as “writing my dissertation with a side of excessive time planning meals and watching House Hunters”)–at least for the summer, and I love love love the freedom. Almost don’t want to graduate…but…paycheck.
Yes… where HAVE you been?! Having a LIFE??? HA! I miss you!!! Ya’ll need to vacation in SoCal one day soon.
We effing work our butts off — my running friend (a guy who does semi manual labor from 7am to 3pm but then is completely off with no worries in the world) thinks my job is a joke and is always like “ohh, poor thing, you work so hard” . . . but seriously . . . I’m at it from 5am to 11am (although today 4am )and then 4pm to 10pm . . . un, yeah, that’s an 12 hour day . .. with a break in there sometimes to shuttle kids around, do their laundry and make them meals (because ya know, this break isn’t like real work or anything). Now on my “free time” from 11am to 4pm I am usually at the gym, at a lunch meeting (okay, sometimes with friends), or at the store . . because I have no life. Also, the minute you stop hustling, you have no work, . . am I right?
You are SO right! And it’s always a stressor like “what if the next deal doesn’t come?!”
BUT SERIOUSLY – I TOTALLY get that comment ALLLLL the time “do you work”, “wtf do you do all day”, “just dicking around on your computer huh?”
STFUUUU! hahahahahahahaha!
Please. I know you dick around ALL the time.
i love reading day in the life post..esp if it has to do with work from home type situation. i would love to trade 2-3 days for that but i dont think im disciplined like you guys.
Stand up desk for the win! I’m way too hyperactive to be sitting too long, I actually tend to fall asleep if I sit down ha. And my ‘working’ sounds similar to you this summer, everyones jealous of my research position I snagged for my summer job this year that I literally get paid full time for but do like 2 hours max per day at home whenever. Embrace it while you can and enjoy the beautiful weather this summer has blessed us with while I’m at it ha
That does sounds like a sweet job!!! Enjoy that summer set up! 🙂
And now a proper comment!
I love the idea of sending a voice message instead of an email or writing a letter – I know some of my friends and family from home would love that.
I would need something like this to get through cardio. The only reason I do it is because my coach makes me!
Oh and I’m a desk stander too. Couldn’t go back to sitting now!
Same same. Cardio is a necessary evil. Lucie is saving me. LOL!
I love sneaking a peek into your day! And I love that you and Vegas eat all your meals together. So sweet <3
Sick, isn’t it? 😉
Love this post! You did a great job and sometimes, I swear I think we have part of the same brain! I just took Natural Calm before bed myself and swear, my brain is always most active at night between 11 and 2-it’s a curse! Oh, and by the way, love the standing desk! I have one too which helps my ADD tendencies and inability to sit still for too long. Ok, truthfully, it’s just a pretty buffet table it happens to be tall, but I call it my standing desk since it looks out the window and serves the same purpose! 🙂 PS- Vegas has good taste- I love my green peas!!! 🙂
Whatever works! I made once back when I worked in an office… it was basically the big cardboard boxes girl scout cookies here delivered in stacked on top of my desk. People thought I was nuts.
PS- I watch YouTube or listen to podcasts on the treadmill- it helps tons! 🙂
I love that you are self employed and get to work from home. This is my dream.
It can get a little stressful, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
I totally enjoy reading these ‘a day in the life’ posts! You and I have pretty much the same bedtimes. I usually go to bed between 11-12 and wake up between 7-8. Wait, do you go to the gym for 2+ hours?! Damnnnnn girl! I mean I break my workouts into 2 parts – early AM and then nighttime – so it typically winds up being 90-120 minutes all together, but I think that my exercise fatigue would set in with 2 straight hours!