My Work From Home Schedule

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A Day in the Life: Working from Home

Hey friends! Today I wanted to bring you something a little different. As many of you know, I have been working remotely for quite a few years now. I’ve also found that you as readers seem to love hearing more about this. I get so many questions about what it’s like to work from home and how I schedule my day. Therefore, today I wanted to give you a peek into a regular workday with my Work From Home Schedule.

Not every day looks the same for me, so I will try to do these at least a few times a year to give you a variety. I wake up at different times, have different tasks on different days, etc.

Also, if you like posts like this, Marie Forleo did a great episode of Marie TV called, Work Life Balance: Create Your Work From Home Schedule.

Tuesday September 4, 2018:

Morning:

5:30 AM– Wake Up + Get Dressed

One of the best parts about working from home is that you can wear whatever you want…and one of the worst parts about working from home is that it takes A LOT of motivation to make yourself wear something other than yoga pants or joggers on a daily basis.

I typically pick out my clothes the night before, so it never takes me long to get ready. I also don’t wear makeup everyday and if I do, it’s usually just a BB cream and mascara.

5:45 AM- Make coffee + head to my home office

In case you’re wondering what coffee I’m drinking, I’m currently loving the dark roast from Seattle’s Best.

6:00 AM – Editing

The mornings tend to be the time of day when I can do my most focused work. I try to set aside the hours before noon to do my most important writing and thinking work, from creating content like blog posts, newsletters, and articles.

I also like to make Monday’s and Tuesday’s my busiest days so that I’m not leaving my most important work for Thursday’s and Friday’s when I tend to feel more tired.

8:00 AM – Teach 1:1 Business English Classes

I typically only teach a few classes per week, but this morning I was teaching a combination of 30 minute and 1 hour long classes, for a total of 4 hours. Most of my students are engineers, managers, etc. who need to improve their business English skills for their jobs.

With some students I do really structured lessons on topics like, ‘Negotiating, Business Communication, Finance, etc. and with others they are less formal and more conversational. Or, sometimes a student will have a specific presentation or document that they need me to look over and make edits.

12:00 PM – Lunch + 10 Minute Meditation + Short walk

Since I work from home, it’s not unusual to get to lunchtime without having left my house. I know that might seem really strange, but it’s true.

I love using a walk to transition from morning to afternoon. This is so important!

Afternoon:

1:00 PM – M2B Podcast Editing

On this particular afternoon, I was editing a podcast episode for the Great Return Podcast that I help run for my job. Some of the episodes are interviews and others are solo shows. For this episode, I just needed to add the intro, outro, and shownotes.

2:00 PM – Write + Schedule newsletter

I personally love using ConvertKit for my email service for my blog and would highly recommend it!

3:00 PM – M2B Meeting with N + V

Since our team is entirely remote and is spread out throughout the country, we have a meeting every Tuesday to give updates, brainstorm, etc.

Our calls are always video calls via, Zoom. If you work remotely or at home I highly recommend making your calls video if you can. It’s always nice to see another person even if it’s through a screen.

Usually our meetings last from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

4:30 PM – Walk + Take a break

By 4-5 PM, I’m usually ready for another break to stretch my legs and get out of the house. A second 10-15 minute walk is typically enough to give me some added energy to finish out the day.

5:00 PM – Respond to emails

If possible, I try to save email for later in the day. Email tends to take up as much space as you’ll give it. By only giving yourself 30-45 minutes a day for it, you can keep focused on more important tasks.

This way I’m usually more efficient with my time.

After Work:

5:45 PM – Mandarin lesson with App/online study

To learn Mandarin, I’ve been using both the online training at Chinese Class 101 and the IPhone app ChineseSkill.

I find that I generally prefer to learn on my computer, but the App is great when I’m on the go or traveling.

Typically, I usually just do 1 lesson a day (3-5 days a week). I probably should and could do more, but at this point, I’m just trying to build the habit of practicing regularly.

6:15 PM – Make Dinner

On Sunday’s we make our biggest meal, and try to have leftovers for at least 2 or 3 days. This cuts down on the cooking that we have to do throughout the week.

6:45 PM – Eat dinner with J/Watch an episode of Doc Martin

Right now, Doc Martin is our go to show to watch with dinner. It’s fun and light.

7:30 PM – Dishes

Not fun, but necessary. Fortunately, Josh and I do this together, so it doesn’t take long.

7:45 PM – FaceTime with H

Chatting with sissy! My sister and I try to catch up at least once a week.

8:30 PM – Shower

I love evenings!

9:00 PM – Read a novel + Journal about the day

This is probably my favorite time of the day. I love ending the day with a good novel, I haven’t been journaling much lately, and I want to start doing it again. Yeas ago, I used to journal daily and it was always a great way to put my worries and daily life onto paper.

9:30 PM – Watch an episode of Terrace House with J

If you know me in “real life” then you’ve certainly heard me talk about Terrace House. It’s a Japanese reality show. Think “Big Brother” but with lot’s of bowing and politeness. As a fair warning, it’s in Japanese but has English subtitles on Netflix.

If you enjoy learning about other cultures, I’d highly recommend it. Even though it’s reality tv, I always find myself learning something new with a new takeaway.

10:00 PM – Time for bed

My husband is a full-time engineering student, so our schedule often fluctuates based on his labs, etc. However, I definitely prefer going to bed early.

I should mention that I don’t always wake up so early but I find that my days when I wake up early tend to be the most productive.

I’ve also found that having a morning routine that I love is key as well. If this is a struggle for you, I’d highly recommend the website, My Morning Routine for inspiration on creating the ideal morning routine for you.

What I’ve Learned Working Remotely:

Working from home or remotely is not always easy and I have found that it takes a while to get the hang of it. If you don’t have someone telling you what time to start or what to do, it can be difficult to find the motivation to begin.
Another problem that I often see with other remote workers is choosing what to focus on. If you are balancing multiple projects or work for multiple companies, it’s often difficult to choose what to do.
To deal with this, I am constantly re-evaluating my priorities throughout the week. I also live by my calendar. For 2018 I’ve been using the Whitney English Day Designer and it’s perfect for me!
Rather than simply making a to do list for the day or week, I find that’s more helpful to also schedule the day hour by hour. This way I’m not spending more time than is necessary on any given task. I’m planning to share more about my planning system in an upcoming blog post so stay tuned for that!

What about your Work from Home Schedule?

If you currently work remotely or would like to in the future, I’d love to hear your questions. Feel free to leave a comment or question in the box below. This is one of my favorite topics so don’t be shy, I’m happy to help. I’m planning to write an upcoming post answering all of your questions on working from home so if you have a question, now is the time to ask!

Work from Home Schedule

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A Day in the Life: Working from Home