One of the best things about being self-employed is being able to decide how and when anything gets done. As fun as this sounds I’ve noticed that in order to be and to stay productive I have to have a strict routine. I work from home and being surrounded by my own home comforts it is so easy to fall into the trap of stay-in-onesie-all-day-social-network-surfing-and-internet-shopping mode. The temptation is real, so I’ve created a basic structure for my day. I know if I stick to this and focus, my productivity stays up.
A typical day goes like so:
7am: Alarm goes off. Put on snooze x4. Andrew, my husband gets up and leaves me in bed to assume starfish postition. Bliss.
7.45: Think about getting up. I’m a mum so before I start anything I have to get my little one (Tlws, 10) up and ready for school, so I go into Tlws’ bedroom to wake her up. She is almost never up before me as, like her mum, she likes her sleep. Tlws asks for ‘5 more minutes’ so I go downstairs to prepare her breakfast and get her lunchbox ready. If I’m REALLY organised I’d have done this the night before, but this almost never happens.
7.50: If my dog, Fritz wakes up, let him out for a wee and poo if he hasn’t been already and feed him.
8am-8:40am: Go upstairs to make sure Tlws is moving. Give Tlws her breakfast, get her ready for school and wave Andrew and Tlws off in my onesie on the doorstop (classy! haha)
9am: Eat breakfast, have my obligatory two cups of tea, then I make myself get dressed. I’ve found that even though I work from home and onesies are amazing, I am 100 per cent more productive if I get dressed and put some make up on. I feel better too, and less embarrassed to answer the door to the hunky postman.
9.30am: Go upstairs and sit at my desk. Log on to my computer and check emails and social media. Reply to emails and Social Media comments. I am very strict with the time I give myself on social media as the temptation to stay on it, lurking and bouncing back and forth each one for a nose is very strong!
10am: Begin work. Depending on where I’ve left off the day before, this may consist of packing up orders for the post or continuing making orders that are outstanding. As I make a lot of handmade cupcakes I spend a lot of time bulk-making those.
11.30am: I always get hungry around now so I make myself a sandwich and another cup of tea.
12pm: Continue working, the work I do varies from day to day depending on what’s been ordered but it mainly consists of cutting out glitter fabric, gluing, sculpting and sewing. I have to wear glasses as my eyes get tired. I’ve also noticed that my posture is getting atrocious from leaning over a desk all day so I’m trying to correct that too by doing a bit of yoga here and there and remembering to sit up straight! Most of the crafters I’ve spoken to have the same problem. Eek!
2-3pm: Walk to the Post Office down the road from me and drop off the bag of parcels, come back and take Fritz out for a walk up the mountain behind my house. He’s a greyhound cross, so he needs a good run every day and getting out of the house is SO important when you work from home on your own! Check emails and social media.
3.30pm: Tlws is back from school so I like to spend a couple of hours with her, talking, or doing something interesting like drawing together or watching Miranda Sings on the internet (Tlws’ current favourite!)
4pm: Andrew comes home from work. I’m so lucky as Andrew does most of the cooking (as I’m hopeless) so usually Andrew makes us tea (dinner).
6pm: Yoga or exercise. Currently challenging myself to work my upper body strength in order to do a pullup on the bar Andrew’s put up above the kitchen door. Not going too well but I’m persisting! I need a challenge.
7.30-8pm: Tlws goes to bed after story and bath.
8.30-9.30pm: Tidy up my workshop and finish off any loose ends.
10-12: Have a bath, watch something on Netflix usually!
GG's Pin-up Couture 