...of Brittany
5:30 am COFFEE! It’s my first thought when my eyes open, and I sneak into the kitchen to try and enjoy a quick cup in peace before everyone is up.
6:00 am My husband is usually up by now, starting breakfast as our little man wakes up. I get him up from his crib and pour another cup of coffee - this time in an insulated travel mug to keep warm for a while as the next two hours are spent eating, cleaning, reading, colouring and playing.
7:00 am Husband is off to work.
7:45 am Time to get myself and little man dressed, ready and off to daycare!
8:10 am I head downstairs with my coffee and put on some music. My workday starts with Client A out of Ontario. I log in to my Gmail account, as well as Asana, and then pull up Client A’s Gmail account (I have delegated access). I do some email triage in the inbox - archiving, drafting responses as needed, and adding new tasks to Asana for anything that will require follow up.
In my inbox, there are a few meetings Client A would like me to schedule. I add some tentative spots into the calendar and fire off some emails to her contacts with the dates. I check my tasks in Asana and complete them as needed - rescheduling a few meetings, adding high priority tasks to A’s calendar as a reminder that they need to be done. I also book A’s car in for a tire swap. Not a bad way to start the day!
8:35 am On to Client B! I open up the Gmail inbox and pull up the calendar. I review and file emails, set up meetings with clients through Zoom, and send courtesy reminders to other clients for the weekend meetings. I add the Zoom links to the calendar entries, and add a link to the client’s meeting notes. This makes it easy for B to have everything open and ready when it’s GO time! I open Copper to check on tasks for the day and update client profiles with any meetings that I’ve just booked. I send a reminder to Client B through Slack to check in with one of his clients.
9:10 am Coffee and snack break! I usually throw a load of laundry in or play with my dog outside for a few minutes.
9:20 am Time for Client C - a busy lawyer in Vancouver! I open up my inbox and access the task manager, Cosmolex. I review any emails that have come in, draft responses where needed and schedule their delivery for a few hours later because of the time difference. I’m 4.5 hours ahead in Newfoundland and I don’t want C’s clients getting emails from me at five in the morning!
I check through my tasks in Cosmolex and draft letters on a few files. I add tasks with a due date of tomorrow for C to review and send the letters. I update her calendar with some meeting confirmations - within the calendar entry, I include contact information, meeting location, and any notes C may require for the meeting. There is an email from Client C requesting that I add some contact information into Cosmolex, so I add it in and link it to the appropriate file. All done!
10:30 am I try to squeeze in a 30-45 minute run or workout, shower, and then make lunch! My husband generally comes home for lunch at noon, so we get to spend a bit of time together and usually watch part of a show.
1:00 pm Client D has posted a document for proofreading in Slack, so I download the document and get to work. This can take anywhere from half an hour to over two hours, depending on the length and complexity. This is a longer document, so I spend the next two hours proofreading and making any necessary revisions, as well as formatting many different tables. I send some questions to Client D through Slack and then revise the document a bit more with the answers. I save the document as a PDF and do a final review to make sure everything lines up and looks good. I then upload both the Word document and the PDF to Client D’s Gdrive, under the appropriate client folder, and then send a Slack to Client D that it’s done. This particular document has some attachments needed, so I include a reminder to attach them.
3:00 pm My brain needs a break! I head upstairs to the kitchen to chop some veggies and prep for dinner.
3:30 pm I do afternoon check-ins for Clients A and B. I file some emails for Client A, but there isn’t much else to do. Client B had some emails come in from clients agreeing to meeting dates, so I set up the Zoom meetings and link to the calendar entries. The meeting note documents are also updated and linked to each meeting in the calendar. After updating Copper with the meeting dates, I send out confirmations to both clients by email. That’s all, folks!
4:00 pm The weather is cooperating, so I grab the push trike and walk to the daycare to pick up my little man. He’s playing outside and has paint all over his hands - so I know he’s had a great day! We take a 20 minute detour on the way home and then play in the backyard until dad gets home.
5:00 pm My husband and I get dinner ready while our kiddo reads and plays with his toys.
6:30 pm After dinner is done and we’ve washed the dishes, we all decide that another walk is in order because good weather is fleeting here! Off we go to pick up rocks and play in the dirt. It takes at least half an hour just to get around the block because everything is exciting to a young toddler!
7:00 pm Kiddo gets a bath (trying to scrub the paint off his hands - isn’t washable paint supposed to be...washable?) and then we read a book together and my husband puts him to bed.
8:00 pm WHEW! I am completely exhausted already. Time to pour a glass of wine! My husband and I relax on the couch and watch a couple episodes of Bosch before we are off to bed by 10!