That thing we all say we need more of, but can never seem to muster, amIright? One of the speakers at January’s Creative At Heart (heeey, Bonnie!) spoke on this very subject, and I loved every second of her talk! As a small business owner, it’s inevitable that I’m already going to struggle with balance- I do pretty much everything for AGP! Shooting, marketing, editing, shipping, emails, etc., and doing it all from home means that I also struggle with getting distracted by my house (and all that is within it). Throw the adult ADHD into that, and you have yourself a recipe for ZERO balance- a wife who would work until 9pm if her husband didn’t gently insist she close the office doors for the night, a puppy owner who’d forget to take her dogs out until they’re literally scratching grooves in the door (this has happened), and a woman who is unsatisfied with a job that she once loved, all because it’s taken over her life.

Here’s what my days looked like before getting serious about balance:

1. Wake up whenever Lily started whining at the door to be let out. So, sometimes 7 am, but usually more like 8:30 or 9. Don’t judge me on that.
2. Throw on yoga pants or sweats, a t-shirt, and take Lily out on a walk.
3. Make a cup of tea, scarf down a quick breakfast, head directly to my office in order to post my blog at a reasonable hour. (all while wearing yogas or sweats)
4. Get distracted by a number of things, but usually social media, and end up missing the window of time during which I was planning to post my blog.
5. Putz around on the computer, answer a few emails, start to edit something and then get distracted
6. Around 1:30, I’ll remember that I haven’t eaten lunch, so I’ll go upstairs, grab something quick to eat (all while on my phone) and head back down to the office.
7. Manage to get my blog posted later than planned, advertise it on social media
8. Repeat #5 until Matt got home, then bemoan the fact that I was so unproductive that day.
9. Eat dinner with Matt, then grab my laptop and sit down on the couch- “I just have to answer a quick email!” I tell him.
10. 9:30 pm comes, and my dear husband gently asks if I’ve managed to answer that one email yet. Then I bashfully close my laptop.
11. Repeat steps 1-10 Monday-Friday.

Clearly, this was NOT a recipe for success. It resulted in a complete lack of productivity, and as a result, a lot of disappointment in myself. The longer I run this business, the more I realize how much I benefit from STRUCTURE, even though I am the absolute worst about proactively implementing it. I want to love my business and run it well, but I also don’t want it to take over my life. I work to live, and not the other way around.

These days, I’ve finally come around to realizing that beginning my day with the same routine throughout the week sets me up for a really productive work day! It’s funny, the catalyst for all this change was actually bringing Sirius home; he gets up a lot earlier than Lily, and if I try to ignore his whines, he jumps onto the bed and literally sits on me until I get up. So yeah…

Here’s a typical “day in the life” these days!

1. Wake up between 6:45-7:30. Matt leaves around 6:45 am and my alarm is set to go off at 7:30, but often I wake up as he’s heading out the door. I actually love getting up before my alarm- it’s like “yeah! I’ve already won, I woke up five minutes earlier than planned!”
2. Put on actual clothes. It’s ok if I still wear yogas on occasion, but my rule is that I need to completely change out of pajama-wear. No more sweats in the office.
3. Make the bed! I never used to do this; the only time the bed was made was if Matt did it. But I really love the feeling of knowing I’ve at least accomplished that in my day before heading out of our room in the morning.
4. Open the blinds of the main level of our house. I love this step!
5. Walk the pups.
6. Feed the dogs, eat something myself, make a hot mug of tea or coffee.
7. Sit down with my Bible. In the past I’ve never been a person who’s loved getting into the Word, but recently it’s something I’ve fallen in love with. It’s my favorite part of the morning!
8. Around 8:45-9am, fire up my Mac and start on work. Begin with my blog, if it wasn’t scheduled it go live already. Publish to social media.
9. Set my Top 3 for the day- determine what 3 things MUST get done that day, if all else fails!
10. Dig into my inbox. Get it down to 25 or less.
11. Get to skipping on the Top 3!
12. Between 12 and 1, take the pups out for a bathroom break, make myself another hot cup of whatever, grab some lunch. Then back to my office.
13. 4pm- more email.
14. Between 5:30-6pm, close up shop. Head upstairs to enjoy whatever the evening has in store!

The structure might seem a little type A, especially the fact that I’ve included “opening the blinds” as part of my morning ritual. But starting my day in the same way over and over helps me stay on track! My productivity is higher, my job satisfaction is higher, and I’m wasting less time getting started each day. The mornings are my favorite time of day, but by not having any structure, I was WASTING the most productive portion of each day. Now I’m able to utilize that time wisely, making the most that each morning has to offer.

My schedule’s not perfect- it’s still taking some getting used to, but I’ve noticed a huge difference in the days that I skimp and the days that I stick to the program.

I’d love to hear from y’all! What are your favorite routines that set you up for daily success?