5 Tips for Crafting Your Daily Work Routine

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive. You’ll be able to check out all the posts from this series here.

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So you want to start a daily routine, but you don’t know where to start? I’m glad you’re here, because this has been a topic I’ve been so excited to write about.

Having a daily routine can feel, depending on your point-of-view, super easy or super complicated. It just depends. I’m sure there are plenty of people (and maybe they’re like me!) who say, it’s not that hard, just do the same things every single day. Boom. Routine. But for many, it’s just not that easy.

If you’re someone who struggles to stay productive, or you get easily overwhelmed or distracted, creating a daily work routine that helps you get more done (without feeling like you’re being micromanaged) can be really challenging.

So, here are my 5 tips—which include step-by-step instructions for creating your daily routine.

1. Take time for what matters to you.

As I’ve written in previous blog posts in this series (you can read them all here!), no single routine will work for every person.

Step 1: Write down a list of 10 things you want to do everyday that will be impactful and meaningful to you. What do these 10 things mean? Are they part of a larger goal for you to meet? Here are a few examples of what I would write down:

• Journal

• Write my to do list

• Exercise/hit 10,000 steps

• Send LinkedIn messages

• Drink water

• Make bed

Step 2: Look at your list and order these things in a way that makes sense. Right when you wake up, what are 2 things you can do right away that will make a difference in your work day? How can you arrange this list in a way that makes sense for your day and that helps you feel motivated?

Step 3: Once you’ve ordered your list, think of realistic ways to incorporate these things into your routine everyday.

For me, that’s make my bed (which isn’t related to work, but does make me feel better) and then write my to do list. Typically, those are the first things I do everyday. I might be interrupted, but I also try to do those 2 things first—then, I jump into journaling and work tasks.

2. Set realistic expectations.

Are you going to wake up, make your bed, run 5 miles, make a gourmet breakfast, and still get to that 9am Zoom meeting on time? Let’s be honest: unless you decide to wake up at 4am, probably not. (Although, if that’s your thing, please go for it!) My point is that if you’re someone who has never done those things, they probably won’t start day one.

Make sure your list and routine is realistic. Here are a few examples based on my routine:

• Unrealistic: wake up, shower, make bed, work out, make breakfast for Forrest & I, get Forrest to my mom’s, journal, work.

• Realistic: wake up, make bed, work for an hour before Forrest wakes up, make breakfast for Forrest & I, take Forrest to my mom’s, journal.

The reality is if I have an extra hour in the morning, I’m not going to shower or work out. That’s just the truth. Those 2 things make me feel good, but in terms of how my life works, I prefer the extra hour.

As you work on your lists in tip #1, remember to keep your expectations realistic, what you can and cannot do, and what makes sense for your day.

3. Keep track of what does and does not work.

This is something I often repeat and I know for many people, they ask, what does that really mean? Let’s take a look.

Step 1: You’ve created your list from tip #1, you’ve ordered them, and you’ve started incorporating them into your day. Great! Now what? The first step here is to keep track of what feels right and good in your routine. That means, using a journal or scratch pad to keep track of your day in some way. This might just be jotting down notes, it might be checking off that list you wrote earlier… whatever works for you.

Step 2: Does something feel out of place? Is there something you meant to do but keep forgetting? Maybe it’s not as important as you originally thought it was or maybe it simply doesn’t make sense in your routine.

Step 3: Cut out the things that aren’t working. For me, this was removing pressure to work out in the morning or at a certain point each day; it just made me feel overwhelmed. Some days, I do aim for a work out, but day-to-day, it’s simply not a part of my routine. This also means keeping the things in your routine that aren’t working and becoming more aware of why they work and how they impact your day.

4. You’ll never be able to schedule your whole day.

This is more of a note, but: a routine isn’t a schedule. It isn’t strict. It’s just a series of things you do every day that make you feel good or improve your productivity (or ideally both). It’s easy for them to get conflated!

The truth is, it would be great if we could all schedule our day out to the 15-minute block. Trust me, I’ve tried that in time blocking—and even for someone like me, who thrives with routine, it simply doesn’t work for most people’s lives. Things come up. Feelings change. Needs change.

A routine is something that changes with you, that simply provides a blueprint for your day. How it actually adds up is entirely up to you. Some days, I don’t make my bed right when I wake up—but I get to it eventually because it’s a part of my routine that I find something. Some days, I don’t write in my journal because I don’t feel like, or I have more pressing work tasks to work on, or any number of things.

You can’t schedule out your whole day, especially if you’ve never been the type of person to stick to a strict schedule.

5. Protect yourself from burnout.

Step 1: Notice the signs of burnout. Here a few things to look for:

• Fatigue or exhaustion that you never experienced before.

• Feeling like you want to get things done, but you simply can’t find the energy to do so.

• Physical symptoms you never had before that aren’t tied to any specific illness.

• Feeling pessimistic and detached.

The symptoms of burnout can be very vague—but if you’re experiencing them, you probably recognize them. With shelter in place orders and quarantine, many of us are working longer hours from home; the lines between our home lives and our work lives have become incredibly blurred; and we all have more on our plate than before (work anxiety, anxiety about the economy and social tensions and more, plus childcare and homeschooling). Burnout is real.

Step 2: If you’re starting to feel totally overwhelmed, here are a few different things to do:

• Scale back your routine. Strip it to the minimum. I’m very goal-oriented, but I’ll be the first to tell you: when I start to feel signs of burnout, I know I need to let go of the goals for a little bit.

• Add more self-care and self-soothing to your daily routine. A long morning shower might cut into your work time, but will it help soothe you? Getting all your work done early so you can play Animal Crossing might feel flaky, but will you feel better?

• Speak to someone. There are lots of at-home resources right now for counselors and therapists. TalkSpace, or just contacting a local therapist, will make it easy. My therapist has been offering teleconference options that are secure since March. If you don’t want to talk to a therapist, reach out to a friend or family member, make sure they have space to help you, and let it out.

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There you have it! My 5 tips with step-by-step instructions. Are you working on your daily routine? Let me know how it’s going in the comments!

Do You Need a Habit Tracker?

It feels like habit trackers are everywhere.

Back when I first started bullet journaling, I had never seen a habit tracker before. Now, they’re everywhere. Doodle in the edge of bujo layouts, printed in planners, on apps you can download on your phone.

Search for habit trackers on Google and you get thousands of results.

There are free printables and planners, cheap habit tracker planners you can buy in Walmart (I have one!) and so many more.

Habit trackers are everywhere.

But do you need one? How effective are they really? Let’s break it down.

What is a habit tracker?

The idea of habit trackers is this: you have a goal —> you break that goal down into month-by-month steps —> you set daily habits that contribute to those monthly goals (which add up to your larger goal).

Here’s an example. You want to reduce your resting heart rate over the next year. You set month-by-month goals of increasing your average number of steps (being more active) and using your standing desk more. Here are a few habits you might track:

• Drinking enough water

• Taking breaks to walk around

• Doing short workouts

Other examples might be self-care focused, like taking your medication everyday, doing de-stress rituals, and making time for yourself.

You can use all kinds of habit trackers. As I mentioned, there are tons out there! You can buy habit tracker planners, draw them yourself in your bullet journal or existing planner, and even download apps. There are lots of ways to make habit trackers a part of your life and daily routine. But here’s the question: do they really do anything?

Do habit trackers really help?

It took me a long time to come around on habit trackers. I really didn’t like them to start with. I found them a little fussy and they stressed me out; if I wasn’t able to check those boxes (and for my loftier goals, sometimes it just wasn’t possible!) I found myself getting upset.

However, I think there are ways to make habit trackers work for you. Not everyone is going to want to meet the same habits. I don’t want to drink 8 bottles of water a day (I know, I know, but also, that’s so much water), nor do I want to exercise everyday. There are things i want to do everyday, like make my bed, wipe down the counters in my kitchen, and write for 20 minutes. So I track those habits, because they mean something to me and by using a habit tracker, I’m able to see just how good my routine is getting.

The question is: are habit trackers right for you?

Here are a few things to consider:

• Use a habit tracker that works for you. My husband uses an app on his phone to remind himself to take breaks every 2 hours while he works, drink enough water, and take his medication. I use a habit tracker planner to help me keep control of my house to do list and daily habits. Different methods, same idea.

• Pick habits that mean something to you. If you browse bujo layouts everywhere, you’ll see a ton of habit trackers that track water intake, sleep… you get the drill. Sometimes, I find bullet journaling to be a little esoteric; the fancy charts that track sleep and mood and habits… it’s a little overwhelming and while I love data, I don’t necessarily want to quantify every aspect of my life into a chart. So my advice is: pick habits that are meaningful to you and as many (or as few) of them as you want.

• Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. If you find tracking your habits makes you stressed out or super irritable—then it’s not for you! Don’t put it in your bujo, return the planner (or give it to a friend), delete the app, whatever. If it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for you and that’s ok.

Do you use a habit tracker? Do you like it? Let me know in the comments!

3 Ways to Reduce Stress While Working From Home

Working from home is a different kind of stressful, isn’t it? I've never been a huge fan of working in an office--I like being alone and I'm very easily distracted.

But working from home isn’t exactly a cakewalk, either. It can be lonely and you can easily get distracted by other parts of your home (like that pile of laundry that has refused to fold itself for 2 days or the kitchen that needs a good cleaning). Plus, if you are also taking care of children and trying to work, it’s a whole other ball game.

Today, I want to talk about reducing stress while you’re trying to work from home effectively. This isn’t necessarily self-care, but it is related. Reducing your stress now will help reduce burnout later (or… right now); it will also help you feel less like you’re about to go off the rails at any moment. (Trust me, I’ve been there. Recently.)

If you’d like to read more self-care posts, click here to read more!

Reducing stress is different from person-to-person—so we aren’t going to focus on simple stuff. Some people might be soothed by essential oils; others might find them aggravating. This is going to be a bit more high level than “buy a diffuser” or “do your self-care routine!” Right now, I just don’t personally find stuff like that especially helpful if I’m trying to find methods to make myself feel less like a boiling kettle.

I hope these tips help you moving forward. And if you need a friendly ear, I’m always here to listen!

1. Get it all out: journal every day (even for 5 minutes).

A few days ago, I was having a rough day. I had multiple deadlines and a very cranky 4-year-old who was feeling ignored, isolated, and sad. To get paid as a freelancer, I have to meet my deadlines—but as a parent, I also felt like I couldn’t let Forrest down. I sat at the kitchen table while he colored and wrote in my journal for 10 minutes. I wrote down everything I was feeling: totally overwhelmed, guilty for wishing schools would just freaking open already (I know, I know), exhausted, guilty for being a mom who couldn’t interact with Forrest as much as I wanted, anxious that my home was a mess and I had every single laundry basket we own full of laundry to fold… the list goes on.

After the 10 minutes was up, I gave Forrest a big hug and a kiss and told him I needed to work. He felt better and I felt better. I hit all my deadlines.

Those 10 minutes of just getting the feelings out was worth it.

Here’s the thing: journaling might not be your thing. (Although, if you’re feeling frequently anxious or stressed, a journal is a great idea.) But there are lots of ways to just get the emotions out. You can sing along to a favorite old emo song. Call a friend to vent to. Let it out in the group text. Whatever works for you, talking about what’s going on can help so much.

2. Make it easy: find a routine that works for you.

Working from home is hard. And sometimes, reading all the tips in the world to work from home won’t help.

You need a routine and, specifically, you need one just for you. That’s why I’ve been writing a series of posts about routines; you can read them all here.

Here are a few of my suggestions to reduce stress in your routine:

• Schedule in breaks.

• Stagger your tasks. Mix harder, more mentally straining tasks with easier, simpler tasks.

• Make your environment happy for you. This is a big one: you can have the best routine in the world, but if the space you’re in makes you crazy, then it won’t help at all. You might not have the space for your own office, but setting aside a corner in your bedroom or dining room to make just yours will make a huge difference.

• Make sure you meet all your needs. That includes movement, time alone, time with others, time to relax, meals, coffee breaks… you can’t work 24/7 and never meet your basic needs. You simply can’t.

3. Make it simple: shed the tasks that aren’t serving you.

When you’re working in an office, there are sometimes tasks that you do that are so easy, you barely blink an eye. However, once things change, there may be tasks you need to talk to your work about to let them know: this doesn’t work, this won’t work, and I can’t keep doing it.

Here’s an example: I have a client who has a really roundabout process for completing tasks. In normal times, it would be no big deal, but right now, the chain of command has broken down so much, people are harder to reach, that it’s just impossible. Trying to chase down people to complete tasks was becoming a huge pain—so I let the client know, hey, this is driving me crazy, can we simplify this? And we did! Now, I don’t have to spend 2-3 hours every day trying to get in touch with people to pass on a document.

If something isn’t serving you or the people you work for… then change it. Make it easier. If you can’t reduce the stress, then try to remove it. Find a way to make it simpler for you to reduce the clutter of your day.

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Do you have any tips for reducing stress while working from home?

I do want to share a few things I do during the day that help me a lot that are more specific. Here are a few ways I take a break (both before and during quarantine!) while working from home:

• Do 10 minutes of step aerobics while watching TV.

• Listen to a podcast while I make a cup of tea.

• Sit outside with Remus.

• Water my flowers outside.

• Work on organizing my planner.

• Read a few articles on Buzzfeed or scroll my favorite Twitter accounts.

Thanks for reading!

The Essential Pieces You Need For Your Daily Routine

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive. You’ll be able to check out all the posts from this series here.

I love daily routines.

I’ve read a lot of posts about daily routines.

I’ve read a lot of listicles about daily routines.

Planners that work perfectly. Systems that make is easier to stay on track. Methods of taking breaks and working and this and that.

The truth is: those things might work. But when it comes down to the essentials, there are 2 things I think you need:

• A personality type that makes sense with a daily routine

• A system that works for you.

If you don’t have the kind of personality type that thrives on routine, on doing the same thing every single day… I don’t think it’s for you. And that’s ok! There are tons of ways to be successful and to get your work done each day. For me, that revolves around a daily routine. But it might not be the same for you.

If you don’t know that for sure yet, however, and you want to give developing a routine a try… you’re in the right place. I want to help you create a system that works for you. And here are my essentials for making that happen.

1. A Planner That Works for You

Yes, you hear me: a planner that works for you. Right now, I’m using a combination of a weekly notepad (basically just a notepad with the days of the week on it) and a Daily Habits planner I impulse bought at Walmart, plus my 52 Lists Planner that I bought nearly a year ago. I use the 52 Lists Planner primarily for the monthly pages; the Daily Habits planner to keep track of my non-work to do lists; and the notepad for my daily priorities.

That’s my system. Part of my routine is checking my calendars every morning, copying down my various to do lists, and keeping everything organized.

That might sound like hell on Earth to you!

Find a planner that works for you. But my advice is you need a planner of some kind—an online to do system, like Check Up or monday.com, a physical planner, a notebook, whatever—to help you keep track of your daily schedule and what you need to get done.

2. A Calendar

Following the same line of thought, pick 1 calendar to keep everything on. I use my iCal synced to my Google Calendar to keep everything organized. Since I have multiple work-associated emails with their own separate calendars, I make sure that those sync to my iCal as well. If I have a deadline for anything, it goes to iCal. If I schedule a meeting, it goes to iCal. If I do anything, it goes on iCal. I keep it organized and it is my main place to look for my daily schedule: what I need to remember is time specific, what is coming up, and more.

I am normally highly in favor of paper calendars. However, for keeping all of these various dates organized, I would probably be lost without the option to sync things up! However, once again, pick what works for you.

3. Willingness to Assess What Works

At the end of every day, I ask myself one important question: did my system work today?

And then: if it didn’t work, what needs fixed?

I didn’t wake up a year ago and decide, “Well, I’m a freelancer now, I need this specific note pad and this planner.” I’ve been playing with my routine for months. I have always found that starting each day writing down my list of things to do was one way I kept myself on track. But how I did that, and how I made a routine out of it, took trial and error, reassessing what was and wasn’t working.

A prime example of this was, during the summer, I started each day by writing down a full timed out schedule. This felt like a good idea at the time, but I find it very hard to determine how long each task I do will take. Will my morning journaling session take 10 minutes or 30 minutes? Sometimes, I just write more than others! Will it take me 1 hour to write this blog post for a client or will I end up needing to do 3 hours of research, thereby throwing off my entire schedule? It just depends! That didn’t work for me so I stopped doing it. I found something else that worked.

For right now, I find keeping my “home” tasks separate from my “work” tasks works best. I try to focus 6 hours of my day purely on work, if I have that much work to do. Then, I start working from my other planner. It makes it easy for me to better block out my time—even if I can’t necessarily determine how long each individual task will take me.

There you have it: the 3 essential pieces to starting to create your daily routine. Next week, I’ll be sharing a few tips for actually piecing out your daily routine. Thanks for reading!

I Tried Winc Wine Club So You Don't Have To

There has been a lot of talk about wine for the last 2 months.

Honestly, I think we can all agree that wine jokes and wine culture have probably hit an all-time high. I wasn’t paying much attention to wine before I had Forrest and to be honest, I haven’t ever paid much attention to wine. I’m not a drinker; I find alcohol to be way too expensive and boring when I could be drinking a Diet Coke. But over time, I have found myself enjoying wine more and more.

When Oregon’s stay-at-home orders were announced, I decided to place my first Winc wine order. I knew I was going to need some way to relax and have fun—plus, I felt like I needed something to focus my energy on and wine seemed like a great outlet, to be honest.

I’ve been hearing about Winc via one of my favorite podcasts—Wine and Crime—for 3 years now, so it was probably time I took the plunge. Let’s talk about what Winc wine club is and how it works.

(Pst, you can sign up for Winc using this link for $22 off your order.)

What is Winc Wine Club?

Winc is an online wine club that is based on your personal palate. When you sign up, you take a quiz that matches you with a few ideal wines for you. You place your order and Winc delivers your wine to your door. Easy peasy.

Well, sort of. The way Winc works is that every month, you are charged $49.99 for “credits” that can be used towards wine. If you only want to order 1 or 2 bottles that month, that is taken out of the credits you’ve already bought. But if you decide to order more, then you’re charged the extra beyond the credits you’ve already bought. It’s a little confusing, especially because the amount per bottle varies greatly—some wines are $12.99 per bottle, some are $34.99.

Enrolling in the wine club aspect gets you a better price on the wine per bottle, however, so while it doesn’t make a ton of sense, there is a method to the madness. I do think the process needs clarified and I expressed that to Winc’s customer service when I was deeply confused as to wtf the credits were.

They primarily offer California wines and some unique varietals and vineyards that are really, really good. I personally love the selection, that is large without being overwhelming. Let’s talk more about my experience.

My Experience with Winc Wine Club

When I first signed up for Winc, I used a code from my favorite podcast—which meant that I got $20 off my first box. Amazing. I ordered 6 bottles, of course. As well, if you order over 4 bottles, your shipping is free—which makes it kind of worth it to order 4 or more bottles, rather than just 1 or 2.

When I took the quiz, Winc paired me with primarily white wines—slightly sweeter white blends, roses, and single varietal whites, like Riesling. This is pretty in line with my preferences anyway, but I’ve been excited to try out some of the other options on Winc.

Thus, welcome to my biggest issue with Winc: stuff sells out fast. I had 4 additional bottles picked out for my May 9 “credit payment”—but by the time the 9th rolled around and it was time for me to check out, the wines I’d picked were all sold out. I was bummed, as there was a red wine I wanted to try bad. (I did manage to grab a bottle of the Summer Water rose that everyone raves about from Winc!)

Aside from that, I’ve enjoyed most of the wines I’ve gotten from Winc. It’s a fairly good deal. For $60 this month month, I got 4 bottles of wine—that evens out to about $15 a bottle, which is about what I’d pay for my favorite wine from the grocery store anyway. It’s delivered to your door, which makes it easy. (As a note, you do have to show ID to sign for your order; they won’t just leave it at your doorstep. This was a little annoying for me, as my May order got somewhat lost by FedEx for a few days, then showed up randomly when I was in the middle of a full-scale preschooler breakdown and I also wasn’t wearing a bra.)

Is Winc Wine Club Worth It?

But is it worth it? This is the big question is it. Let’s break this down into pros and cons:

Pros:

• Wine delivered to your door.

• Exclusive wines that support smaller wineries that you won’t find anywhere else.

• Wide selection that isn’t so vast you get overwhelmed and tired looking at it.

• Fun quiz to help pick your first wines.

• Free shipping when you order 4 bottles.

• Referral system that lets you earn extra bottles of wine.

Cons:

• The credit system is a little confusing.

• The price of wines varies enough that the credits you pay for won’t ever equal out to a certain number of wines.

There you have it. The biggest drawback for me is the credit system; if that was clearer, it would make more sense. I wish instead of the credits being a money system, it was like you paid $49.99 a month and got to pick 3 bottles of wine with free shipping. That makes more sense to me, but that’s just me. (Hint, hint, Winc!)

Winc is still relatively a new company, so I expect them to work that credit system out eventually. It takes trial and error sometimes!

Would you like to try Winc wine? You can use my referral code here and get $22 off on your first order. (As a note, this is simply a referral link I have as a customer—not an affiliate link!)

Have you tried Winc? What do you think?

5 Drugstore Swaps for Skincare & Make Up

I didn’t wear make up for the first 3 weeks of stay-at-home orders. I’m sure I’m not alone there. I really didn’t see the point. I wasn’t following my routines, I was flailing, and I was feeling pretty crappy to be honest.

3 weeks in, I realized that getting ready was a huge part of my routine and letting go of it left me feeling bad. Plus, I started having more Zoom calls and staring at my face, with no makeup and my hair in an ever-present bun, felt a little bit too much. I started getting ready again and it make me feel so much better.

But then, a few more weeks in… I realized I was dangerously close to being out of a few make up essentials. Worse, I was close to being out of some skincare essentials. This isn’t the worst problem to have, but I’ve been trying hard not to order things on Amazon or that require shipping—I just don’t want to endanger anyone. (No shade if you do! I have ordered a few things, but I’ve been trying to limit it to essentials I can’t get elsewhere.)

I decided to look at some drugstore swaps for my daily essentials and tested a few out, that I got via Target pick up or my weekly run to Walmart for prescriptions. These are all affordable options, available primarily at Target, but also at most drugstores. If you’re doing a grocery or prescription run, these will be there for you to pop into your cart. If you’re in need of some basics, here are a few swaps.

1. Need a foundation? Try Revlon PhotoReady Candid Moisture Glow Foundation.

This foundation is around $7.99-$8.99 depending on where you buy it and one of my favorite new foundations. Full disclosure, Revlon is obviously not cruelty free. But in a pinch, it works. It is definitely a more sheer foundation, but stays in place shockingly well. I find that for Zoom calls and all my digital meetings, this is all I really need; just something so I don’t look red or tired. For reference, I previously wore Too Faced Dew You foundation, which was heavier coverage, but a dewy, moisturizing formula.

2. Need a concealer? Try Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer.

Some days, you don’t want a full foundation, but want to cover any blemishes for a Zoom call, Facetime, whatever. Or just because you like to. However, that concealer stick is running low. What do you reach for that you can get at the drugstore?

Honestly, Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Concealer (well known for its little puffball applicator) is pretty famous and it’s so affordable. I find that the color matching is great too. That being said, I do not recommend using the applicator as it comes; when I see people swipe this on their face, I cringe. You can’t wash it! You just rub it on your face over and over without washing! My recommendation is to use a small concealer or eyeshadow brush to swipe the product off the applicator and onto your face—but that’s just me, the one who easily breaks out if the wind blows a bit wrong.

3. Need powder? Try COVERGIRL Professional Loose Powder.

I put on powder most days, even when I’m not wearing make up, because I am always a bit oily and this tends to keep my face from feeling grimy. I usually use either my It Cosmetic’s Bye Bye Pores loose powder or a compact I got from my Ipsy bag a few months ago (it’s my not favorite, but I keep it at my desk and it helps!) However, I’m running low on both so I reached for my former tried-and-true favorite: the COVERGIRL Professional Loose Powder. For years this was my go-to powder; I used it probably from age 17 to 25 or 26. That’s nearly 10 years!

I still really like it, but I stopped using it when I went primarily cruelty-free. However, without being able to pop into Ulta, I’m relying on drugstore and this COVERGIRL powder is still as good as I remember. It comes in great color options, goes on sheer, doesn’t look like you’re a Victorian when you use it, and is super affordable.

4. Need a face wash? Try Soap & Glory’s Face Soap & Clarify Daily Vitamin C Facial Wash.

I love Soap & Glory’s products and this face wash, their Daily Vitamin C Facial Wash, is a great stand in for two products. If you’re in need of a new face wash because your favorite is running low and/or you also need to re-up on your Vitamin C product, this is a great fill in for both. And it’s less than $15 for a huge bottle. It smells fantastic and makes your skin feel amazing without being too aggressive of a cleanser. Plus, that dose of Vitamin C helps with dark spots, uneven skin, acne scars—you name it. (As a note, make sure to slather on the SPF if you plan to be outside or sitting near a window!)

5. Need a cleansing oil? Try Burt’s Bee’s Facial Cleansing Oil with Coconut & Argan Oil.

I typically buy my cleansing oil (plain jojoba) at Trader Joe’s. But ever since the quarantine, I’ve avoided TJ’s because they are always the smallest stores and they just get too crowded. So, I started looking for a good drugstore alternative and I settled on this one: Burt’s Bees makes some great skincare products and this cleansing oil is lovely. At first, I was suspicious of the coconut oil, which is comedogenic and not great for acne prone skin. But the amount in it is negligible and since I’m double cleansing anyway, I decided to try it. I’ve been really happy with the results, it smells amazing (like rosemary, which isn’t for everyone, but I love), and it works beautifully.

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Do you have a good skincare or make up swap you’ve made recently? Let me know in the comments. Let’s make it easier for everyone to find what works right now!

3 Sample Routines for Working from Home with Kids

Welcome to my new series all about routines. While developing my own routine over the last few weeks of stay-at-home orders and quarantine, I’ve found myself writing down notes about developing my routine, working from home, having kids, keeping self-care in my day, and staying sane! I wanted to share some of this information with you, to help you succeed and feel more rested, recharged, and productive.

When Forrest was very young (like… a newborn), I remember spending one entire day reading other people’s routines and schedules with their baby. I was trying to find a way to make my day work a little better, to feel a little more sane and more human. I sought out examples of other people’s day because I needed ideas of what everyone else is doing.

That’s why I’m here today. We are all in a new, exciting world: one where school is all online, there is no more daycare or preschool, and the refuge of the park no longer exists. No coffee shops, no malls, no nothing.

It’s not all negative, though. If you’re here, then that means you’re still working, even if it’s from home, and that means we’re both in highly privileged positions! We are navigating these times in a different way than other people and as long as we acknowledge that, we’re golden.

In the course of writing this blog post, I found myself comforted by seeing other people’s routines! Alongside my own, I’m sharing two of my friends routines. I tried to pick a variety of careers, lifestyles, and situations. I’ll explain a bit more about each one later, but I hope you can use these example routines to make space for yourself in your day and streamline your time a little bit.

If you have questions about creating a routine that works for you, stay tuned! I have more posts coming. If you have a specific question, don’t hesitate to drop it in the comments below!

1. Marketing copywriter with 1 child

Oh hi, it’s me! I’m sure you’re all a bit tired of my daily routine at this point, but I wanted to share a quick breakdown of a day where I’m home with my son, Forrest. Here’s a rundown:

• Wake up at 5:30 am. Let out my dog and feed him. Make coffee.

• Morning routine: Check all my work emails and Slacks, check my calendar, create a master to do list for the day that also include my daily habits. My morning hour is usually spent scheduling for clients, as these is tedious work that I can’t be distracted from.

• When Forrest wakes up, we get dressed, eat breakfast, and do morning journaling together.

• After that, it’s quiet play time for him and I settle in to my to do list and tackle as much as possible.

• We eat lunch together, then more quiet play time while I work.

• We have TV time together from 3-4, then make dinner together at 4pm. My husband gets home around 5pm most nights.

• Evening routine: I finish up any outstanding work tasks, then do chores (dishes, laundry, etc). Then, I wash my face, put on a face mask, and either read in bed with my heating pad or play Animal Crossing. This is the number one way I de-stress right now and I do not miss it. While I’m doing this, my husband plays with Forrest or Forrest has quiet play time while my husband works in his office.

Things I rely on: my do list and planner; calendars and reminders; the clock; Forrest’s independence. Some days, it’s easier than others! Our challenge is that Forrest can be very anxious and moody right now; if I notice he’s struggling, I drop everything to take care of him. That’s what he needs from me and I try to be there for him at those times. If you’re a parent, don’t hesitate to do that. One of our other challenges is that my husband leaves for work every day, as he is an essential worker.

2. Lawyer with 2 young children

This is my friend, who we will call A. A has 2 younger children: a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old. She and her husband are both working from home right now. She works as a lawyer. Here’s her routine:

• Wake up with children around 7am, make coffee, and make breakfast.

• Husband watches kids while she answers emails and has meetings.

• Husband makes lunch and they swap: she watches kids while her husband works.

• Whole family makes dinner together and goes on a walk.

• Kids watch a movie while they both answer emails and finish up any work tasks.

• Kids go to bed and they both work. In the evening, she has a routine to clean up the house, do a quick yoga video, and do her skincare routine.

Things A relies on: An online to do app that sends her reminders on her computer and her phone; her husband trading shifts with her; her backyard for picnics, playtime, and more; Amazon Prime kids TV offerings. A has a great routine that works for her and her husband—it is no nonsense and they are both able to power through their individual work times thanks to trading who is watching the kids!

3. Project manager with 3 children

This is my friend, who will call C. C has 3 children: a 7-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 13-year-old. Her husband is a nurse and so, isn’t living at home right now, as their 9-year-old has an immune disorder (Celiac’s disease) that puts him at high risk. They made the tough choice for her husband to stay at his brother’s home for the duration of stay-at-home orders. She works from home as a project manager for a marketing agency. Here’s her routine:

• Wake up at 5am, make coffee, and call husband. This is an important part of her routine, as her husband is usually getting ready for work around the same time and they connect without interruption. After this call, she takes a shower and gets ready for the day. She doesn’t feel like her day starts until she showers.

• Wake up kids at 6:30amish, get them ready, and have them help prepare breakfast.

• All kids start school by 8am. C calls into her morning meeting with her team and checks her email and Slack for the first time. She then prioritizes her tasks for the day and delegates to her team. (This part of the day is frequently interrupted by her youngest, who needs more help with school!)

• C takes a break after working for a few hours to make lunch, check in with all her kids and fix any issues they need help with. After that, they all start working again.

• At 3pm, school is over and C lets her oldest head to his room with his tablet to have a Zoom call with his friends. The youngest 2 get TV time while C has a final meeting with her team.

• Around 4, C’s brother-in-law drops off groceries for them. Because her middle son is high risk, they don’t go to the grocery store. He leaves groceries on the porch and waves from the driveway.

• The youngest 2 help C prepare dinner. They all sit down to eat together.

• At 6pm, they have a family Zoom call with C’s husband, who fills them in on his day. Afterwards, the kids pick a movie to watch together while C cleans the house, does dishes, and makes a list for the next day.

• In the evening, as the kids are winding down and heading to their rooms to get ready for bed, C picks a TV show to watch on Netflix by herself. She also likes to scroll through Instagram to decompress.

Things C relies on: Her team to help pick up the slack when she needs it; her brother-in-law and family for helping keep her son safe; online school to help occupy her kids’ time; and a running to do list that she re-prioritizes everyday. C is in a tough situation where, not only is her husband an essential worker still outside the home, he is currently living away from the family to keep their son safe. It’s a stressful situation, but she has help from her family and friends and support from her team. Her routine is pretty slow and even, and she gives herself permission to take a break frequently, as she needs it.

What can we learn from these routines?

• No two routines look the same. It depends on your profession, what you have going on in your life, where you live, and more! Don’t feel pressured to take on certain things if you aren’t able to. A prime example is I reversed on my intense homeschooling after 2-3 weeks—it just wasn’t sustainable!

• Give yourself grace. It’s ok to take a break, to take a moment to rest or relax. In my case, my job involves a lot of community management and social media response; this requires a lot of mental energy on my part and sometimes, I really need a break. I see a lot of grief and listen to a lot of woe and it can be taxing!

• Find systems that work for you: For me, I use a combination of calendar-planner-notebook to keep everything organized. I also have a specific notebook for each client to keep meeting notes and write down things to remember. For A, she uses a to do app that she keeps pristine (she showed it to me and honestly, it’s a beaut—she is not the blogging type, but I was very impressed!); for C, she uses a written to do list on an old school legal pad (retro!) and keeps it running day-to-day (which is equally as impressive, honestly).

• Make time for you! Your day needs time for you too. Working from your home, parenting 100% from your home… it gets exhausting fast and burn out is real. Make self-care a part of your routine, whether it’s simply picking a show to watch on Netflix or taking a bubble bath. Make that time and stick with it!

• Have a goal in mind. Your routine should be designed around a goal. Right now, for so many of us, that goal is simply to remain safe and to keep others around us safe. However, thinking of the larger picture, we all have certain goals: for me, I’m trying to build my clientele, hopefully, to keep working. I can’t speak for A and C’s goals, but I know they are goal-minded women! My routine is designed to make space for me to work and grow, while also take care of myself and Forrest. If you’re thinking of adding a daily routine to keep yourself on track, think of the ways it will contribute to your longterm goals!

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I’m so excited to kick off this series about routines. I hope you love it too! Don’t forget, if you have questions or want to chat about your routine, leave me a comment or reach out to me on Instagram.

Join me next week for an article all about routine essentials!

5 Affordable Self-Care Items

When it comes to self-care, I always say the same thing: self-care has 2 branches, self-care and self-soothing. They get used interchangeably and that’s fine! In this situation, we’re going to talk about self-soothing and things you can do to make yourself feel good at the end of a long day.

If you’re like me, you’re following stay-at-home orders and keeping close to home. But that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a little self-care.

Each week, we place a grocery pick up order and a Target pick up order. At Target, we’re usually getting household supplies, like laundry detergent, dish soap, and that kind of thing. But each week, I do try to add in a special item, something that will make us happy. This might be a new toy for Forrest, a craft kit, a new book for Danny, a DVD… whatever. Just something that’s a treat.

I wanted to share a few of the affordable, self-care focused items I’ve gotten from Target recently to make my life feel a little more decadent and to show myself kindness everyday. All of these items are $15 or under. That’s right: affordable, available at Target, and most of them should be available for drive up or pick up.

Want more self-care? Here are two previous posts of mine on the topic:

• What My Self-Care Routine Looks Like Right Now

• How to Practice Self-Care for Freelancers

You can also browse all my posts about self-care routines here.

1. Pacifica Stress Rehab Coconut & Caffeine Face Mask

Pacifica is one of my favorite drug store brands: it’s high quality, cruelty free, and contains great ingredients without costing an arm and a leg. My second favorite is YesTo, but I’ve found that a lot of people have allergic reactions to their products and I’m always hesitant to recommend them. 

This is one of my favorite face masks to grab when I’m in need of a little pick me up. At $9.99, it’s not too expensive, but it feels decadent and I love how it makes my skin feel. My skin has been very tired and dehydrated lately—all the stress and coffee have definitely been wearing on me! If that sounds like you too, this is a great way to treat yourself on a Friday night (or any night, honestly). 

2. Macaron Bath Bomb Set

I’m sorry, but these are so stinking cuuuute. And they’re super affordable for a set of 4! They smell amazing and will look super cute displayed in your bathroom. You need them. You’ll love them. They’re so affordable. Get 2. Thank me later. 

3. 52 Lists for Happiness by Moorea Seal

I’m on record as loving Moorea Seal’s books! I haven’t gotten 52 Lists for Happiness yet, but it is on my list. Next month, I’m restarting the original 52 Lists Project (one per day!) and then I think I’ll get this book. However, if you’re new to journaling, or just looking for a way to de-stress, these are a great stepping stone! They’re beautiful, thoughtful, and give you plenty of space to play. They are also very affordable for guided journals—under $15 and available at Target. 

4. OGX Extra Creamy Coconut Miracle Ultra Moisture Lotion

I know most of us probably own body lotion, but let me introduce you to this $6.99 secret: the best coconut smell lotion in existence. 

Last year, I started a project where, whenever I put on lotion, I would repeat, “Thank you, thank you, [body part]” over and over. It will surprise you how much this has genuinely helped my attitude towards my body. It’s also a great way to remind yourself to thank your body, even on hard days, for doing its best. So, at the end of a long day, rub some lotion on those dogs (that’s your feet, natch) and say thank you. You made it. 

5. Fuzzy Socks

These are sooooooo cute. I’m obsessed. I love socks in general, as I don’t like having bare feet in my house. Nothing makes me feel better, however, than putting a fresh, clean, fluffy pair of socks on when I’m feeling stressed or just need to feel better. I’ll often strip off my “house socks” (old athletic socks, usually) and put on some of my favorites when I’m especially in need of feeling better. They keep my feet warm, they look cute, and they make me happy. I love these ones from Target, but they have tons to chose from, obviously.

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Have something that’s keeping you going right now? Let me a comment below and let me know!