Day in the Life of a Small Business Owner
When you work outside of the typical 9-5 environment, your day could look...well...a little different. Life as a small business owner gives me freedom and flexibility to spend my days how I wish, and really every day is different. If you've ever wondered what a day in the life of a small business owner looks like, here's a peek at my schedule.
How many hours a day do small business owners work?
There's a saying that entrepreneurs left their 9-5 to go work 24/7 and unfortunately, that can be true. While I believe in setting boundaries so your personal life and business don't suffer, it's really hard to stop work most days.
To be honest, I still stick to somewhat of a 9-5 schedule. Some days I'm starting work much earlier, and other days I'm ending much later. I work in pockets of times on the weekends if I need to, but my goal is always to have evenings and weekend free for my family. If I had to guess, I likely still work at least 30-40+ hours per week. I have to factor in that I occasionally take a day off to be with family or friends.
How to Plan Your Day as an Entrepreneur
Planning out your day as an entrepreneur feels hard and uncomfortable at first. You're so used to someone telling you what to do, and if you aren't self-motivated, you could get into some trouble (aka nothing gets done). Here are some tips on how to plan your day as an entrepreneur.
Plan Your Week on Sundays
Something that's been life changing for me is planning my week on Sundays. I'll jot down any meetings I have each day and the big tasks and goals for the week. This establishes a game plan for Monday, so I feel more confident about the week ahead.
Aim for 3 Big Tasks per Day
As an entrepreneur, your to-do list never ends. Therefore, how do you know when to stop working? Aiming to complete 3 big tasks per day is a really helpful strategy. That way, even on your less productive days, you know you checked off your big 3.
Time Block and Use a Planner
While I have a general plan for my week on Sundays, at the end of each day I like to go in and time block on my calendar for the next day. I do this in Google Calendar, and I'll assign a block of time for each task on my list. I track all my tasks for the week in my Plum Paper Planner that I customized.
My Daily Routine as a Small Business Owner
With those tips in mind, here's my daily routine as a small business owner. Keep in mind every day truly does look different for me. Sometimes I work at my local coworking space, many days I have calls or in-person meetings, and sometimes I start and end work at different times.
However, this is my ideal structure that works well for me. When you map out your schedule, consider when and how you work best, what other responsibilities you have, and what you desire out of each day.
7am: Wake Up and Workout
I'm usually awake some time between 6-7:30am and try to wake up naturally before my alarm (the sunrise alarm clock Hatch helps make this possible). I work out first thing in the morning, typically doing a strength training workout or going for a run.
8am: Breakfast and Get Ready
Right after my workout, I'll straighten up the kitchen and get breakfast and coffee ready for my husband and I. I spend about an hour having some slow moments before the business of the day.
Sometimes I'll sit outside, and I'll eat, sip coffee, journal, read my Bible, read a book, stretch, or do honestly whatever fills my cup that day. Then, I'll get ready for the day and start work.
9am: Walk and Tackle 3 Main Tasks
If I'm home and don't have an early meeting, I like to walk on my walking pad and tackle my big 3 tasks first thing. I'm most creative in the morning, so whichever tasks require more creativity typically happen now. I try to walk around 3 miles per day while I work.
12pm: Lunch Break and Get Sunshine
Around noon (or whenever I'm hungry), I pencil in an hour lunch break for myself. During this time, I'll eat and sit outside. Sometimes, I'll read, go on a walk, listen to a podcast, or even take a nap. I try to avoid looking at my computer screen and actually taking a full hour break.
1pm: Client Work
I'm usually working on some kind of client work in the afternoon, if not in the mornings, too. I try to block off time for each of my clients on my calendar, so I'm not jumping around from one to the next.
I work on a wide variety of projects with my clients during this time. Projects include developing an overall marketing strategy, content creation, social media planning, launch management, systems set-up, and more—you can read more about my marketing services here.
5pm: Make and Eat Dinner
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I LOVE to cook. I'll usually start dinner around 5pm or so and whip up something yummy for my husband Nick and I. I love listening to some just-for-fun podcasts during dinner or, if I need to simply unwind, I listen to music from the 1950s. Sounds silly, but it's super relaxing after being glued to a computer all day.
7pm: Family Time
After we eat and clean up from dinner, it's family time! My family consists of Nick and our two pups, so we'll either all go for a walk, sit on the porch and chat, read books, put on sports (Nick) and do a craft (me lol), or watch a movie (as long as it's not TOO late).
We aren't big tv people, so we enjoy just spending our evenings hanging out together. Sometimes we hang out with friends on weeknights, but most of the time we just love being home.
9:30pm: Read in Bed until I'm Zonked
Yeah, I'm one of those people who LOVES to be in bed by 9pm. Nick and I swapped out our nightstand lamp bulbs with red light bulbs, and we love turning those on and reading in bed. It makes you super tired super fast, so we usually just read until we knock out.
There's my day in the life of a small business owner! I hope you enjoyed, and if you want follow along more, head over to my Instagram where I share lots of behind-the-scenes.
