I first got the idea for this blog post from Kev Quirk, and have since sought out other examples online to satiate my own curiosity on how people spend their days. While the following shift some, this is my mental plan for each weekday, and (with some minor exceptions) is also how I design my weekends as well. As you can see, I’m definitely a creature of habit, and like my daily routines.
04:00 - My alarm goes off (though I’m occasionally awake beforehand), and my daily coffee prep begins. I make 3 mugs worth of Storyville Coffee’s Prologue blend daily in a large French press: one mug to drink now, and the other two (in travel mugs) for later in the morning.
04:30 - With a mug of coffee in hand, I sit down for my daily devotionals, and to spend time reading whatever book I’m currently in middle of. I view this as (part of) my spiritual and mental “exercise” for the day.
05:30 - Time for some physical exercise! I have a simple basement gym (which I pictured in my 2019 Year in Review), so I can design different workouts daily based on how I’m feeling. My goal is normally at least 30 minutes a day, plus time for stretching.
06:30 - If I’m not intermittent fasting, I cook a quick breakfast (normally eggs of some form). Then it’s time for a shower, which wraps up my morning routine.
07:30 - 11:30 - The workday begins. For the past year this means heading to my basement, where I’ve set up a work-from-home workstation. In pre-COVID times, I’d be heading to the office. I rarely have many meetings, so from the time I begin work until lunch I can focus on projects, with occasional interruptions for Slack conversations with coworkers.
11:30 - 12:30 - Lunch time! I’m a creature of habit, and always have some form of a salad with varying types of protein. When in the office I would often eat at my desk, but at home I manage to take a short break and either listen to a podcast or read while preparing and eating my meal.
12:30 - 17:30 - I make a quick cup of tea, then it’s back to work. I again normally have the full block of time to focus on work, with a few Slack conversations interspersed.
17:30 - Dinner prep begins. For the past year I’ve been ordering meals from Trifecta Nutrition, so this time normally consists of heating up a meal, along with a short call to chat with family. Then I wash dishes, and set the kitchen in order for the next morning.
18:30 - The time after dinner is somewhat flexible, depending on what part of the year I’m in. During crunch time at work I will often put in another hour or two on the computer, then read a book for a while before bed. When I have time to relax, this time may be spent watching a movie or TV show, playing a video game, reading a book, or pursuing one of my other hobbies.
21:00 - I begin to prepare for bed. My goal is to get 6+ hours of sleep a night, and so this gives me time to read a book or listen to music before I finally go to sleep.
And, that’s my day! As noted above, I will sometimes shift things up slightly on the weekends, especially if I’m volunteering. I also occasionally have a commitment in the evening, though that really only affects my evening routines, and I still aim for a 22:00 bedtime.
Is it a bit boring? Perhaps. I can definitely imagine that some would view it that way. However, I have found that I function my best when I keep a semi-rigid routine, and that keeping these aspects of my life on the same plan day in and day out allows me to put some parts of my life on autopilot, and direct my focus and attention elsewhere.
Author’s Note: I do not receive any financial benefits from the links in this article. They are provided solely to improve the reader’s understanding of topics and/or products referenced in the article.