Right now, no two days of my life are the same. I work at different places each day, have different classes, meet with different students, and I usually have to adjust my personal life accordingly. This post will chronicle what a typical Wednesday looks like for me this semester!
7:30 AM: My alarm goes off, but I don't really need to be up for a while. I usually set my alarm thirty minutes to an hour earlier than when I actually need to get out of bed because I have a SERIOUS snooze button addiction. Depending on how tired I am I can literally hit the snooze button over and over again for an hour. It's a problem.
8:10 AM: The time I actually got out of bed this past Wednesday. (I forgot to shut off my alarm, as you can see in the above photo.) I'll get up, brush my teeth, and do morning routine type things. I'm usually really dehydrated when I wake up so I tend to drink a lot of water to start the day off. I always, always, ALWAYS need water by my bed in case I feel parched in the middle of the night.
I had a few things to finish up on this particular Wednesday morning, so as I was waking up I sat in bed and accomplished those tasks. This Wednesday included finishing up and publishing a blog post! I was behind on writing blog posts this week (it's been SO BUSY) so this week's Tuesday post went out on Wednesday. (Super exciting, I know.) I also made sure I say good morning to Brett before letting the day get too far away from me! (Try not to vomit at how "cute couple"-y we are in our texts.)
Brett's currently in Florida on a recruiting trip for his job, as New England slowly enters an ice age.
9:00 AM: Time to really get moving for the day. 9 times out of 10, I make my bed before leaving my apartment. I just really love coming home to a made bed, and it makes your whole room look 10 times cleaner and organized than it may actually be. It only takes about 2 minutes, so why not put in the extra effort? It looks like I slept pretty gently the night before this particular day so it was pretty easy to get everything back to where it needs to go, but some nights I kick my blankets all over the place. Who knows.
INSTA-CLEAN.
I don't have to be in to work until 12PM on Wednesdays, so I try to take advantage of the free time I have off in the morning. I usually won't get home until 11PM or so on Wednesday nights and usually all I want to do is shut my brain off, so mornings are prime time for me to GSD! This Wednesday I kicked off my day with some yoga.
9:50 AM: Headed over to the gym! As you've read in basically every post for the last month, Massachusetts is a wintery hell wonderland right now. This is what my walk across campus to the gym currently looks like:
I usually use the gym for its cardio machines, specifically the treadmill. (Sometimes I'll lift if I have time... I know, I know, I need to be better about this.) Running outside in the winter can be really nerve-wracking, especially in the area I live in (fairly traffic-y with snow banks lining the roads taller than me - not the best combination for not getting hit by a car), so I've been running inside since Juno hit in January. Sad, but a lot easier to deal with. I like to pass the time by watching trashy shows. The latest episode of Real World was the show I watched on this day! #noshame
10:30 AM: Usually my workout cut-off time so I can get back to my apartment, shower, change, and get ready to leave for work.
I've been rocking black pants, a comfy sweater and scarf, my winter boots and fuzzy socks pretty much every day to work. It's basically my winter uniform. When there's snow on the ground I don't tend to get too adventurous with my wardrobe... getting outside is enough effort as it is!
I usually like to be on the road by 11:15 to give myself plenty of time to arrive right at noon. I was a bit behind on Wednesday but I'm usually quick about making up for lost time! (i.e. Having Tupperware full of fruits and vegetables ready to go in my fridge to throw in my bag if I'm in a rush so I have something healthy to snack on at work. I promise the gummy bears are the only junk food item in there, and are usually used as comfort food during class!)
11:20 AM: On the road to BSU. It's been a nightmare driving everywhere lately. The snowbanks take up a solid portion of the roads and when you're trying to turn into traffic you cannot see around them. I was even hitting traffic on this day for snow clean up crews to get snow off the roads and free up some lanes. Crazy.
This is what a two-lane, two-way street looks like right now.
Can't see a thing around snow banks. You basically just have to drive into the road and hope no one blindsides you.
The clean up crew I was sitting in traffic for.
For whatever reason when I'm as busy as I am during the semester, I often go long periods of time without eating. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm literally so busy doing other things that I forget to eat. I did that this Wednesday, so I made sure to stop at my local Dunk's for a quick road bagel for brunch. Then it was highway time!
On the way into work I'll usually listen to sports talk radio (the Sports Hub, for my fellow Boston sports fans). I don't find myself really sitting down to watch games during the semester with all I have to do, but I enjoy getting updates through the morning & midday shows. They're usually pretty entertaining and make the drive go by faster!
12:10 PM: Again, a bit behind schedule but I made it to work. This Wednesday I had back-to-back meetings scheduled all afternoon, but pretty much all of them cancelled on me which gave me the opportunity to get some administrative tasks done. Much needed! As you know, I rely very heavily on my planner to help me navigate my crazy schedule and list of to-do's. (The page on the left was what I was working off of for this day!)
1:45 PM: Much needed mid-afternoon coffee time! There's actually a Dunk's in the same building I work in, which is pretty dangerous for all of us coffee addicts that work in the office. My co-advisor for PC and I have been making it a bit of a post-meeting routine the past few weeks! (Hence why I often don't drink coffee in the morning - I know I'll likely get one in the afternoon!)
4:00 PM: Due to the Monday holiday, all Monday classes were shifted to Wednesday, making it so I had a lovely 6 hours of class scheduled for this night. (4 PM to 9:40ish PM, depending how class goes.) Each of the classes in our program meet once a week for about 3 hours, and on Mondays I usually have two classes - Student Affairs Administration and Helping Skills for Student Affairs Professionals. I also have two Wednesday classes which meet on a bit of an irregular schedule (one is bi-weekly and one meets 5 or 6 times during the semester), so it may not have made a difference either way on this night!
It randomly started dumping snow while I was driving and it accumulated on the road pretty quickly. I say it every year, but this year I am truly desperate for the winter to end. My car has been a trooper but I don't know how much longer poor Dory can hold up!
10:40 PM: Finally get back to my apartment. I am trying to eat more plant based foods just to feel better and be healthier, so I snacked on fruits, veggies, and a granola bar throughout the day and evening (I didn't end up eating the gummy bears! #willpower). It really isn't filling at all, so I'm generally starving when I walk through the door but I'm usually waaaay to exhausted to cook anything extravagant. This night I made myself some brinner consisting of a blueberry bagel with butter and some scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese. Easy and delicious!
11:30 PM: After I shove food in my face, I'll crawl into bed to say goodnight to Brett over FaceTime and watch Netflix until I pass out, which is usually around 12 or 1 AM. If I have more energy I'll read or write, but after 6 hours of class, all you want to do is not think anymore!
It's a long day but it really has just become part of my life. I do recognize that I'm extremely busy and that my schedule is insane, but I'm 100% used to it at this point and don't really mind it at all. Do I wish I had more time to myself? Absolutely. But I know once grad school leaves the picture I definitely will. Only a few more months! :)
I'd love to see your Day in the Life posts!
Leave the link in the comments if you do one or have one and I'll check it out. :)
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! <3
