Let me start off by saying I had a full to-do list for today. I knew ahead of time that I wouldn't get through everything that was on there. While the day isn't over and I still have time to get a few things done, I am not completely disappointed in myself. I know I tried my hardest to complete everything on my list.
With that I think its important to set routines. I am in the beginning stages of learning lettering, and i think it's important to have a routine. I don't have my office or "designated" workspace area, but I take over the dining room table for about two hours. My set-up includes my laptop, either coffee or tea, coupled with a bottle of water, my tools and light Table and my binder that has my work in it. I set up my letters on a grid paper and I have the reference letter on a printed paper. From there, I set up a timer for 90 min on my iPhone and get focused to practice my lettering. I have a day job and I am using the overlap technique, so I make time to practice during the week, and weekends its very easy for me to have a block of time to set up and get going. Here's what my weekday schedules look like: Monday thru Wednesday I wake up between 4:40 am - 5:00 am, go to the gym and do cardio for 45 min, shower get dressed and heat up my car. From 6:00 to 6:40/645 I am on a devotional morning call with two other lovely women. and by 6:50/no later than 7:15 I am on the parkway headed to work. I arrive between 7:30/7:45 and make the first batch of coffee for everyone and then get started on my EWDW. I will write anywhere from thirty minuets to an hour and when I through with writing, I will begin checking my emails. If I have a task that was already sent to me I will get started on it, if not I will read some articles so that I can get familiar with the line of work. I usually have my phone logged into the community and I would get caught up with the backlog. when the day job work is over, I drive home which can take anywhere from 30 min on a good day to an hour, sometimes longer. I am usually home by 6 pm. I get home but if I didn't make it to the gym that morning that's where I will go first. then go home and eat dinner. set up my lettering and get started and going for two hours. I am in bed by 9 pm. If I need a late day, the latest I can go to bed is 11pm. I've used this app called sleepytime where you can put in the time you want to get up and it will tell you the best time to go to sleep for a full nights rest. I also use another app where it gives you information on the average amount of hours you sleep. my average amount of hours of sleep is 5 1/2 hours. i try to get more hours but my body seems to do what it wants. I also toss and turn a lot. I am going to look for more information on ways to get a full nights rest. While this schedule adapts from time to time, I find it best to use something like google calendar to schedule my events. It allows for both visual and sharable scheduling. I am open to trying other apps, so far google calendar works fine.
What are some things you struggle with when it comes to time, scheduling and finding balance?