My Daily Routine (aka Goundhog's Day)

Has anyone else been feeling like they’re in the film “Groundhog’s Day” lately, where every day is the same? I have been CONSTANTLY feeling like this - losing track of what time it is, and even what day it is (yikes!).

Illinois is one of the last states to reopen, so I blame it on the long quarantine we’ve been through. Without any real plans outside of working from home, everything just blends together. I’m sure this is all sounding very grim. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do (or else we’d be in real trouble), so this Groundhog’s Day of mine isn’t a bad day. It’s just a good, repetitive day. Since I’m in such a routine right now it’s scary, I thought I would take some time to write about my daily life. I always find other people’s routines fascinating, so hopefully you won’t be bored to tears reading this :)

Here it goes…my typical day starts with me waking up around 7:30 or 8 am (ideally not to an alarm). I make myself green tea and read for a bit. Then, I shower and eat breakfast in my robe. Usually breakfast is avocado pudding or fruit and nuts. Then, I get dressed and put my make up on. I rarely do my hair - something I wish I was better about. My hair lives in a perpetual top knot. After I’m dressed, I sit down at my desk around 9:30 and check my e-mail. Based on how my inbox looks, I make a to-do list for the day - usually involving 3-6 items I want to accomplish. Once I’ve made my list, I get to work.

Lately, work has been a lot of printing and packaging Etsy orders. One huge blessing of this epidemic is that my Etsy shop has seen exponential growth. I’m not sure if it’s because everyone has been home, or because the absence of social activities allowed me to start offering larger print sizes. Either way, I’m very grateful! When I’m not managing my Etsy shop, I’m either working on client graphic design projects, blogging, sketchbooking, or creating new art prints. Every week, I make it a goal to output one new art print and one new blog post. I also try to share my work on Instagram several days a week.

A few times throughout the day, I’ll take breaks to walk Rupert (my pup) with Ryan. We’ve been taking coffee breaks to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru lately, and that has been our big outing for the day :) I also usually take a yoga break sometime in the afternoon as well. I’ve found a yoga to be crucial to balancing out the effects of sitting at a desk, and painting/typing all day. My yoga break is usually about 20-30 minutes.

Quitting time is typically at 5 or 6 pm. I try to be a stickler about this, or I would never stop working. If I have a client project that needs to get done, I work late every once in a while. I make sure that’s a rarity and not a common occurrance. Once I’m done working, I close my door and mosy downstairs. Then, I’ll whower and put my pajamas on. At that point, I’ll either start making us dinner, or Ryan and I will convene about what to order from Door Dash.

After dinner, we usually go on a long walk and maybe package more Etsy orders (Ryan has been amazing helping me deal with growing pains on Etsy). Then we’ll watch one or two TV shows - usually something on Bravo - like Real Housewives, or Netflix/HBO. I know a lot of people knock TV, but for me it is essential. After being creative all day, it’s the only time I feel like I can zone out for a bit. I also find TV to be really great for coming up with new art ideas.

After TV, we’ll get ready for bed around 10 pm. I typically make tea and read in bed for a bit. Then, it’s lights out around 11pm-ish. And PRESTO, the day starts all over again :)