Recently, many readers have asked me to write a “Day in the Life” post describing a typical day. Since my daily routine shifts frequently, I thought tracking and sharing one of my average days would be fun and helpful to others.
I also wanted to clear up some common misconceptions about what online business owners, freelancers, and bloggers actually do each day.
No, I don’t spend my whole day drinking coffee and scrolling Facebook. In fact, that’s what many people assume about the daily life of someone who runs an online business.
The reality is that I do real work—lots of it. Surprising, I know. 🙂
It wasn’t easy to write this because my average day can vary widely. One of the things I love most about freelancing is the freedom to set my own schedule and the flexibility to change it whenever I need.
Below is a typical workday for me as an online business owner, freelance writer, and blogger. I’m not perfect and I do let myself relax sometimes.
I’ll binge-watch a show occasionally, waste time on social media, and give my dogs long hugs. Some days I work intensely; other days I might do very little.
My workday is often scattered and looks messy on paper, so it’s difficult to pin down an exact number of daily hours.
8:00–8:30 a.m. — Wake up
On weekdays I usually wake up around 8 a.m. If I worked late the night before, that can change, but I generally like to start my morning early.
I often stay in bed and work for 30–60 minutes, checking and replying to emails, browsing Instagram and Facebook, and pinning images on Pinterest.
9:00 a.m. — Breakfast and email
I get out of bed, let the dogs outside, feed them, and make breakfast. Our typical meals are oatmeal with banana or scrambled eggs with peppers and toast. While I eat, I usually respond to emails and blog comments—my laptop is almost always within reach.
10:00 a.m. — Focused work
After breakfast I get dressed and start a focused work session for about an hour. Mornings often begin with a long list of emails to answer—there are usually dozens waiting for me.
If I’m not answering emails, I’ll catch up on favorite blogs and recent posts from other bloggers. Reading around other blogs is one of my favorite parts of the day and I typically spend an hour or two daily networking, reading, and engaging with others.
I also try to schedule phone calls for the morning so the rest of the day stays open and flexible.
11:00 a.m. — Workout
About this time I either visit the rock climbing gym or go for a hike. Recently we’ve been climbing more because the outdoor temperatures have been extremely high, but outdoor hikes and climbing trips can last 4–5 hours when we go out of town.
Gym climbing sessions usually take around two hours. Morning workouts clear my head and make the rest of my day more productive.
1:00 p.m. — Lunch and deeper work
Lunch marks the start of deeper work sessions. This is when I handle client projects, outline articles, create images for blog posts, schedule social media, reply to mastermind group threads, and so on. I often receive well over 100 real emails a day that require responses.
I aim to work on at least one blog post each day—writing, drafting, or editing. Posts on my site typically range from 1,500 to 2,500 words and can take multiple hours or days to complete.
4:00 p.m. — Another meal and continued work
We eat several sizable meals with snacks between them. After eating, I return to projects—proofreading posts, consulting with clients, checking sites I manage, and handling other ongoing tasks.
Even after multiple edits, something sometimes slips by; I’ve often read the same post multiple times and still find one more tweak to make.
7:00 p.m. — Dinner and relaxation
Dinner is usually followed by a little downtime. I’ll watch TV or sometimes ride my bike to the grocery store if we’re missing something for a meal. Evening downtime helps me reset for the later work sessions.
9:00 p.m. — Evening walk
We take the dogs for an hour-long walk as the sun sets. It’s cooler and more pleasant at that time, and the walk is a steady, calming routine we enjoy together.
10:00 p.m. — Start winding down
I begin getting ready for bed—shower, pajamas, and occasionally catching up on the news. This is the transitional time to slow down before the final work stretch.
11:00 p.m. — Late-night work
Even after crawling into bed, I often work for a few more hours from my laptop. Oddly enough, I tend to be very productive working from bed—this is when I frequently finish tasks and polish posts.
Did any part of this schedule surprise you? If you had a flexible schedule, what would you change? What questions do you have about my typical workday?