My typical day

Here is a general overview of a typical day for me. Routine makes me happy but it also lends to my productivity. The more each day is the same the more I can accomplish.

I’m sharing it because I would like to see other people post their typical days – as mundane as they may be. To that end I’m doing the old-school blogging tactic of tagging others to share their typical day. I’m tagging Manton Reece, Julia Evans, Dan Mall, Chris Coyier, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Matt Mullenweg, and Jeremy Keith.

Update, January 19, 2021: Many of the above tagged have responded with their own posts on their own blogs! And they, in turn, have tagged others! I’m going to keep track of all of the posts that I see and put them under my typicalday tag. So if you’re interested in the routines of others, I suggest you browse through them. There are some gems already!

If you’d like to share your schedule or tag others please do and let me know about it!

6-6:30am – I usually wake in this window. If I don’t, by 6:30 the Apple Watch taps me on wrist.
6:30-7:30 – Read and meditate on daily scripture using JW Library app. Shower. Dress. Coffee. Recently, Duolingo Spanish lesson. I also typically watch about 20 minutes of YouTube. Most of which is saved in my Watch Later list there or in Unmark. Latest topics include photography, chess, NBA highlights.
7:30am – Drive to work. Listen to a podcast in Pocket Casts.
8am – Arrive at work. Virtual asynchronous “stand-up” in Trello with team remarking what will be happening for the day.
8-9am – Project management in Trello in some form. Making sure the team has what they need to get their work done. Work of some form usually prepping for any meetings. Slow days I open NetNewsWire.
9am – Daily meeting with CEO. Pretty much a stand-up.
9:30-12am – Work.
12pm – Packed lunch. Catch up on news (very briefly, usually via Twitter). 20 minutes of YouTube. Usually something I am learning from programming to marketing.
1-2:30pm – I schedule any meetings in this time period before I get back to work after lunch. Usually only on a single weekday. So if I may have a meeting at 1pm on a Tuesday but no other day that week. So, only about 10-20% of the time do I have an afternoon meeting.
2:30-4pm – Work. Listen to music while working via Apple Music. Sometimes a podcast or a long YouTube video in picture-in-picture but only if I can concentrate.
4:30pm – Typically read a few things in my Unmark queue. Then make end day notes for the next day.
4:30-5pm – Arrive home. Dinner.
6-10pm – My time. This can be filled with time in my darkroom, watching some TV, or yes, more YouTube. Reading a book, etc.
10-11pm Go to bed.

At first glance it may seem like my week is meeting heavy. However, most weeks my meetings are less than 4 hours total. When meetings are on a schedule, have a purpose and most often an agenda you’re able to block those times out in a such a way that you remain productive in the other times. Unexpected meetings with no agenda are the ones that are the killer. Very short daily meetings cut down on the need for any other meetings.

Obviously, this schedule varies a lot. I may have meetings with new clients or other things that break up my day. But in general I’m able to keep this routine and I’m feeling just about as productive as I’ve ever been in my career.