On good days I’m up before sunrise.
Everyone has good days and bad days. On good days, I work on projects, I tackle goals, and I pattern healthy routines. On bad days, I put goals on hold in favour of just making it through the day, I backburner projects, and I cut corners on my healthy routines. Good days in my life are full of possibility, and bad days are full of just trying to get to the end of the day.
Lots of people have written “day in the life” posts, and the one Blonde On A Budget recently wrote was particularly good. So good, in fact, that I thought I’d share my day in the life – in case anyone wonders what I do all day. But I want to be honest, I don’t want to idealize my life or make it seem perfect – because it’s not. So I’m sharing both a good day in the life, and a bad one.
My Good Day in The Life
6:00-7:00am
My alarm goes off, and I’m tired. I hit snooze once. I’ve never been much of a morning person. I drag myself out of bed and open the curtains. I go pour myself a cup of coffee from the pot my husband had made before he left for work at 5:30am. I go back into my bedroom, curl up in bed and open up my blog. I write.
7:00-8:00am
I get out of bed and start doing some light housework. I feed the cats and clean their litter box. I load the dishwasher and turn it on. I start laundry and tidy the main room of my apartment. I take my dog for a 20 to 30 minute walk, and when I get back I get breakfast started. Usually, I’ll have a bagel, some muesli or yoghurt and granola. I make a second pot of coffee. I take everything into my home office and start to work.
8:00-11:00am
I start work! For those of you who don’t know, I do marketing for a small firm. I work remotely, from my home office. Emails come first, then social media monitoring and publishing. I put up blog posts and respond to client inquiries.
11:00am
Lunch! I make a conscious effort to step away from the computer and stay out of my office for 15 minutes while I eat. Usually, I’ll have leftovers, this week it’s squash soup.
11:15 – 2:00pm
More work. Sometimes meetings. I also reserve this time work projects. Things like blog posts, ebook writing, brochure creation, report writing, whatever “big thing” I’m working on is usually slotted in here.
2:00pm – 2:30pm
My “real” break, that is, my 30 minute break that all of the employees back at the office have, usually comes at 2:00pm. I take this time to walk my dog a second time. I love getting away from my desk and out into the fresh air. I usually also grab a snack around now of carrot sticks or an apple or pretzels.
2:30pm – 5:00pm
More work. Any of the boring stuff I have to do like entering data gets done at the end of the day when I’m at my lowest energy level.
5:00pm – 6:00pm
I make dinner or, if my husband is feeling awesome (he gets off work at 2:00pm), dinner is already made. I watch an episode of our favourite show with him and unwind.
6:00pm – 9:00pm
From six until nine at night is my free time. I work on the blog, responding to comments and emails, I work out, I shower, I watch shows with my husband, or we play video games. I might meet a friend for drinks or teach my dog a new trick. It’s my choice.
9:00pm
I’m in bed by nine most nights. Nine might seem early but remember my husband has to get up at 5:00am and we both sleep better if we’re on the same schedule. Usually, I’ll read a bit or journal or watch an episode or two of our current comedy before falling asleep by ten.
That’s my good day. Here’s my bad day. 90% of the time, poor sleep causes my bad days.
My Bad Day In the Life
7:30 – 8:00am
I get up. I rush around, taking the dog out for a quick pee and make breakfast before plopping down in front of the computer at 8am. Housework doesn’t get done.
8:00am – 11:00am
Work time, same as before.
11:00 – 11:30am
Lunch! Low sleep usually weakens my resolve, so I make bad lunch choices. I’ll either cook up some cheap convenience food or run out for take out. I eat in front of my desk because I’m wasn’t as productive as usual in the morning.
11:30 – 2:00pm
More work.
2:00 – 2:30pm
I wouldn’t bother taking my dog for a walk. If I’m tired, I might grab half an hour of shut eye. I’ll have a snack, probably something unhealthy like popcorn or chips or chocolate.
2:30pm – 5:00pm
Work, work, work!
5:00pm – 6:00pm
Same as before, this is supper time. If my husband made it, it’s probably healthy. If I’m in charge, I might opt for something basic that doesn’t require much work. In this case, basic is a code word for unhealthy.
6:00pm – 9:00pm
I veg in front of the television or screw around on my phone. I don’t get anything productive done.
9:00pm
Bed! I curl up in bed and fall asleep to the soft sounds of King Of the Hill.
The good day in my life is good, but the bad day isn’t terribly bad. Sure I don’t tackle any projects or work on any goals. I eat poorly and don’t get any exercise, but I take care of the essentials. I still work, though I’m most likely less productive. I also still spend time on my relationship with my husband, but I neglect others.
The problem with a bad day isn’t that it’s going to derail your life. The problem with a bad day is that it’s just mediocre. If you string enough of those bad days together, you’ve got one mediocre life.
If I had enough of those bad days, I would end up gaining weight. My dog would develop behavioural problems from not getting enough exercise. My place would be a mess and my blog and side hustle would just slide off the radar. Sure, I’d still have a job and a husband. I’d have enough to get by, but that’s it. I wouldn’t have any more than that.
The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t need to strive to make every single day a good day. We all have bad days. I probably have one bad day every week. That’s ok. What’s not ok is letting those bad days start to run together to make bad weeks or bad months. I know because I’ve let this happen. I’ve let bad days take over my life, without even realising it. Bad days happen, but we need to minimize them.
If I let the bad days win, I’m going to end up with a life where I’m not making as much money as I hoped, and I’m not paying off my debt. I’ll be overweight, and I’ll have lost most of my valued relationships, my blog, and my freelance income.
That situation is the place we’re all afraid of ending up, but it can sneak up on you. To keep it at bay, make sure you have more good days than bad. Put activities in your routine that ensure you don’t just meet your basic needs but excel at life.
Everyone has a bad day; it’s what you do with the good days that count.
How what do your good and bad days look like? When was your last bad day? I want to know!