075: A Day in Our Lives + How We Avoid Burnout

Get Back To Design: Design Business | Designer | Creative Business

In episode 50, we shared about how we structure our days to work best for our schedule and attempt to have a work/life balance through it all. Since that episode aired, there is so much that has changed in our lives. There are now two babies in the mix along with other life updates. We wanted to update our listeners on what our days look like more recently.

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Krista’s Day in the Life

Looking back at our notes and comments from episode 50 certainly made me laugh. Back then I was really struggling balancing work and life and baby and everything else. A baby definitely changes things. Although some things have still remained the same, honestly, a lot has changed completely.

One major difference is that I no longer work nights and weekends. In 2018, I put in a lot of overtime after hours, but after I completed my 2019 PowerSheets prep, I realized that putting in that much extra time and taking that away from my family couldn’t continue.

I have also gotten so much more focused on what is a true “yes” and have gotten a little better at saying no to things that don’t fire me up. Social media isn’t as big of a part of my daily equation anymore either. Getting in my inbox is another area that I have changed a bit. If I make it in my Gmail account two times a week, it’s been a good week.

With all of that in mind, here is a closer look at my daily schedule for those of you who like a little bit more detail!

5 – 5:30 am: Get up to either workout or do a quick devotional
5:45 am: Tahlia is up. We normally eat breakfast and play some during this time.
8:30 am: Tahlia goes down for her first nap and begin working on my to-do list. I assign items to my team or complete retainer work.
10 am: Tahila is up and I take a short break to get her ready for daycare.
10:15 am: Back to work at this point. I like to focus on custom development projects during this time. I fit in a 20-30 minute break for lunch around noon to check out a podcast or catch up on Instagram while I am eating.
2:00 pm: Go get Tahlia from daycare and either play for a little bit or she goes down for her 2nd nap of the day.
2:30 pm: I try to fit in a few more minutes of work time before she wakes up. Not going to lie, most times I am not very focused at this point. I try to do smaller tasks during this point of the day.
Around 3 pm: Tahlia is up and we play. Work is completed for the day at this point.

I try to find a good balance between making time for the work that I love and spending time with the ones I love. Daycare has been such a blessing to make both of those things happen. While there seems to be quite a bit of pressure in the online space in both directions when it comes to daycare, I try not to dwell on it too much. Either way, don’t let people’s own experiences and opinions make you feel guilty one way or another…do what works best for your business, family, and kiddos!

Kory’s Day in the Life

In episode 50 I said I didn’t do anything strict with my days, and quite frankly, I still don’t! The biggest difference for me is that I now have to work in smaller blocks of time since I choose to keep Emma home with me.

Before I dive into my schedule I want to share a quick caveat that in 2019 I’m not actively marketing my design business. In fact, in October 2018 I decided to no longer take on 1:1 design clients unless someone comes through my inbox with a really exciting project. Instead, my work time is now focused 100% on Coded Creative, which means that working about 4.5-5 hours per day is enough for me. This may not be enough for you, and if not, I genuinely do not want to make you feel bad for the decisions you make for your family!

So with that being said, here’s a super quick breakdown of what days look like at my house:

7-7:30 am: Get up with Emma. If I wake up before Emma most mornings I’ll use that time to make a chai latte and have some quiet time to check out Instagram.
8:30 am: Breakfast and then playing with Emma.
9:30 am: Emma’s first nap and my first big chunk of time to work. I generally will start by journaling and having some time to myself, before moving on to emails and the most important tasks of the day
11:30 am: Emma’s up. We play, have lunch, and occasionally do fun stuff during this time like run to Target (yes, even on week days!)
2:00 pm: Emma’s second nap and back to work. I power through anything that must get done before the EOD
3:30-4 pm: Emma’s up for the rest of the day

A few added things I want to note here would be that even though I’m generally not working while Emma’s awake, I still fire off quick email responses from my phone while she’s eating or playing by herself. I also spend an extra hour or so before bed working on fun personal projects, which gives me some extra time that I may not have during the day.

How Krista Avoids Burnout

I seriously give all of the credit to Kory for introducing me to PowerSheets. It helped give me a huge wake up call as to what my actual priorities and goals are. I realized that business is not the priority and that helped me with restructuring my days to reflect that. Since I no longer work on the weekends or late at night, I am really intentional and focused with the time I do have to work. Being very clear on client boundaries and how many projects I take on at a time is a huge contributor to me balancing it all and avoiding burnout. Plus, having a killer team helps a TON!

How Kory Avoids Burnout

Since I’m not working very much during the day, I find that I don’t burn out quite as easily. Having the forced breaks during my day to shift my focus back to my family really helps give me a mental break from work. If I’m not feeling working on something in particular or just during that time, I lean into it and try to focus on something else. Not having clients really helps with that as well.

I’ve also found that planning out my year in December has massively helped how much work I put on my plate. I’m a chronic multitasker, but at the end of last year I created a Trello List with my whole year planned out for Coded Creative. Over the past few months I’ve still moved a few things around depending on if I’m finishing a task quicker than I expected or if it’s taking me longer than I have time for. But it’s been a real game changer for me. I also have been using PowerSheets for about 4ish years to help create a great work / life balance throughout the month.

Our friendly Reminder

Our days may end up looking similar to yours or completely different. It is all about making it work for YOU and the lifestyle you want to live. It’s okay if you work more or less than what people tell you that you “should.” Whatever you do, just be intentional with it all and make space in your life for living to help avoid burnout.

Resources

• Lara Casey’s PowerSheets (affiliate link)

The post 075: A Day in Our Lives + How We Avoid Burnout appeared first on Get Back To Design.