Ever since I left my corporate job to work for myself, I’ve received a bunch of questions about what a typical day looks like. I’ve realized that, as a solopreneur, each day looks a little different! I have numerous priorities, various projects on the go, and different focuses every quarter or so. But I try to keep some semblance of a routine, so in this post I’ll share my entrepreneur daily schedule.
(Are you an entrepreneur too? If so, I’d love to hear about how the average day looks for you! Leave a comment below.)
Morning
6:30-7:30am: Wake up and start the day!
The time I get up depends on the season and how I’m feeling – especially during this pregnancy! During the Summer when it’s brighter in the morning, I’ll often get up at 6:30am with my husband. But in the Winter months, I’ll often stay in bed until around 7am or even 7:30am.
I normally check my phone, catch up on any emails, and make a cup of coffee. Depending on the day, I may also keep my husband company as he gets ready for work, make the bed first thing, eat a small breakfast, or do some tidying around the house. And sometimes shower first thing in the morning if I’m not planning on working out.
7:30-8:30am: Morning Admin
I block the first hour of the workday for what I call “morning admin”. This is when I read and respond to any important emails, tackle any quick to-dos, and review my schedule and tasks for the day. I’ll also do quick things around the house like defrosting any meat for dinner, or folding laundry from the night before.
If I received any Etsy sales over night, I’ll start packing them during this window too. That way, I can finish printing and cutting stickers in the background as I start on my next task. Multitasking helps save a lot of time, especially since preparing product orders doesn’t require a lot of babysitting!
8:30-10:00am: Strategic Work
I’m a morning person, and my brain is sharpest first thing. So I try to tackle any key strategic or creative work early. This often involves writing blog posts and emails to my email list, learning (if I’m in the middle of a course), and any strategic work like branding or creating a sales page.
I’ve been doing some freelance writing and Pinterest management work over the past few months as well, so this would often fall under the Strategic Work bucket too.
10:00am-11:00am: Keep Working or Work Out
This time window fluctuates! In the past, I used to work out from 10:00-10:30am or so each work day and then take a quick shower and have a snack or bigger breakfast. Now, I often work through this hour, generally on strategic tasks.
11:00am-12:00pm: Work on Less Strategic Tasks
By 11am, I’ve generally finished my strategic work, or enough to be able to switch gears and give my mind a break. I’ll then spend some time working on less strategic tasks that require less focus, or at least a different part of my brain!
This work would be things like editing and scheduling blog posts, creating graphics to promote posts, designing new listings for my Etsy shop, extending my Editorial Calendar, and keyword research for upcoming blog posts.
Afternoon
12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch and Break
Most days, I’ll take about an hour break to make and eat lunch, and also step away from my computer. Once I’ve eaten, I’ll often read, catch up on social media, or start prepping dinner by chopping vegetables or getting other ingredients ready.
I find this break really helps recharge me for the afternoon! Sometimes, I’ll only take a 20 minute break for lunch if I’m in the middle of something, but the key is to step away and make it deliberate.
1:00pm-3:00pm: Work As Needed
My afternoon work tasks and schedule depends on what I accomplished in the morning and what’s left. Between my 12 Week Plan and weekly calendar, I have a pretty good sense of what needs to get accomplished each day, so it’s pretty easy to identify what’s left and focus on the right things.
3:00-3:30pm: Meditate/Journal or Break
I often hit a wall mid afternoon, so I normally try to give myself a break at this time. I’ll meditate, journal, or do something around the house that’s away from the computer, whether that be tidying or food prep.
And every Wednesday, I talk to my accountability partner Lucy from Lucy Jo Home, so that would normally fall in roughly this time frame.
3:30-5:00pm: Finish Remaining Work
I’m normally not as sharp by 4pm most work days, especially while pregnant, but I’ll try to power through whatever I can for the last 90 minutes of the work day. Often this is responding to any emails or customer service questions for my Etsy shop, or handling any general business administrative tasks like updating my monthly expenses spreadsheet.
5:00pm-6:30pm: Break and Prepare Dinner
During this window, I wrap up my work and start thinking about dinner. We eat at around 6:30pm most nights, so prep normally has to start by around 5:30pm, depending on the recipe.
Evening
6:30pm-7:15pm: Eat Dinner, Clean up
We eat dinner pretty much as soon as my husband gets home, and clean up afterwards. I normally try to clean as I cook, but some nights are less successful in this department than others!
7:15pm-9:00pm: Watch TV, Maybe Work a Bit More
While some nights we’ll run errands, most week nights we spend together at home. We’ll put something on TV, and I’ll often have my laptop close by to do a bit more work, especially if it’s something that doesn’t require a ton of focus.
On Thursday nights, I go to group coaching sessions in my city, so that normally spans from 7:00-10:00pm or so.
9:00pm-9:30pm: Read in Bed
My husband and I are both avid readers, and we read almost every night before going to sleep. I love this time because it’s screen-free and helps me unwind at the end of the day.
We normally go to sleep at 9:30pm which sounds early, but I think we both just like our sleep, and are hoping we can bank some for when we are new parents… Ha! 🙂
As I mentioned earlier, every day is different and there are plenty of days where I work way more or way less or on different things than mentioned above. There are also days where I have appointments to go to and errands to run – those often consume several hours of the day (plus time to get ready beforehand!) So on those days, I’m getting less work done. Similarly, there are weekends I end up working a lot, and others that I take off almost completely.
If you’re an entrepreneur or are self-employed, what does your daily schedule look like? Is it similar to the above or totally different? I’d love to hear it! Let me know in the Comments below.
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