A Day In The Life {The Personal Time Edition}

So ya’ll know that, at this point in my life, I’m a stay at home mom. This means that I have virtually zero time to myself. So once (sometimes twice) a week I escape to the library, coffee shop, or my local B&N for a bit of ‘me’ time. Without these weekly dates with myself, I think I’d go crazy. So here’s how I try to make the most of that time…

5:30 PM ⏱ Arrive at the library. I grab a table, set up my laptop, and pull out my planner and notebook. I grab some tea from the library cafe. First things first, I decide on a meal plan for the week, grab some recipes from Pinterest, and make a quick grocery list. Then I order a couple of things we need from Amazon, add some Christmas movies to our Netflix cue, update my planner for the coming week, grab my library holds and put a few more things on hold.

6:00 PM ⏱ Blog time. I read through my Feedly reader, take a quick scroll through Instagram- commenting on both IG and blogs if I have time (I wish I had more time to do this) and save some links to look at later on. I check our shared Evernote calender to see what Tanya and I have planned for the week as far as blog posts. Then I start writing, editing photos, and updating our calendar. This time I have two posts to write and I want to start on our weekend links post too. I finish up and schedule my stuff to post on their scheduled days.

7:15 PM ⏱ Study time. Even though I’ve finished with grad school, I’m currently working on some personal study goals. My undergrad is in history with an emphasis on art history. Yes, I am the total nerd that adored, and now misses my classes something terrible. Anyway, I’m using a combination of books from the library, old text books from college, and the Khan Academy app (love). I’m currently studying the Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties. So I take 30 minutes to listen to a couple of Khan Academy lessons and read some articles I’ve pulled from the library website. I also bookmark a documentary on the history channel to watch at a later date.

8:00 PM ⏱ Book time. I take a quick brain break and scroll through Instagram on my phone again. Then I wander the stacks listening to my audio book. I really shouldn’t do this because I always end up lamenting the fact that I’ll never have time to read everything I want to read. Back at the table I pull out my stitching supplies. Okay- don’t laugh. I know I’m a grandma. I grew up cross stitching and have just recently been trying to teach myself to embroider. So I work on a few basic stitches while continuing my audio book (tonight I’m still listening to The Rook, Daniel O’Malley).

8:30 PM ⏱ Pack It Up. I pack all my stuff away and stow my headphones. I move away from the table and over to one of the comfy chairs by the window. I use my remaining time to read my paperback (The Mime Order, Samantha Shannon). Library nights are some of my only reading time lately so I try to pack as much in as I can. When I finish the chapter I head over and check out my books from that night.

9:00 PM ⏱ Just A Few Things More. The library is closed and I’m sitting in my car. I’m not quite ready to leave yet so I turn on the radio and play a couple of games of I Love Hue and World Geography on my phone. I have never been a game player of any kind, really. But recently, I started playing these two and now I’m hooked.

9:15 PM ⏱ On The Way Home. I’m on my way home now but I’ll stop at the grocery store first and pick up the things on my list. Grocery shopping all by myself, at 9 pm has got to be one of the quietest and most peaceful times of my week. Ha! I’m home by 10, quickly put the groceries away, do my bedtime routine, and pass the f out. Night!

How do you find time to yourself each week?

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