Day In The Life - Summer 2020

I’ve always loved “day in the life” style posts from my favorite bloggers, but I never shared one myself. Partly because I wondered if it was at all interesting to anyone, partly because my days vary so much, and partly because I’m kinda ashamed to admit how many hours I spend scrolling on my phone.

But, my friend Cathy shared hers last week and I loved it, so she influenced me. I like seeing how people spend their days and I think it’s insight into who they are just a bit more.

I’m writing this in August of 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, in the middle of a kitchen renovation, when Ross is home and not working, and when life feels simply upside down. So, know that these unprecedented times are influencing my schedule. Also, because each of my rotations on planet earth are so different, I’ve created an average day that mixes and matches schedules to find something that’s somewhat regular.

6:30

I wake up naturally around 6:30 every morning. When I quit my 9-5 I stopped setting alarms and then my body decided that 6:30 sounds pretty good to jolt awake. I respond to daylight and feel charged when it’s sunny and then drift into a sleepy blob when the sun sets or when its gloomy (see 8pm).

Sometimes I put my phone on the charger on the other side of the room which motivates me to get up and start the day. Sometimes I fall asleep with it on the nightstand, and sometimes I get up to grab the phone then get back in bed to scroll mindlessly. Not a great habit, but so it is. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t have phone attachment issues. I do.

7:00

After I go pee, brush my teeth, and splash my face, I head straight to the kettle to brew up some water for my coffee. While the water brews I like to wander around the house and look out the windows. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I just like to check and make sure everything looks like when I last saw it. Ross sometimes sees me and asks, “what do you see out there?” and I say, “I’m just checking to make sure the backyard is still there. And it is.”

Once the water is heated, I pour it in the french press and then I wait for it to brew for four minutes. I take vitamins, guzzle a 20oz glass of water, and putter around. I take my morning brew with honey and oat milk, then wander around the house with it until I have half left and it gets cold. Sometimes I put my stale coffee in the microwave to heat it up but inevitably forget about it until I find the mug in the microwave the next day when I try to heat up another half a cup of cold coffee. Sometimes I finish it, today I did just that. Success.

7:10

I tend to occupy my mornings with activities that make me feel productive but actually are just things I do to procrastinate doing other things. I often put in a load of laundry or deep clean the bathroom or organize my coasters. I pop in an AirPod to listen to my local PBS news radio station. I tend to fuss with my coasters or wash dishes until it’s done.

8:00

By now the laundry is done and I start folding garments. I use this as another procrastination task that feels productive but really keeps me from other more daunting tasks.

Ross tends to get up around 8am so we talk about what we heard on the news or read on our phone or just had on our mind. Lately, these conversations become hour-long discussions about hot-button issues. Without any real schedules for the day, we tend to go on and on about the nuances of current life. Inspired to bring up similar topics at breakfast? Here are some of the things we discussed recently; “what is even the point of vacationing if we can’t enjoy the town or people?” “who is going to give us the green light to hug one another? will that ever happen?” “what are your memories of your teachers and classmates in elementary school? how many were Black? do you remember their names?” “what will Halloween look like this year?” “ugh, the patriarchy.” “how many people named Jason can you list?”

For breakfast, Ross has been making us smoothies packed with spinach, protein powder, berries, and whatever else is laying around. (side note: why do we spell it smoothie and not smoothy?) Ross drinks his smoothie like a normal human but I chug mine and wash the glass immediately. While renovating the kitchen, many hours are spent washing dishes delicately in the bathroom sink so I try to get that all out of the way ASAP.

8:30

I normally like to have all the dishes done before bed, but hand washing in the bathroom sink is annoying so I often put it off until the next day. Ross and I work together on dishes in the morning. I wash, he dries. Go team.

9:00

By now I’ve exhausted all of the small tasks around the house and get to the computer to do some work. I check emails, send out my newsletter, publish an Instagram post, respond to comments on the blog, and do some site maintenance.

I also use this time to research home renovation projects. I watch videos on how to install the faucet I just ordered or I do a deep dive on what kind of tile to install. I’m a big researcher, so I spend a lot of time picking out just the right products and methods for my home renovation. Since I can’t go out to thrift/antique/salvage stores like I did pre-COVID, I spend a lot of time scrolling auction sites and online re-sale shops for the perfect antique items.

10:00

Around 10am I get hungry for what I call my “second breakfast” or “brunkfeast.” Today it was a piece of toast.

Because I’ve gotten up from the computer I find other things to do like water the plants with A/C water, organize the condiments in the fridge, pull weeds, post things on Buy Nothing, or partake in other distractions. I love the distractions, don’t get me wrong. But I’m well aware that they are fun little activities that I use to avoid bigger projects.

When we were in the thick of renovations, this was often the time that I was coordinating with crew and vendors. Now that they aren’t here on the daily, it’s my job to do the work. Some days I pick up my tools and get to work. Other days I just don’t.

I promise I’m a productive person, but I also promise I’m imperfect. Especially during quarantine, I’m in a bit of a rut. Motivation can be hard and sometimes I prefer the quick satisfaction of deep cleaning the bathroom over installing all of the millwork in the kitchen which is sure to take days of work to do.

10:30

I’ve been trying to get in the habit of going on daily long walks. Once a week, Ross and I hike a new trail we’ve never explored in San Diego using the AllTrails app. We like to go on weekdays when the trails are empty, but we need to try harder to leave earlier so we aren’t in the summer heat. On days when we want a less rigorous hike, we stay close to home and explore the beautiful canyons in our neighborhood. Every other Monday, I do my walk on the phone with Alison, and every other Thursday I do my walk on the phone with Cathy. All other days, Ross and I go together for either a morning or evening stroll.

When Ross and I go on a walk, it’s time we use for chatting about his work. As you may know, he’s an audio engineer for live events and also rents audio gear for major gatherings. Since COVID hit, he’s been out of work and we’ve been brainstorming ways he can pivot or ride out the storm. We like being entrepreneurs and sharing our work with each other - I just wish these daily work conversations were in better circumstances. Side note: If you have any work for a talented audio engineer for a virtual event, call me.

On our way home we swing by our local grocery store and pick up a few cooking staples and maybe more hard kombucha. I’ve been burning through that stuff lately.

11:30

After our stroll, I hop in the shower and put a new pair of pajamas on. The pajamas all day lifestyle has been my jam for years even pre-quarantine. I did used to get dressed more before COVID, sure, but now with only leaving the house to go on walks, it’s PJs all day every day. Additionally, before quarantine I was working on reducing my makeup routine, so I’ve embraced that and only wear moisturizer now. It’s pretty great.

11:45

Once freshly clean, I plop down at the computer to check emails and Instagram. I rarely post my Instagram Stories at the exact time things are happening because I’d rather take the video, then be in the moment. Plus, curating clips is important for you folks so they’re organized and captioned. I take some time to cull the photos/videos, trim them, color correct them, caption them, and set them to music. Uploading videos and responding to comments is surprisingly time consuming. I’m not even that popular on the ‘gram, but I can spend hours doing this work.

I then often sit around and scroll through Instagram. I guess I’ve considered this to be “work” because I’m checking on what other bloggers are up to, getting updates from activists, and finding inspiration. But I do want to try to not spend less time on this.

12:30

By now I’m ready for lunch. With Ross being home all the time, we eat our meals together which is a real treat. The guy used to travel for over half of the year, so this time together is one silver lining of it all.

We still don’t have a kitchen, so making meals is a bit more limited (here’s how we’re managing). We often have leftovers for lunch, or pick up something during our morning walk. The past few days I’ve been digging my favorite summertime snack; simple open-faced tomato sandwich with extra pepper and tomatoes from family gardens. Mmm.

1:00

If I’m in the blogging mood, I’ll head to computer to write a block post, research, take photos, edit images, organize content, proof text, and schedule it to post. This can take anywhere from 4 to 15 hours depending on if I’m editing a video or have lots of photos to go through. I really like writing blog posts like this one because it’s just stream of consciousness and goes so much faster. I truly didn’t realize how much time blogging took until I got into it. I’ve developed some techniques to be more efficient, but it’s still time consuming! I’m not one for just publishing fluff, so you can count on hours of prep work before you see a post.

If I’m in the project mood, I’ll slip into something more comfortable (overalls, duh) and get to work. Lately, I’ve been working on the trim on the new french doors, removing stains from the marble bathroom vanity, and doing secret things I haven’t shared with you yet like painting drywall and installing flooring! (shhhh it’s a secret)

I realize I got into the details about how I brew my coffee and shower, yet I’m just blowing past this part. That’s okay, you don’t need the play-by-play of pouring the primer into the container and getting the ladder and brushes, right? Right.

While I do this, Ross is on his computer working on projects for clients that are planning virtual events.

6:00

After a few hours of projects or blog writing, Ross and I regroup to discuss the most important part of the day: what’s for dinner, and what will we watch on TV?

Without a kitchen, we’ve been limited in meals. A popular option is to go to our favorite vegetarian restaurant to order five entrées to-go, then share one that night, and save the rest in the fridge for the rest of the week. Once we even picked up this gigantic pizza (below) which lasted us a very very long time.

7:00

After dinner we try to tidy up the house - take out compost, clean dishes, put away the laundry I inevitably left out, you know, all the things I did in the morning, but all over again.

Depending on how much of walk we did or didn’t do in the morning, we may do an evening stroll.

8:00

TV time babay! My body/brain seems to lose energy as the sun sets. I’ve learned that the best remedy is to watch television. I have no shame about tuning into smart shows/movies at the end of the day. I normally gravitate towards dark, dramatic, depressing dramas, but when my mood matches that, I prefer to watch comedies and lighthearted shows. Lately, it’s been The Repair Shop or The Great British Baking Show. Yes, I realize they are both UK-based craft-based shows. We like what we like, okay?

9:30

This is my bedtime and has been for like, 10 years. I basically turn into a pumpkin as soon as the clock strikes 9:30. Since moving our TV to the bedroom, it’s really easy to turn in after watching a movie. Sometimes knowing I don’t need to get up to walk to bed, I get a second wind and can stay up until a time as wild at 10pm or even 11pm! But mostly I drift asleep in the middle of an episode, then wake up just barely enough to pretend that I’m awake, then inevitably pass out.

The end!

Was that even remotely interesting for you? Was any of that surprising or was it just as you expected? Should I do more of these during different seasons?