In these weeks of working remotely, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my productivity, focus, and energy when I get up and exercise, shower, and get dressed for the day. Im not into a lot of makeup right now , so skin care is paramount.
8:00 AM
I drink a glass of warm lemon water, with a scoop of collagen powder. I’m obsessed with the power of rituals, and this is a new one for me that’s a perfect addition to the morning. It doesn’t have much taste, but I find in the morning I’m really thirsty so it goes down fast and takes just a second to mix up—and knowing you’re doing something great for your body sets up the entire day.
While I’m doing all this my son is just waking up and running around the living room. He has a quick breakfast while watching cartoons (ya I know screen time is bad, but it keeps him happy) I’m not a huge breakfast eater, but I’ll sometimes make a smoothie.
9:00 AM
I walk for an hour listening to a podcast. My regulars are impulsive, call her daddy and coffee and chaos.
10:00 AM
Once we’re home Ryder plays for a bit, I usually put on a load of laundry and start to prepare our lunch.
11:30 AM
After lunch it’s nap time for Ryder he naps for around 2 hours so this is when I get the most done.
11:45 AM
At home, I shower my hair is on the dry side, so I don’t shampoo often, but I condition every day. Rahua is one of the first clean hair brands I knew about that actually worked and left my hair soft and feeling healthy. Everything they make is great and smells really fresh.
I let my hair air-dry for a bit, I wash my face and do my a everyday alpha beta peel from Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare (available at Sephora) The. move onto a serum: either the Strawberry Rhubarb hyloronic serum from Eminence or my vitamin C on from Olehenriksin (I alternate). The vitamin C is really strong, and I feel like my skin is better able to absorb other products after using it. I’ve even noticed I use less makeup on my face since I’ve started using it.
Then I apply my mangostein resurfacing concentrate from Eminence to help with my enlarged pores, which also leaves my skin smooth and hydrated—I really love the finish. Sometimes I dab on a little eye cream, which is like a moisturizing secret weapon to keep my concealer from cracking or looking dry.
12:15 PM
While my skin care sinks in, I get dressed and make coffee. I post on Instagram (I do my weeks worth of Instagram posts all in one day so I don’t have to take time everyday to get ready and do picture. I do them all on the weekend and save them to my Instagram drafts) and see if there’s anything urgent in my inbox/email.
12:30 PM
I blow-dry my hair and finish off with my favourite SPF moisturizer, which is perfect for a no-makeup day. I’m learning that you need less makeup when you invest in great skin care and use it consistently. Then I get dressed: My daily uniform is leggings, a loose T shirt, and cute tennis shoes. Starting my day the same way, Monday through Friday, has been a source of calm and control amid the uncertainty.
12:45 PM
I write out my to-do list with stars next to my top three priorities, and then it’s officially work time.I sit down with my second cup of coffee and work on the biggest tasks first, until around 2 (when Ryder is up) This is when I’m my least productive, so I spend the later part of the day on easier tasks or more fun things. I take breaks throughout the day to help structure my time and get me up from behind the screen.
2:00 PM
Ryder wakes up, then it’s snack time. Lately we have been really into bento bin snacks with lots of variety. His favourite is cheese, pickles, gold fish and kobassa.
We spend the rest of the afternoon playing with his toys, doing crafts- usually a painting project that I find off Pinterest, colouring with our favourite egg shaped crayons that are easy for his little hands and sensory bins (his favourite is whip cream, or coloured water in ziplocks in the window- see links)
4:00 PM
Time to finish up work for the day and take Ryder for another neighbourhood walk. Getting outside to feel the sunshine always boosts my mood during this quarantine time.
5:30 PM
This is when I start to prepare dinner to eat at 6:00. I usually put on a cartoon for Ryder while he plays to keep entertained and away from the oven and stove.
6:30 PM
Time for Ryders bath- I always use Dove night time bubble bath and body wash in lavender as well as the lavender body lotion after to help relax hum for a good nights sleep. Then it’s time for his pjs (my favourite are the Kyte baby ones as they are so soft and great for baby’s with eczema) after this we curl up in our rocking chair and I read Ryder a book while he sips on his warm bottle of milk.
7:00 PM (ish)
Ryders bedtime! Woohoo. When I put Ryder to bed he is alway in our favourite sleep sacs as well as he has a Krane baby humidifier and a dream egg sound machine. Ryder doesn’t like being in the complete dark so we have a hemilayan salt lamp in his room. It gives a great glow as well as I love the health benefits associated with them.
7:30 PM
I converted my dinning room into a quarantine yoga studio/ gym area. I also bought a exercise ball, a jump rope, weighted hula hoop and some hand weights. I spend at least thirty minutes moving and stretching, and it drastically improves my sleep.
8:00 PM
After a mini work out, I wash off in the bath. I start by giving myself a head-to-toe lymphatic massage with a body scrub, then rinse it off.
After that I usually fill the bath with tonssss of Epson salts as I have arthritis in both my knees. I also have a glass of wine and attempted to get some of my book reading done. Right now I’m currently reading the Kickass Single Mom.
9:00 PM
After my warm bath I curl into bed watch some Netflix, and then work for another hour or so (from the comfort of my bed) I’m most productive around 10p.m. This is the time when I work on my blog posts, or finish up any other work I didn’t complete (reading brand deal contacts, replying to Instagram comments, looking for blog post inspiration... etc)
11:00 PM
This is the time I take for my extensive night time skin routine. (check out that blog post) I typically do a face mask every night sand while it’s on my face I watch another episode of my new favourite Netflix show Grave and Frankie. Once the episode is done I use my eye cream and moisturizer and then its back to bed for one more final episode.
12:00 PM
BED TIME (finally)