Mompreneur Routine: A Day In The Life

I love routine. I thrive with routine and organization and plans. When I know what to expect, I can be more relaxed and peaceful. I am fully aware that routine and perfectly laid out plans are always realistic, but for someone who is a stay-at-home mom and a business owner, plans and routines are a must. Do we always follow the plan or routine? Absolutely not. But, do we have a rhythm that we generally stick to each day/week? Yes.

Establishing this rhythm has been so helpful for me. There are a lot of things that I need to fit into our week. We need to eat meals, and take showers, and go to our social commitments. We also have doctor’s appointments and errands to run. And I personally have a business to run, a baby to take care of, and my own personal fitness and wellness to consider. All of these things need a place and as much as I’d love to be able to just let the days happen, I have to be intentional.

My word for 2018 is INTENTION. So, as I think about our purchases, our time, and our resources, I am striving towards being even more intentional.

Related: What I am Learning From Having A Baby Different than I Expected

And that intention must be infused into my mompreneur life. I was to work intentionally during work hours, so I can intentionally play with my son and be with him when I am with him.

I don’t want to spend the day scrambling to reply to emails and post on Instagram when my son is playing and wanting my attention (which he deserves!).

Something that is very important to me is that wherever I am, I am fully there. So, that means (most of the time), when I am with Knox, I am not working. There are certain days or weeks where work and motherhood overlap, but the goal is to have separate times for each role. When I try to do both at the same time, both “babies” (the business and the real baby) don’t get the attention and dedication it deserves and I am not my best self.

So for me, that looks like set work hours and set play hours. Right now, Knox takes a 2.5-3 hours nap every afternoon and my mom watches him for a total of 5-6 hours a week. So, that roughly gives me 17 hours of work. That’s the maximum I have available. Because naps don’t always go that well, and sometimes my mom isn’t able to help out as much (which is totally fine!). But when she is helping me and Knox is taking good naps, that’s typically when I work. And oftentimes my husband gets home from work before 4 and I will work until 4 or 4:30 to finish things up!

All that being said, here’s what a typical day looks like when my mom comes over to watch Knoc (and I will also show you how I split up my to-do list for the entire week!)

7am-9am: Play with Knox, check email, drink coffee, maybe package orders.

9am: leave for our walk

10:15: Mom arrives*

10:30-12:30: Work

12:30-1: prep for nap time

1-3:30/4: Knox naps and I work (this is IDEAL, doesn’t always work this way)

4: Knox is up, dad is home, we go for a family walk or I work out

5: make dinner, play with Knox, clean up the house

6-7: Dinner

7: bathtime for Knox (and sometimes shower time for me)

7:30/8: bedtime for Knox

8-10/11: reading, catching up on work, cleaning up the house, watching TV with Joel

*If my mom isn't coming to help, this time would be spent running errands, playing with Knox, and doing a little bit of work while he has some independent play time. 

Our days typically revolve around feeding time, naps, and work. For us, this is the structure that works for us right now. Knox is changing so frequently that it’s hard to be consistent with everything and I often have to let work go unfinished. But some days go exactly like this and I’m able to get a lot of work done. I’ve learned that flexibility is one of the most important traits as a mom!

Every Sunday night I write out a huge long list of everything I need to get down in the coming week. Then, I split all of those things up for the 5 days of the week. On the days where I have childcare, I will put more items. On the days we have appointments or no childcare, I will put less items on it.

When I start the week like this, I can head straight into my office and know exactly what needs to be done and I don’t waste 20 minutes getting organized.

I use my “Week at a glance” sheet to organize myself. You can get one by entering your email below!