Oh boy, what does a day in the life of a graphic design entrepreneur look like! I would love to say it looks like an episode of Mad Man, however, it’s not usually that glamorous (though I have my moments)
Do you have daily routines that help you and your business? I would love to hear about them! Here’s what an average day looks like for me:
Morning
I wake up at 05:00. This sounds really early but I did a bunch of experimenting to figure out when is best for me to wake up. 05:30 and 06:00 make me groggy, but I can jump out of bed at 05:00. I have a protein smoothie for breakfast and hang out with my husband before he heads off to work — he has very early mornings too. I always get dressed and do my makeup. I’ve learned it’s the best way to feel like I’m actually going to work and helps with my productivity.
Work Time
I get to my desk by 06:30 every morning. This number always shocks people! I love my SAD light and use it for the first half hour to help with my energy and focus. I go through my emails and I answer anything that is quick and easy, like meeting confirmations or marketing emails. Then I make a list of everything else, prioritize it and write it in my day planner.
I do my best work in the mornings and the less interrupted I am, the more productive I can be. I find emails don’t start rolling in until 09:00/10:00 so I can easily get 3 hours of uninterrupted work in. I also make a point of not having my cell phone in my office until noon, which helps even more with productivity. No social media distractions or texts!
Lunch Time
I wish I could say I take lunch every day but I often get in the zone and work through it. Thankfully I have my lovely pup, Paige that makes me take her out around lunchtime so I get up, grab a snack and get outside a bit.
Back to Work
Afternoons are a mixed bag, it depends on what I’ve scheduled or what comes in. I take this opportunity to look at social media and answer any emails that might’ve come in during the morning. Because I do y best work in the morning, I do my best to schedule all my meetings in the afternoon. I’ll do 1-2 meetings a day either for networking, business collaboration or with clients. If I need any personal appointments I’ll do those in the afternoon too. I love my early schedule because by 15:30 I’ve already put in an 8-hour day.
End of the Day
The end of the day can vary, as many an entrepreneur will know. I do like to wrap up by the 15:30 mark if I can, but often meetings get booked later or there’s last-minute work to be done. When my husband comes home around 5 is my hard stop. We both work long hours and enjoy our downtime together as much as possible.
Our Evenings
Most people are shocked when we tell them we don’t watch television, but we really don’t. We might pop on a show while we eat dinner but by the time work is done, dinner is cooked, and the dog is walked I like to go to bed and read! We also have our hobbies, so our evenings change day to day. My husband has violin lessons tonight and we’re hoping to go rock climbing in the next day or two!
What’s your favourite part of the day? When are you most productive? I think it’s so important as design entrepreneurs to create routines that give us a sense of certainty when every other aspect can be so uncertain! I would love to hear your tips and tricks for your work day.