A Day in the Life: Holiday Edition

I haven’t done a day in the life post in a while, and sometimes these are my favorite posts from other creatives. I thought now would be a great time to do one, because my schedule changes so much around the holidays. The main change being that I’m printing and shipping a lot, and making less art. November and December are my shop’s busy season. I usually return to my art with a vengeance though come January.

Morning

Even at the ripe old age of 35, I refuse to wake up to an alarm. This is one of the luxuries I give myself as a freelancer (with no kids). I wake up whenever I want, assuming I don’t have an appointment. I try to book those in the afternoon, because sleep is so important to me. Usually, I wake up sometime between 8 and 9. It takes me a while to wake up, so I cherish my quiet mornings. Ryan knows I don’t like to talk much before 10am. Since Ryan is better at mornings, he takes the dogs out first thing, and I take the night shift.

Once I wake up, I make myself some green tea. My favorites are Republic of Tea Honey Ginseng or Teavana Jade Citrus Mint. If I’m really tired, I’ll go for Earl Grey. I gave up caffeinated coffee long ago because it makes me anxious. Once I have my tea, I bring it up to our guest bedroom to do some journaling and read non-fiction. I don’t like going back to our bedroom, because it makes me sleepy. The guest room is a great in-between. I’m a big fan of morning pages. Lately, I’ve been starting the day by listing three things I’m grateful for. I’ve also been reading some non-fiction books that my therapist recommended.

Around 10am, I make myself breakfast. Usually that’s avocado pudding (my fav), a Daily Harvest smoothie (not promoting, just a fan), or fruit and granola.

Here’s my avocado pudding recipe (one serving).

1/2 Avocado

1 Large Date

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Almond or Coconut Milk

Optional: 2 TBSP. Cocoa Powder

*Blend and top with fruit, nuts, coconut or seeds.

After breakfast, I shower and get ready. I try to make myself presentable - something I’ve made a habit of ever since I started freelancing. Usually, that means a comfy outfit with jewelry. I also brush my hair and put on a little makeup most days. However, if I feel like wearing pajamas and not getting ready once in a while, I’ll allow it. As long as it doesn’t become a habit.

Once I look presentable, I head upstairs to check e-mails and make my list for the day. I list three personal and three professional things to do every day. Lately my professional list is primarily printing, shipping, and responding to Etsy messages. Before I begin printing, I tally up how many prints I have to print of each size. Then, I cut down all of my paper and start printing in batches based on size. I print the majority of my prints on my Canon Pro-1000s. I have two in my studio.

I like to listen to music while I print. Just this past week, I started listening to Christmas music. I like the more traditional kind, lately asking Alexa to play ‘Ella Fitzgerald Holiday on Pandora.’ I really love Pandora still. I print labels and package as the prints come off the press. This is a 3-4 hour affair during my busy season. Through the end of December, I’m usually shipping three days a week (M/W/F).

Usually, I have a little assistant with me while I print. While Nigel, our corgi, isn’t helpful, he’s really good at tearing up paper scraps :)

Afternoon

Once I’m done printing, Ryan and I will take a lunch break to drop off packages and go to the dog park. Our great pyrenees Rupert (9) doesn’t have much energy, but Nigel (2) sure does, so we take him. If we don’t, he starts harassing Rupert. Nigel loves to blow off steam wrestling with dogs and rolling in weird smells.

Usually, after the dog park, we get coffees. It’s my little reward for finishing prints. By this time, it’s late afternoon, and I’m pretty beat. I try to do some painting, whether it be working on new prints or patterns. If I have any client work, this is the time I do that as well. I might even take a little yoga break. Sometimes a walk. I lean towards movement if I’m feeling really burnt out on studio time. I always have my non-shipping days to paint.

Evening

Every day, I try to put a hard stop on work at 5pm. 6pm at the latest. We keep dinner simple during the week, because I don’t feel like being creative at this point. We like Door Dash too. I enjoy a Kombucha with dinner every night. I’ve gotten less into wine as I get older, because it makes my mornings tougher than they already are. After dinner, we clean up. Then, I take a shower and put pjs on.

Ryan usually makes our dogs’ treats while I take a shower. Every night, we give them each a kong filled with whatever table scraps or treats we have lying around. Ryan likes to throw in some chopped rawhides, so it takes them a while to get to the good stuff. This is something our dogs really look forward to, so it’s become a nightly ritual. It keeps them entertained while we stream TV shows. Right now, we’re watching The White Lotus, The Mole, and Only Murders in the Building. I highly recommend all by the way. Usually, we watch two shows. Sometimes only one if we’re short on time. Once in a while, we’ll play Overcooked on Nintendo Switch before starting our shows. That limits how many we’re able to watch.

We usually head up to bed around 9:30pm. We like to read fiction in bed, often reading the same book. Right now, we’re reading Stephen King’s Fairy Tale and it’s really good. Around 10, I take the dogs outside one last time. Then, it’s lights out at 11ish.

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My daily routine is pretty simple, because my days tend to fly by. They go by a lot faster in the winter too, when the sun starts setting in the Chicago area at 4:30pm. As someone who isn’t naturally drawn to routine, I’ve realized how good it is for me to keep one. It ensures I do all the things that keep me balanced each day.

What does your daily routine look like these days? Let us know in the comments below!