In the blog survey I shared a couple weeks ago, a bunch of you guys said you’d love more day in the life/business update type posts. My pleasure! I’ll do these more often if you like it. 🙂 Let me know! Here’s what I did yesterday. This was an unusual day in that I didn’t have any client sessions scheduled, but typical in the sense that I had a lot of calls/computer time/varied stuff going on.
A Day in the Life
5:30 a.m. – alarm goes off, drag self out of bed, throw on running clothes
5:50 a.m. – pound a piece of toast with PB&J on my way out the door
6 – 7 a.m. – track workout!!! Feel like a bada$$.
7 – 8 a.m. – head home, stretch/foam roll, shower
8 a.m. – sit down to breakfast at my computer (lame, I know) and get to work! First order of business is to check in on emails. I had my Perfect Microwave Banana Oatmeal with an egg added, topped with walnuts, cottage cheese, and berries. Plus a little shot of espresso with milk. Sidenote – how cute is this Starbucks Paris espresso cup I bought this summer? Love it!
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – upload/edit photos + write/publish blog post of the day. Close email so I can actually focus! Trying to get better about closing my email when I need to get other things done – I feel kind of like working on my email inbox is like running in quicksand. Anyone else?!
9:30 – 10 a.m. – business accounting and upkeep (mailed off my quarterly self-employed taxes… it’s amazing how much we pay in taxes – you realize it way more when you pay it in a big lump sum! yikes!). Yep, still using up our leftover wedding stamps. 🙂
10 – 10:45 a.m. – mastermind Skype call with fellow RDs. Do any of you guys who work for yourselves/from home have a mastermind group? It’s basically a little group of people doing similar work that get together every once in awhile to talk business – share what’s new, bounce ideas off each other, get advice/inspiration, etc. It’s been really helpful and fun! I’ve been doing one for about a year now with Kerri-Ann Jennings and Rachel Meltzer Warren, who I met through the Nutrition Entrepreneurs group listserv that I’m a part of through the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. We meet every 3 weeks. They are both dietitians with solo private practices and freelance nutrition writers. Rachel also just recently came out with a book – The Smart Girl’s Guide to Going Vegetarian – check it out! 🙂
The main thing I bring up during this call is that I’m trying to decide whether I want to bring on another dietitian for my AnneTheRD nutrition counseling private practice. As of now, the client volume/demand is getting to be more than I can handle by myself (which is obviously amazing, but still kind of a problem). Debating what to do! Bringing on someone else would mean a lot of intense upfront work – rebranding, interviewing, getting someone up to speed, changing paperwork, business cards, etc etc. Makes me overwhelmed just to think about, to be honest, but could be smart in the long term. There’s also the question of office space – would I have the new person work virtual and meet people either via skype/phone or in coffee shops, like I do? Or would I want to have them come here? Or to rent an office space? Gah! I might hold off for now and see how things go this fall – any advice from my fellow RDs/entrepreneurs that have brought on extra people?
11 – 11:15 a.m. – Blog-related call about a potential partnership
11:15 – 11:45 a.m. – Play with Zara, have a snack (an orange + hummus and crackers), make myself a latte. 🙂
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – More emails!
12:15 – 2:15 p.m. – Errands + lunch out with my friend Ashley. We met up at Haandi in Falls Church – really good Indian food! I don’t often go out to lunch during the week so this was a fun treat. 🙂
2:15 – 3:30 p.m. – Check in on emails – respond to AnneTheRD client questions, get back to readers/fellow RDs that have emailed with questions, etc.
3:30 – 4:45 p.m. – Siesta! Knew I would be working late so gave myself some time to relax/rest.
4:45 p.m. – snack! Greek yogurt + a handful of pistachios and a few handfuls of granola
5 – 5:30 p.m. – Call with a future RD with questions about owning a private practice. I used to ask others a lot of questions when I was on my back to school journey/starting my practice, so I always pay it forward! To get in some movement, I head out for a walk during the call. Love doing this for calls I don’t need my computer/paper for!
5:30 p.m. – Back to my computer! Determined to get my inbox under control. Respond to a couple nutrition-related interview requests for magazine/online articles, reply to blog partnership offer emails (mostly no thanks – I probably only accept about 15% of offers), etc. Eat snack #2 around 6 p.m. while I’m at it – leftover roasted sweet potato fries & brussels sprouts.
7:15 – 8:30 p.m. – Matt is home! Have dinner, hang out.
We had leftovers from Monday night atop 90 second brown rice with an arugula/avocado/green pepper side salad.
Plus some of this fun wild blueberry wine that we were given up on the trip I did in Maine with them. It was good – tasted like a normal red wine!
8:30 p.m. – Back to the computer! More emails + prep for a Twitter chat I’m hosting.
9 – 10 p.m. – Co-host Twitter chat
10 p.m. – Shut down computer, relax, read in bed
10:45 p.m. – Lights out!
