Sharing an unfiltered look at my real day in the life!
A few weeks ago, I did an Instagram Live where I shared why and how I started my podcast. I opened it up for questions, and most of the ones I received were, “How do you do this with kids?”
I shared some quick meals here to help answer that, and a whole podcast episode too, here.
But another lovely woman in my DMs asked how I fit in my personal development, which you can imagine as a personal development podcaster it’s pretty important to me. As an answer, I attempted to record snippets of my day to show where that happens.
Funnily enough though (kind of ), that day actually was one of the biggest work days I had in a long time and the second time I got my babysitter for the afternoon.
So, this isn’t that kind of day where I’m able to really squeeze in my personal development (like reading, working on my music, learning, etc.) like I can other days. I thought I’d share it anyway, and next month I’ll do more of a typical day.
That podcast episode goes into more details about why I’m shifting to a heavier work load for the next few months, and this Day in the Life is reflective of the mess that progress entails!
Video and schedule detailed below!
Here is what a day in the life looks like for me:
6:05 AM: I’m up and getting in my workout clothes
6:15 AM: Treadmill walk while I listen to scriptures
6:45 AM: Bike (mine is from Amazon!) while responding to DMs on Instagram
7:05 AM: Wake up the kids
7:15-40 AM: Breakfast (cereal for kids and almond butter toast for mama) / pack lunch / get kids ready/ eating breakfast/doing their chores / teeth and hair / tell them a story from Spiritual Study manual
7:45 AM: Prayer and AFFIRMATIONS!
7:59 AM: Drop off two oldest and carpool friends to school and drive back in the rain
8:15 AM: Change baby’s (“Belly”) diaper and clothes + watch last few minutes of a funny youtube video I had started the night before while I wait for some files to download to my dropbox
8:22 AM: Write notes of what I’ve done today (for this post) + save items from the dropbox file so I can share the podcast + share today’s new episode on Instagram Stories
8:45 AM: Puzzle with 3 yo, “Bean.”
9:00 AM: Strength Train for 40 minutes (I use the app Momstrong Move and LOOOVE it!). I normally do half my cardio and then my full ST in the morning before the kids are up and then do another walk with my youngest two; but it was raining this day, so I did all my cardio before they got up.
9:45 AM: Clean up all the mess my youngest boys made while I exercised and get some laundry going and switched out + eat some chocolate almonds
10:00 AM: Shower and get ready while listening to an audio book, Solve For Happy + clean up after boys again :), read them books and change Belly’s diaper again
11:15 AM: Go to pick up “Bus” from Kindergarten and drop something off at the post office along the way
12:00 PM: Gymnastics for Bean + snacks for Bus and Belly
12:45 PM: Home + little dance party + switch out laundry + quick lunch for boys and put youngest two down for naps
1:00 PM : Babysitter comes and plays with Bus while I haul (prepping big stuff coming your way!)
1:50 PM: “Bear” (7 yo daughter) comes home from school as it’s early release day; I give the sitter some money and she takes them to Chick Fil A to play in the play area and have an ice cream; it’s still raining, and I need them out of the house so I can record some videos for my secret project
3:30 PM: Youngest two boys wake up. While they play, I work on some emails on my laptop + post about that day’s episode onto Instagram
4:00 PM: Brad surprised me by coming home early (he leaves for work at 5:30 AM and usually gets back around 5:30 PM); he watches the boys while I get some more done, and I message the sitter to bring back the big kids; she doesn’t get it (they went to a park because the rain let up) so she doesn’t return until a bit later
4:40 PM: Sitter returns big kids; I’m in the “work zone” so Brad preps spaghetti for dinner
5:20 PM: Family Dinner + mom is off the clock
5:45 PM: Mom does dinner clean up + Dad handles baths
6:15 PM: I fold some laundry while helping my daughter with math homework
6:30 PM: Clean up everywhere (kids do, too) + put clean sheets back on bed that was wet the night before + Kids watch little show
7:15 PM: Family Prayer + kids are allowed to read in bed for a while
7:40 -10:30 PM: I work and work (editing podcast, responding to comments and DMs, writing future episodes, researching guests, editing a transcript of what I’m working on, etc.)
10:40 PM: I wash my face and plan out my day for tomorrow
11:00 PM: Bed and lights out
As you can see, I kept forgetting to take pics as the afternoon and night fade on, but I’ll try to do this again and remember that part better!
Where does the personal development fit in? The podcasts and scriptures I listen to + audiobook, exercising, and my magazine as I fall asleep. But this is where you’ll hate me–my work is where I feel so much development. Working on the podcast (and its extensions) helps me use my creativity and gives me light! I truly enjoy it, even when it’s stressful and hard.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Now I know! You are amazing Monica!