What My Day REALLY Looks Like…

I have had this post on my “to-do” list for months. Seriously, at lease since last June. Without going into too much detail (you can catch up on all of those deets here), I left my 9-5 corporate job in January 2017. My focus was around jumping into blogging full time and managing Adorn. In addition to those two businesses, I also worked a few remote contracting gigs and balanced one off projects, a personal life and traveling. To say my day-to-day was a little crazy would be a huge understatement but I’m 100% positive that it as because of that craziness that made 2017 my favorite year yet. My favorite…and the most teachable.

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As a blogger, and I know I’m not alone, I always get two types of interactions with folks who are interested in the business.

1. What do you actually do?
2. I want to start a blog and get free clothes!

The first of which, I’m going to address (sort of ) in today’s post. The second statement annoys me more than I can put into words but I have to remember that these people just have no idea what actually goes into running a blog. So, today’s post should help with that, too.

As I mentioned before, I’m currently blogging full time (which means LaurenElyce.com is my main hustle and main source of income). I also run Adorn Media Group with my blogger bestie Megan of Lush to Blush. We offer consulting + marketing services for bloggers, lifestyle + fashion brands, etc. As of today, I’m currently not taking on any contracting projects but that will probably change in a few weeks. And on top of those things, I’m trying to get in two-a-day workouts for the next few weeks (attempting to build some healthier habits), traveling a ton and doing what I can to also have a personal life and spend more time with friends and family. I don’t have kids. I’m not married. I literally just take care of myself. So, for all of my mom readers out there – I”m sure you’re rolling your eyes at me. For me, this is my current workload and I think I’ve finally mastered the best way to juggle it.

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Check out my “rough” day-to-day below and some tips for balancing and finding organization in your life no matter what your “life” actually looks like!

A Day in the Life…

of a blogger, business owner, fun-lover and sometimes super lazy couch potato

8:00am This is around the time I naturally wake up each day (I don’t set an alarm anymore). First thing, I go through my inbox from bed and mark the emails I need to respond to that day/follow up with. After popping out of bed (more like slowly rolling) I drink a huge glass of water, grab a banana and then head to the gym in my building or to The Forum for a BBG session). 
 
9:30am After I shower, I eat breakfast and start sorting through my to-do’s for the day. Throughout the week, I drop my to-dos for the week into daily tabs in my Reminders app. I also have a general list of things I need to do each day for the admin responsibilities for Lauren Elyce and Adorn. I take a look at all of those lists and then write down that day’s items in my physical agenda (I live for crossing things off a list with a pen). **Get a peek at some of my daily admin tasks below
 
10:00am Now that I’m organized for the day, I’ll typically spend the next few hours working through my list. I try to start with the everyday items first and et those crossed off before lunch.
 
12:00pm Lunch break! I usually eat at home ad have been trying to take a break from work while eating so I can get a little break from my computer.
 
12:30pm I get back to my list and work on all items until I’m done. Sometimes I wrap around 4pm and sometimes I wrap around 11pm. It just depends on the size of the list and any other things I might have scheduled for the rest of the day. I’ve bee trying lately to plan ahead so I don’t have to do much past at least 6pm. It’s important that I still get some “downtime” and am not always glued to my screen.
 
7:00pm(ish) I’ll try to get in a second workout for the day with something scheduled through Class Pass. I love spin classes and typically go to a 6:30 or 7:30 class after wrapping up tasks for the day (or taking a break ha)
 
8:00pm I either eat a small dinner before my evening workout and then grab a smoothie afterwards OR I’ll wait until after my workout to eat dinner with Brandon. We’ve each been trying to take at least one night a week to cook and then we’ll eat leftovers or order out.
 
9:00pm After eating and showering and getting into my comfiest sweats, I’ll either plop down on the couch with my laptop and finish up projects for the day or start binge watching an ew show or movie. I pour myself a glass of wine, make sure all items are crossed off my list (or reassigned to the next day), double check that all emails have been answered and then shut my computer down for the evening.
 
11:00pm At this point, I’m either in the bed watching Netflix or on the couch watching a movie. I definitely don’t do work this late. If it isn’t done by 10pm, it’s not getting done today!

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As promised, below is a breakdown of my admin tasks I assign throughout the week for my blog. I’ve also included screenshots of the Reminders workflow I use.

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Daily To Dos

Comment on 20 blogs

Promo blog post on stories

Pin post of the day to pinterest

External pinning

Twitter engagement

IG engagement

FB engagement

Instagram Stories content

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Weekly To Dos

(M) Blog posts for next week

(M) Schedule FB, Twi and Pin for next week’s posts

(M) Schedule IGs and LTKs for the week

(T) Social for the next week (FB and Twi)

(T) Blog collab research

(T) Update Lauren’s Picks on Home Page

(W) Blog pitching

(W) Brainstorming new post ideas, filling out Ed Cal for blog and social

(Th) Blog pitch follow up

(Th) Tailwind scheudling: My Posts

(F) Udpate income and expenses for the week in quickbooks

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I also have a list of daily and weekly items for Adorn and any ongoing contracting projects that I’ll add when making my daily list.

The Reminders app is literally my best friend (for apple users). I create a Week of:___  list and then on Sunday, will assign those items to days throughout the week. I also keep other to do lists here like packing lists, plannig for projects, shot lists, etc.

And that’s it folks. That’s my typical day and how I manage it. Some days I’ll have a photo shoot or a coffee date. Some days I take a “break” and work into the late hight hours. But this is the outline I try to stick with. I’ve experimented with setting business hours and it just didn’t work for me. This business is a flexible one and I’m learning to adapt and leave behind a little of the structure I’m used to with a corporate, in-office job.

For the most part, I work from home but am trying to get into a coffee shop or co working space at least 2 days a week.

But that’s about it. It’s not super exciting and glamourous. I usually look like a bum for the day and am stuck to my computer and phone screen but I literally wouldn’t want to be doing anything else!

I hope this was a little helpful for fellow bloggers or for any of my readers who were just curious what I do all day. Have more questions or want to see more “blogging behind the scenes” – drop ’em below!

GET THE LOOK

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Photos by Shelby Gordon.