25th Jan 2021
I read one of the "My Typical Day" posts, started by Colin Devroe, by Cassie Evans a little while ago. I don't tend to be 'tagged' into these sorts of things, which is totally fine, but I've enjoyed reading some others and mulling over what would go into mine. I guess I might as well just write it!
Luckily I have no real problem defining a typical day, because they're very similar – and I like that. I am a creature of habit, and find comfort in not having to think too much about what I'm doing next. Although this will describe a normal week day, I'm the same with weekends – if it's not on the calendar in advance, I'm unlikely to want to do it. Anyway, on with the schedule...
~07:00: My alarm clock is my daughter, who comes in at or just before 7am for a snuggle and to tell me about the previous nights dreams. Then we go do the same to Mummy (I snore like a train, so it's safer and more sane for us to sleep in different rooms) and get on with the morning routine. Feed the dog, get nursery lunch ready, have breakfast and a cup of tea. This is also the time for the first little bit of work, because it's a while until I get into anything meaty as you'll see. I just check and reply to a few emails and set up my todo list at this point.
~08:20: Next up is the walk to nursery with Eleanor, which has been a highlight for as long as we've been able to do it. We've always had this great route over an allotment and meadow that sits directly between our house and nursery, so in the summer it looks amazing and in the winter we can do some great squelching in wellies – not a bad start to any day. Unfortunately the meadow has just been closed off to develop some houses on, so we've got a more boring route, but it's a fun chance to chat with her and get some more insight into the mind of a 3 year old.
~09:00: By the time I get back it's around 9am and time to head out for a quick dog walk if he hasn't been out already, just 20-30 minutes or so around the block. At the moment he's 6 months old so we give him a couple of short walks per day during the week and something more adventurous at the weekend.
~09:30: Time for a run – I find if I don't do it at this point it'll either not get done or I'll just be grumpy until I do (mainly because of the change of routine), so work can wait for a bit longer. Usually somewhere around to 40-60 minutes mark, and definitely nothing too strenuous during the week. Typically 8-10km. This year, like every other, I've got a yearning for progression in running that needs me to stay injury free. That's something I haven't managed for the last few years, so I'm taking it extra careful at the moment with a body that's a lot different to the one I had back when I was slightly above average instead of well below it! Usually I'll listen to a podcast during this time, and they're almost always running related. I do mean to get into something else, but creature of habit and all that. Dirt Church Radio also happens to be incredible, so the motivation to find something else is low.
~10:30-12:00: Once I'm in from that and showered I can get sat down for some work. I can get a good hour or so of efficient work in that will be focussed on any one of the services offered by Prestanda, but usually either providing insight to a set of data or some client tool development.
12:00: Same every day: Rice with mackerel. That's my equivalent of the Steve Jobs "one outfit" thing, except not because I think somehow it makes me better at doing my job. I don't like having to think about food, and this meal takes me 5 minutes from noticing the time to having finished it.
12:05-15:30: My biggest block of work time, usually the same as before lunch. The aim of this block before kid gets home is to have enough done to consider the day productive, because I'm definitely not all about that 9-5 "you must have done 8 hours in a day otherwise you're not working hard enough" rubbish. If I can get enough done in 4-5 hours that means my clients feel they've gotten value, and I have provided my family with enough resources to have the fun we want to have, then I'll call that a win. Obviously there are some days that demand more, and the beauty of having that flexibility means that I don't mind working the 12-16 hour days when they come around and are necessary.
15:30-19:00: This is my most variable part of the day. If I need to work at this point then I do, but if not then I'd rather be playing some games, doing some learning, or just watching TV with kid. There's also her dinner time during this, which is usually the biggest battle of the day. She's about as motivated by food as I am and we can't just chuck her favourite of pesto pasta at her and call ourselves responsible, so there's likely to be some tension here ranging from bartering through to something resembling world war three depending on the moods of everyone involved.
19:00-19:30: Bath, story and bed for Eleanor.
19:30-10:30: Dinner, typically sorted by Mrs D not because it's the 1950s but because otherwise she knows we'd just eat the same thing every day! Fridays is curry day though, which I sort. By ordering it online. The exact same thing every week. After that, either a decent amount of TV watching and downtime with Mrs D (House of Games is a current favourite) or some sim racing with my team at NOMAD. If I have to, there's always the opportunity for some work here too. Usually it's got to be something that's either incredibly exciting, super time critical, or that I won't be able to switch off of until I get it done, for me to be working in this slot.
10:30: Bed. Sometimes I'll read a book for a bit, most of the time I'll do some doom-scrolling to remember that outside of my little bubble the world is on fire. Good fuel for dreams.
That's been fun to write out. Writing it out makes it really obvious how much of a creature of habit I am, and I wonder whether I should break out of that a bit. I probably won't though, I'm happy with how my life is, and if it ain't broke...
Photo by Artur Shamsutdinov on Unsplash
