Before having Llewyn, I had a pretty good daily routine. Woke up, exercised, did my Bible reading, and then sat down for the various tasks of work (which I also scheduled out based on what needed to be done). But for the last 7 months, I’ve gone through different phases of what worked and what was even feasible to try to accomplish in one day. Eventually, though, you have to aim to achieve SOME sort of routine for your own (and your baby’s!) sanity. Now that Llewyn is a little older and is on a more regular schedule, this is what my ideal day looks like.

7:15/7:30 – Wake up, get Llewyn up, feed him
8:00 – Go downstairs, make coffee/breakfast & let him play on his mat or exersaucer
8:30 – A little bit of personal/Bible reading/etc while he plays
9:15 – Put Llewyn down for his nap & workout/shower
10:15 – Llewyn is back up, feed him
10:45 – Once Llewyn is situated with some toys, begin work on whatever is pressing for the day
12:15 – Llewyn goes back down for a nap (usually his longer one) / focused time on work projects
2:00 – Llewyn is back up, feed him/play with him
2:30 – Working more as long as Llewyn is happy
3:45 – Llewyn goes back down for one more short nap, more focused time for work
4:30 – Llewyn is up, feed him
5:00 – Straighten the house and focus on enjoying time with Llewyn and Aaron
8:00 – Llewyn is in bed for the night / Spend time with Aaron, work on household stuff OR more time for work projects that need to be done
10:00 – Wrap up any work/household stuff
11:15/11:30 – Go to bed

The reality is, during the day, I only have about 3.5 hours (his nap times) of uninterrupted time to get stuff done. That’s not a lot. I can typically get quite a bit done while he’s awake, too, but it’s often in 15-minute increments between him playing, etc. So while I used to have a definite “end time” for my work day when Aaron would get home, these days I often have to use time in the evening to focus on getting some more work done. I absolutely believe work/life balance is important, and prioritizing time with Aaron in the evening remains top of the list. But he often has basketball or football games he wants to watch, and I can be sitting on the couch with my laptop editing or writing blog posts, etc, and still chatting with him. Other nights, we both spend more focused time together. But our evening routine just has to ebb and flow a bit with the particular needs of that day or week.

Whether you’re a parent, still full-time at a day job and trying to make your business work on the side, or have some other major time constrains, the point is to find an ideal day that works for YOU and your life. I fully expect this to change as Llewyn grows, and to constantly be tweaking what my “normal day” looks like. But the key is being on the same page as your spouse, and always knowing which things are non-negotiable (like time together as a family) and which things are flexible (like WHEN you spend time together, or what household stuff can be put off in order to get some work done).

I’ll also be sharing what my ideal week looks like soon, so that I know what to focus on each day when I have uninterrupted work time.

If you’ve never written out what your ideal day looks like, I’d encourage you to do so! It’s great accountability to help get more routine established in your life and I know I always find it interesting to see how others schedule out their time and make this whole owning-a-business-thing work for them! Feel free to link me to your own posts in the comments if you’ve shared on your own blog!