…of a goofy stay-at-home graphic design mama.

Here I am sitting down at my computer pretending that anyone out there on the world wide web would actually be interested in reading what an average day looks like for a work-from-home mom who does graphic design. If you’ve stuck with me through this introductory paragraph, kudos! I hope the rest helps or, at the very least, makes you laugh! 

5:00 AM — My alarm goes off. I promptly hit snooze and go back to sleep.

5:30 AM — My alarm goes off again. I pretend I don’t hear it. My husband hits snooze for me and gives me kisses as he walks out the door on his way to work. I go back to sleep. 

6:00 AM — My alarm goes off for the third time and I actually get up (surprise!). I mosey into the kitchen, get the coffee maker brewing, and let our two crazy pups, a golden retriever named Mason and an Australian shepherd named Murphy, outside.

6:05 AM — Tasty hot coffee is being sipped while I sit on the couch and have my personal devotion and quiet time. In 2020, I’ve read through the Bible using the 5-Day Bible Reading Plan and have really enjoyed it! You can download the schedule here if you’re interested: 5-Day Bible Reading Plan.

7:00 AM — I have one full hour to work on some projects. I usually take this time to get some regular weekly work done like preparing the bulletins, updating LCD slides for the church, and attending to emails. 

8:00 AM — Piper wakes up and we get ready for the day together. This usually consists of wrangling a wild child into suitable clothes for the weather instead of letting her play in her jammies all day.

9:00 AM — Breakfast time! We generally eat eggs, toast, and “yoguck” (as Piper would call it) with some fruit. Sometimes if I’m feeling like a chef, I’ll make a breakfast scramble with potatoes, peppers, and onions. It’s always a hit! At least for me. 

9:30 AM — Breakfast and kitchen cleanup. Some people like to clean the whole kitchen at the end of the day. Others like to clean as they go. I am definitely a clean-as-you-go person. I can be found following my daughter around picking up toys as she gets them out. I should probably train her to do that herself…

10:00 AM — I’ll usually start a load of laundry if it needs to be done, then Piper and I will have play time and story time. This girl LOVES to read!

11:00 AM — If errands need to be run, I usually do it between 11 and lunch time. Sometimes if we’re out and about for an especially long errand day, we’ll pick up lunch at Chick-fil-A! Piper’s favorite! (Okay, and my favorite… who am I kidding?!) If we don’t have errands to run, I’ll usually do some more cleaning, bake something tasty, or sometimes we’ll go visit Daddy at work if he’s not too busy.

12:00 PM — Luuuuunch timeeee!!!! I don’t know why I like lunch time so much. It’s usually only leftovers from the night before, so nothing super delicious. Maybe cause it’s a nice mid-way point through the day? Maybe cause nap time is getting closer? Haha! Who knows?!

12:30 PM — Lunch cleanup and story time with Piper. We always read some stories before nap time and it gets her settled down well for a good nap. 

1:00 PM — Piper goes down for her nap and then I get to work! This time always seems to fly by with all of the projects I have going on at any given time. I’ll usually spend about an hour working on church or Baptist Times graphic projects, then the rest of the time on personal design projects. I’m thankful that my “naptime hustle” has allowed me to product the Heartkeeper’s Notebook this year, even when things have been so crazy! When deadlines are approaching for Baptist Times, the whole naptime can be consumed with that work. Sometimes I’ll even wake up before 6 AM when the deadlines are coming up quick! 

4:00 PM — Piper wakes up from her nap, and we spend some time together outside if the weather is nice. Sometimes we’ll go for a walk, sometimes we’ll go to the park. She loves to be outside and explore everything nature has to offer!

5:00 PM — This is when I start preparing our home for the evening. My husband, Chace, usually gets home between 6 and 6:30, so I do a quick tidy, put on some relaxing music, light a candle, and get dinner started. Cooking and baking are two of my favorite things to do, and I love getting to take care of my family with food and even using food as a creative outlet!

6:00 PM — Chace gets home from work and we enjoy dinner together as a family. This is also when we try to do our family devotion time. We’ve been going through a book called Dinner Table Devotions (it’s a plate with a banana smiley face on the cover). We’ve liked it pretty well, but use our own Bibles to look up the verses.

7:00 PM — Chace and I switch back and forth who cleans up the kitchen after dinner. Sometimes he will do it so I can give Piper a bath, and other times he will spend time with her and I’ll clean up. It’s not really “alone” time, but I’ll take it! 😉 

7:45 PM — Family bedtime stories! Piper will usually pick one or two short books for Chace to read to her. We all snuggle in to our queen-sized bed and read together for a little bit before….

8:00 PM — Piper goes down for bed. I’m thankful this girl is such a great sleeper!

8:15 PM — Chace and I enjoy some time to ourselves to chat about the day, have a quick budget meeting (sometimes), and get set up for the next day.

9:00 PM — Bedtime!! My other favorite time of the day. We will usually spend some time reading and relaxing before we finally hit the hay around 10. But I’d be lying if sometimes we didn’t both fall asleep before 9. What can I say?! We have a kid now… that’s my excuse.  

So that’s pretty much it! Maybe a little tidbit in here will inspire you to switch things up a little…. though I do need to get better about my wake-up routine… Writing it all out has actually made a couple things really clear where I’ve been wasting time (like in the mornings…). Maybe someday I’ll write a little more about what my ideal morning routine looks like when I actually wake up on time!

I encourage you to write out what your daily routine looks like. You might surprise yourself with “extra” time!