the unglamorous workday.
When we peek into the lives of entrepreneurs on Instagram, we usually see gorgeous office spaces, cool events they’ve been invited to, envy-inducing meetings they’re having with super cool people, and the freedom they have to just do whatever the eff they want all day long.
#workfromwherever
From our perspective, they’re living the dream. And in many instances, their lives are probably incredibly dreamy. But the truth that I don’t see people posting about enough is how challenging running a business is. It’s definitely not as glamorous as it looks.
As someone who gets pulled into “compare and despair” quite often while scrolling through my Instagram feed, it’s been so refreshing to see people who honestly share reality of their business lives. I love knowing that the day-to-day of other people isn’t as perfect as it might look sometimes.
You too?
That’s why I wanted to share what a typical workday looks like for me. While there are certainly fun experiences and magical moments sprinkled in, most of the time it’s a lot of the same old stuff.
7:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off. I snooze it for 30 minutes.
8:00 a.m. – Head to the bathroom to do some oil pulling while I take a shower.
8:15 a.m. – Put on my workday uniform, a.k.a. a chambray shirt, yoga pants, and my Ugg slippers. Grab some water with a squeeze of lemon from my kitchen, and make a smoothie.
8:30 a.m. – Either dive right into work at my desk or sit for 10 minutes to meditate and journal.
9:00 a.m. –I’m in full-blown work mode. This looks like: putting my phone on airplane mode so I can dive into copywriting. My focus and creativity are best first thing in the morning, so that’s sacred writing time, especially when I’m on deadline.
12:00 p.m. – Break for a homemade lunch or begin prepping for an afternoon photo shoot or brand clarity session with a client (sometimes I forget to each lunch—working on it!).
3:00 p.m. – Tie up loose ends. From answering emails to polishing up copy to sending follow-ups to clients, the afternoon is usually catch up and “cross off” time.
4:00 p.m. – Go to yoga or a workout class. This is one of the best times for me to take a long walk outside or jump on the subway to head to a class.
7:00 p.m. – This is on average when I end my workday so that I can get dinner going, spend time with my main squeeze, or head to an industry event.
In between client work, you can usually find me…
• Emailing with my bookkeeper
• Writing blog posts for my website
• Creating a Facebook ad or two
• Posting on Instagram
• Strategizing for my online course Your Wellness Brand
• Or having work dates with friends
It’s a pretty ordinary life. The remarkable part is succeeding at not only creating your own schedule, but also earning a decent income and making your clients happy all at the same time.
While I have many goals on my list for the future—in life and in business—I remind myself what I have right now is what I dreamed about just three years ago.
So no matter where you are on your journey, remember that it’s a process that is both incredibly rewarding and unglamorous. It’s not going to look like everyone else’s business. It’s not always going to be fun and full of beautiful moments.
It’s going to challenge you to rise up. To put your nose to the grindstone. And to keep learning and expanding. Don’t strive for glamour. Strive to do work that matters. At the end of the day, that’s the biggest reward of all.
