A (working) day in the life of me
Hi guys! Here’s a day in the life of Made by Leah…
I like to start my day as early as possible. I don’t naturally wake up early, or go to bed late… I think I got the unfortunate ‘tired all the time’ gene from somewhere, anyone else?! But, either way, I give it my best shot and set my alarm for 6:30 to be out of bed by 7 and at the studio as close to 8 as possible. The hour in between 7 and 8 normally involves a coffee and a catch up online or a magazine and a chapter of whatever book I’m reading.
My studio, for those of you that don’t know, is at my parent’s house in their double garage. They live 5 minutes down the road from me. I’d love to say I walked there, but that’s pretty rare as I’m doing printer and post office runs so often that it usually means I almost always need my car. Anyway, am I boring you yet!?
No two days are the same; by the way, this is just a general vibe!
When I’m at the studio on a normal day, I start the day by putting on Netflix (or an audiobook or radio 1, it depends how I feel) and then prepping up boxes and envelopes from all outstanding orders. I collect together the stock needed for them and write a list of any of the products I don’t have in stock that I need my printer to print for me. I tend to find not holding LOADS of stock works better for me, but I do have a fair amount to mostly keep me going without having to place too many orders. I also reply to all emails, direct messages and let you guys know what I’m up to on instagram throughout the morning too. If I’m running low on boxes/stickers or anything to do with packing, orders get places straight away! The worst feeling EVER is running out of a packing supply!
Otto (my wire haired sausage dog) comes to the studio with me and is happy to sleep in his (very pink, very extra) studio bed until midday. Normally by that time, all the packing is done and any stock orders placed and then we go for a little walk to stretch all our legs and give us both some fresh air. Sometimes, my favourite part of the day is this little half an hour of fresh air. I’m sure I can speak for Otto on that one too!
I’m not overly strict with working hours, but I like to make my days as close to an 8-5 as possible when I can. I like to be working and out of the house the same as Piers (my husband) so that we can enjoy our evenings together with everything from the day tied up without bringing it home. One thing I’ve learned is that you can never get your to do list down to zero- no matter how hard you try- so you have to go home with things outstanding. When I first started working for myself, this used to bother me a lot. Now, I’ve accepted it and call it a day between 5 and 6 every day regardless, unless it’s busy season!
The afternoon is when I do a post office run, mostly. I’ll take Otto back home sometimes if I need to run errands or go to the post office. In busy times, this is every day (or twice a day haha). In slightly quieter periods, I’ll probably make it every other day.
I then work on designs, ideas, collabs and anything else I want to work on. Product photos, computer work and so on! I like to save the best and most enjoyable things until last, so the final chunk of my day is dedicated to creativity. I sometimes time lapse or just record my afternoons so that I’m away from my phone and I have something to look back on! I always have so many ideas to work on and wish there were more hours in a day, honestly!
Other things to squeeze in are popping to pick up my printer orders, stock checking every now and again to keep on top of placing stock orders etc.!
When I head home, I love just getting cosy and popping my pyjamas on (I mean, I wear joggers most days at work- so I just go from loungewear to PJs, ideal). I keep my phone on me but I don’t put pressure on myself to reply to direct messages and emails in the evenings and at weekends. I do appreciate that people work 9-5 quite often though, so I get a flurry of lovely messages on evenings and weekends and will always try to accommodate that. Infact, I love it! I always love hearing from my followers and customers.
I then, without fail, always end my day looking at my daily positives. From the weather to the beautiful trees I see on my dog walk to the fun stuff I get to collaborate on to the fact I got a batch of orders out to what I had for dinner, I try to look for the positives in it all! You never truly switch off when you have your own business (you don’t want to!) but I love my work life balance and each and every day is a total joy. I get to work with my dog, work the hours I decide and wear joggers, what could be better?!
I hope that was interesting to you! It’s obviously totally ‘normal’ for me as it’s my every day!
Take care always, and let me know about your day too!
Leah x