A Week in My Life: What I Do With My Free Afternoons.

      Some of the most frequent questions that I get asked from both real life friends and blog readers alike are about time management. With my unique M-F work schedule as a morning show host, people are often curious how I spend my time with having mostly free afternoons after work. I also often get questions about how I balance blogging and working full-time. I've now been on the crazy morning radio work schedule for two and a half years, and it's become second nature to me. I honestly don't think what I do most days in the afternoons is very exciting at all haha! But on the contrary, I love seeing day or week in the life type posts from other bloggers and influencers, so I decided to go ahead and share mine.

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{Photo originally from this post}

Top {sold out, similar here} // Jeans // Purse // Blue light glasses

     Here's a full week of what I did each weekday after getting out of work! Friday's schedule was a bit abnormal as I got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after work, but I will say that I'm typically pretty sleepy on Fridays to begin with (since that's my fifth day in a row of waking up super early). So the fact that it was a very chill Friday after work wasn't too out of the ordinary for me. 

Monday: Normally Mondays are my easiest workday (sometimes I can finish up early), but today I actually worked 30 mins late. I stopped by mailroom at my apartment complex to mail Mother’s Day cards to my mom and grandma, and I picked up my mail. I was super hungry after work so as soon as I got home I had a quick snack of chips and salsa and a cookie. I then headed to my room to take my OOTD photo, and after I did my daily Duolingo French lesson on my iPhone. Next, time to head to the kitchen to heat up lunch. Today I had a leftover Hello Fresh burger and potatoes. Once that was ready, I watched an episode of Sister, Sister on Netflix while eating. 

     Next I cleaned up the kitchen from lunch. Then it was time to pull out my laptop, where I spent awhile on both work and blog emails. I wrote and finished Wednesday’s blog post. After blogging work was done for the day, I ordered wedding gifts for two friends' upcoming weddings. Once gift shopping was done, I called my dad and caught up on some texts I'd gotten that afternoon.

     I started off my evening with a long shower and did my self-tanning routine afterwards. I then made a Hello Fresh dinner. While cooking and then cleaning up from dinner, I tuned in on my phone to the Clubhouse app for the weekly "Radio Rally" chat that I try to attend every Monday evening. After that ended, I posted on Instagram and then spent about 30 minutes engaging on Instagram with other posts and watching IG Stories. I laid out my clothes for work tomorrow, did my daily bible reading and journaling, and then went to bed.

Tuesday: Today I got out of work right on time. Similar to yesterday, I stopped by the mailroom and then took my OOTD photo. I then heated up some leftover frozen pizza for lunch and signed on for radio webinar that my boss suggested Marc and I tune in for.

       Typically I share new blog posts MWF, but since I'll be getting my second vaccine on Friday, I decided to push that day's blog post up to Thursday for this week. I finished writing Thursday's post and got it prescheduled. The new season of Selena the Series on Netflix premiered today, so I watched an episode. I then did my daily Duolingo French lesson. I called my dad to follow up on something we had talked about the day before. I finished part one of my latest IG Stories song bracket (matched songs and downloaded photos). 

      My evening started with chores. I changed the litter box, took out the kitchen trash, and unloaded the dishwasher. I answered a few emails, and hopped on a quick radio networking phone call. My roommate Abigail got home earlier than normal from work, so we caught up for a few minutes. Normally Tuesday evenings are when I play tennis, but tonight's weather wasn't the best so my tennis group decided to play Thursday of this week instead. So I went to a Jazzercise class instead of tennis! After Jazzercise, I took a shower, ate dinner and called my mom. I posted the song bracket I made earlier in the day on IG Stories. I ordered something online that I needed to get, and then went to bed. (I stayed up too late doing that to do my bible reading or read any other books before bed. Ugh- sometimes I hate my early bedtime!)

Wednesday: I got out of work on time again today. First thing first after getting home: you guessed it, taking my OOTD photo! I heated up some Hello Fresh pasta leftovers for lunch. After lunch, I did my daily Duolingo French lesson. I worked on and finished Monday's blog post. I responded to some texts and blog emails. I then made a quick run to Trader Joe’s. I typically try to do grocery shopping only on weekends or Mondays, but I wanted to pick up some special snacks and fresh flowers to enjoy over the weekend after my second vaccine. 

     After getting home from Trader Joe's I did some miscellaneous adulting tasks (called for apartment maintenance for something in the kitchen, and dealt with some health insurance and car payment paperwork). I then went to a Jazzercise class, and took a shower when I got back home. I wasted a ton of time on Instagram before dinner. For dinner, I had more pasta leftovers. I then made and posted an Instagram Reel. I did my bible reading and journaling, and was actually able to get into bed a little earlier than normal!

Thursday: Today I actually finished at work a little early. When I got home from work, I called my mom. I then did my daily Duolingo French lesson. I was supposed to meet a friend after work, but those plans got cancelled at the last minute, so instead I had a little catch-up phone chat with a former coworker of mine from Vermont. I took my work OOTD photo. I made my last Hello Fresh meal of the week for lunch. I called my dad while it was cooking. While eating lunch, I watched another episode of Selena the Series on Netflix.

      After cleaning up from lunch, I answered some emails. Then it was time for tennis! (I normally play tennis on Tuesdays, but inclement weather this week delayed it until Thursday.) After getting home from tennis, I freshened up for a Zoom call. After Zoom I took a shower, called both of my parents again, did my bible reading and journaling, and then went to bed!

Friday: I got out of work on time. First up after getting home, you guessed it, taking my OOTD photo! I then made and ate a quick lunch. Then I headed out to get my second COVID-19 vaccine! After coming home, I iced my arm and checked in with my emails. I posted a try-on haul that I'd filmed earlier in the week on my IG Stories. I cozied up on the couch and watched more episodes of Selena the Series. 

     I was still feeling okay post-vaccine at that point, so I left to go pickup takeout Vietnamese food for dinner, and I also got gas. After dinner, I relaxed with my phone and Instagram for awhile, and then headed to be fairly early for a Friday evening. (I was still feeling fine from the vaccine when I went to bed, my side effects didn't start until around 12:30!)

     And there you have it- a week in my life! Honestly I'd say this was definitely a very average week for me after work. I feel like I do a decent job of balancing blogging, cooking and other weekly responsibilities. The only thing that was out of the ordinary for this specific week is that I didn't really do any reading for fun this week. There are often weeks where I don't watch any Netflix or TV on weekdays, and instead spend time in the afternoons reading a good book. I happened to be in between library books on this specific week.

       Going forward, I do want to experiment with getting better about doing my bible reading and journaling in the afternoons instead of just before bed- with my early bedtime sometimes I do have to go to bed before I have time to, which always makes me feel badly.

      God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese