February 4, 2015

A Day In The Life: Nine to Five

In the last couple of years, ever since I started working full-time, I've struggled with updating this space consistently, and given myself a hard time about it. The truth is that my schedule during this time has been truly packed and I haven't done a great job with the work-life balance, let alone the work-blog balance. At this point though, I'm determined to improve my day-to-day and I've been working on implementing small changes that I hope will help bring about big shifts in the not-too-distant future.

Before then however, I want to take note of what life looks like now so that I can remind myself of what it has been like for quite a few months of my life and appreciate the progress I'll have made once things are different. So, here is a peek into a typical work day for me:

5:00-5:20 It's time to wake up and start getting ready to leave for work. I have only about an hour to do everything from washing up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and making sure that Toby & Mikka have everything they need (water, food, bathroom time) before leaving them for the rest of the day.


6:20-6:30 Ideally, by this time I leave for work; the first hour of the trip I spend in the car, going from our home in the suburbs to the nearest subway station in the city; if I'm not too sleepy, I try to do something productive, like knitting or reading. I carpool with my brother for this part, and he drops me off at the subway station, from where it's another 30 minute ride to work.

8:00 If traffic on the highways is not terrible and the subway has no delays, I generally arrive at work at this time and find a place to spend the next hour, before work starts. I usually spend it reading blogs, browsing Instagram and Twitter, or listening to some IIN lectures.

9:00 I go into the office and start working.



11:30 or 1:00 Lunch breaks are on a rotating schedule every few weeks, so it depends on the given week whether I have an earlier or later break. Since I'm on campus at a university, I try to find a quiet spot (which is not an easy feat, especially at lunch time) where I can listen to more IIN lectures while I eat, then read a few more blogs or a book; on some days, once I'm done eating, I'll either go for a walk (when it's warmer outside), browse through a few books at a bookstore or look through the racks at a clothing store before going back to the office.

1 or 2:30 It's time to get back to work.

5:00 I finish work and meet up again with my brother for our car ride home. As much as I try to occupy my commuting time somehow like I do in the morning, I usually just end up falling asleep midway through. The fact that all winter it's already dark out by this time doesn't make it easy for me to stay awake either.



6:30 Once I'm back home, I spend a little time catching up with my family, taking a shower and, of course, cuddling and playing with my two munchkins - Toby and Mikka - who are always so happy we're back home. I'm certain that there's few things that make for a better welcome home than a wagging puppy tail. 

7:00 It's dinner time, and if we're lucky, we can squeeze in a family dinner before everyone has to go about their own business getting ready for the next day.

7:30 Once dinner is finished, I turn on my computer and spend some time checking emails, checking up on the store and looking over social media again.

8:00 I help with preparing lunches for the next day, which generally means making sandwiches. I've tried bringing proper meals with me but since I'm not always in the same spot, I've found that it's easier to just bring sandwiches.

8:30 I spend the rest of the night looking after Toby and Mikka and watching TV, though I don't always get to see more than a few glimpses when I have to deal with a squirmy puppy that wants attention. I try to do some work on the computer or clean up around the house sometimes, but again, not much happens at this time of day.

10:00-10:30 As much as I'd like it to be earlier, so far I haven't managed to start getting ready for bed before this hour on more than a few occasions. Since I'm almost completely wiped out by this point, my bedtime rituals are as quick and simple as possible and don't go much farther than changing into my pyjamas, brushing my teeth and taking a few minutes to wind down from the day.

10:20-11 It's time to let my head hit the pillow and get some rest before another early morning. 

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