I will often ask myself “Isabel, how do you stay organized?” The answer is: I suck at it. My office is a mess, my kitchen doesn’t have an obvious system. I scroll on Instagram reels for WAY too long. I have a system though, even if I don’t always follow it. I try to organize my day so that I’m able to get everything done. Since I work from 7 am until 4:30 pm every weekday, it has been harder to stay on top of everything. So here is the updated schedule that I created for myself at the start of the month.
6 AM- Prepare for the Day
An hour before I need to log into work I wake up (sometimes it does end up being closer to 6:30 tho!) I use this time to wake up, start the coffee, care for the dog, pretty much anything that I need to do right away in the morning. I try to hold off sitting down until I have gotten everything done that I need to get done. Once I sit it’s so much harder to get back up. A lot of the time I manage to get everything done that I need to do, and that is the point that I sit down on the couch, curled up in my blanket. I’ll scroll on my phone with the news on for about 15 minutes until my fiance comes out and sits in his chair before he leaves.
7-10:15 AM- Work
Since I’m on overload time right now, I work an extra five hours a week. I opted to start an hour earlier in the morning, so that puts me at 7 am. I use this slower morning time to eat some breakfast and make a plan for the rest of the day.
10:15-10:30 AM- Break and Quick Tidy
I use my first 15 minute break to do a quick tidy around the house. I’ll put some dishes away, maybe start a load of laundry. Using these little spurts of time to stay on top of housework is how you keep your to do list from getting too uncontrollable and overwhelming.
10:30 am- 12 pm- Second Work Spurt
After the first cleaning spurt, I go back to work until noon. I can start calling people at this time since most of them are usually awake at this point. This was the tip I got from my last boss, don’t start calling people until after 10 just in case they are still sleeping.
12 pm- 12:30 pm- Lunch
While it’s hard to estimate exactly when I’ll be able to take lunch, I usually try to do it around noon. This breaks up the day pretty well, and even if I don’t eat I still get the opportunity to relax a little bit. I usually throw on a sitcom while I eat. It can get very quiet during the day when you work from home, so having the TV on can help with the loneliness!
12:30 PM- 3 PM- Third Work Spurt
After lunch, I do another spurt of work. This is the time that I use to finish up any last things from the day. It’s around this time that I start to get my afternoon slump. I’ll remind myself to keep drinking water and trying to power through.
3 PM- 3:15 PM- Last 15 Minute Break
3 pm is my last break of the day. If I’m doing something in the crockpot for dinner that I haven’t started yet, this is the point in the day that I throw it in (usually in a panic since I had most likely forgotten to thaw out the chicken that morning).
3:15 PM- 4:30 PM- Last Work Spurt
The last work spurt I do it mostly preparing for the next day. I complete any paperwork I need to do, get my files ready (especially if I have to travel right away in the morning), and tidy up the office. Knowing that I’m prepared for the next day of work relaxes me for the rest of the evening and lets me focus on what I need to focus on the rest of the day.
4:30 PM- 6 PM- Dinner and clean up
Right after work is done I begin dinner if I haven’t yet. Carter is usually home by 4:30, and with any prep I have to do it takes me about 45 minutes to cook without fail (this has start to speed up now that I have one of those veggie choppers that you slam down). I try to have dinner and dishes all cleaned up by 6 pm, which is easy to do with Carter helping out.
6 PM- 8 PM- School Work
Every night after dinner I will work on school work for two hours. This helps break it up so that I’m not rushing on weekends to finish 6 classes worth of schoolwork.
8 PM- 10 PM- Relaxation Time
Carter and I watch a show in the evening to relax (we have a whole spreadsheet to keep track of what we need to watch and have watched already!) I’ll try to get some wedding planning down during this time, but since we’re still about 11 months out there’s not a whole lot for me to make solid plans with.
10 PM- Bed Time!
After our last episode for the night is finished- usually between 9:30 and 10- Carter and I both start getting ready for bed. Since we both wake up early and both try to get a solid 7-8 hours a night, this is the perfect time for us.
While I do try to stick to this schedule, it doesn’t always happen- and that’s okay! Being able to see what you should be doing at certain points of the day helps me get back on track if I have gotten off track.