What a great thread - glad to know my fellow VAs are insomniacs like me

My day goes like this:

6.00am - Wake up & get the children ready for school
6.30am - Shower & lots of coffee!
7.00am - 3pm - Client work
3pm - 7pm - Supervise homework, activities etc.
8pm - 1am - Client work

Our weekends are structured slightly differently here, in that the children have Friday and Sunday off school, so Saturday is a regular working day!

__________________
"Instead of looking for things that have gone wrong and trying to fix them...Look for things that went right and try to build on them" Tom Peters

I wanted to bump this thread back up as it's a good one and so interesting to read how each of us manages the day...
Looking forward to reading more posts here.

__________________

Wow, you all make me feel lazy! My children are grown and on their own so I guess I should be doing more than I am!!!

My schedule is really dependent on the doctor appts (for kids and grandchild), husbands job search and who ever needs me today. That is why I really enjoy my VA business - of course when I was in the corporate world I could not attend the appts, school programs, help with whatever my family needed during the day.

But my basic schedule is:

7:00 - Wake up have coffee
7:30 - Read local and national newspapers, more coffee
8:00 - 10:00 Log in read emails, facebook posts, VAF, Hootsuite to catch up with my night owl connections.
10:00 - 1:00 Client work, prospecting
1:00 - 5:00 Marketing, prospect follow-up
5:00 - 6:30 Social Media catch up, research for clients

After 6:30, dinner and what needs to be done (housework, shopping, etc)
Bed by 11:00

Not so exciting but today I get to pick up my grandson from school and spend the afternoon with him! That is the best.

__________________
Cindy
www.eoseasy.comThe Chrysalis Plan

Monday - Friday
6:30am - 7:00am Up and into shower, brush teeth, get dressed
7:00am - 8:30am Make toast/hot tea, boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work (client work, marketing, etc.)
8:30am - 8:45am Shut down 'puter, fix b-fast for F-I-L, head to 9-5
8:45am - 10:30am At 9-5, start work.
10:30am - 10:45am Morning break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls
10:45am - 12:15am Back on 9-5 work
12:15pm - 12:45am Lunch break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls
12:45pm - 3:00pm Back on 9-5 work
3:00pm - 5:15pm Afternoon break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls
5:15pm - 5:30pm Head home
5:30pm - 6:45pm Fix dinner for family
6:45pm - 7:00pm Wash dishes, brush teeth, etc.
7:00pm - 9:00pm Boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work
9:00pm - 9:30pm Shut down 'puter, cuddle time on couch w/hubby
9:30pm Bed

Saturday
7:30am - 8:00am Up and into shower, brush teeth, get dressed
8:00am - 12:00am Make toast/hot tea, boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work (client work, marketing, whatever needs to be done.)
12:00pm Shut down 'puter, personal time rest of day and Sunday

There is a lot of flexibility not only in this schedule, but also in my 9-5. I often have breaks in my day waiting on someone else so check emails, jump onto VAF, or whatever here and there during the day, as well. Subject to change without notice

__________________
Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

What a fun thread!

My schedule is definitely child-centered with three boys to manage in addition to the client work.

7 am - wake up/and get kids breakfast
8am - kids 1 (and sometimes 2) off on bus
8-9 - email/twitter/1 to do item
9-10 - play with 2yo and 5yo if he's home
10-12-a little work and usually some time cleaning or playing with kids
12-2 - baby's nap and dedicated work time
2-7 - a little work but mostly kid time and dinner prep etc
7-8 - kids into bath and bed
8-11 - work time if needed
11 - bedtime

__________________
Laurie
Halo Blog and My Blog About Being a WAHM

Boy . . . I'll have to document what I do now so I can contribute!

Frances

Originally Posted by Office Goddess

Monday - Friday 6:30am - 7:00am Up and into shower, brush teeth, get dressed 7:00am - 8:30am Make toast/hot tea, boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work (client work, marketing, etc.) 8:30am - 8:45am Shut down 'puter, fix b-fast for F-I-L, head to 9-5 8:45am - 10:30am At 9-5, start work. 10:30am - 10:45am Morning break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls 10:45am - 12:15am Back on 9-5 work 12:15pm - 12:45am Lunch break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls 12:45pm - 3:00pm Back on 9-5 work 3:00pm - 5:15pm Afternoon break - check emails, check VAF, return client phone calls 5:15pm - 5:30pm Head home 5:30pm - 6:45pm Fix dinner for family 6:45pm - 7:00pm Wash dishes, brush teeth, etc. 7:00pm - 9:00pm Boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work 9:00pm - 9:30pm Shut down 'puter, cuddle time on couch w/hubby 9:30pm Bed Saturday 7:30am - 8:00am Up and into shower, brush teeth, get dressed 8:00am - 12:00am Make toast/hot tea, boot up computer, check emails, start on Goddess work (client work, marketing, whatever needs to be done.) 12:00pm Shut down 'puter, personal time rest of day and Sunday There is a lot of flexibility not only in this schedule, but also in my 9-5. I often have breaks in my day waiting on someone else so check emails, jump onto VAF, or whatever here and there during the day, as well. Subject to change without notice

This is most like my schedule! Centered around the family and 9-5!

Frances

Hello everyone,

I am so impressed with these daily routines! My mornings start the same most days... coffee, VA forums and responding to emails etc.

Then I try to have weekly routine - i.e. one day of the week allocated to housework, one to personal paperwork (like bills etc) - not that they take all day but just so that when a bill comes in... or I notice the fridge needs cleaning, I can put it on the list for Weds/Housework day or Fri/Paperwork day and then mentally clear them out of my head. We gals carry around too many buzzing thoughts all day as it is!

I still find that being on my computer for a large part of the day for client work... means that I find myself checking emails all the time... then responding to them or facebook threads etc... such a terrible waste of time!

I particularly like one entry I saw "5pm Turn computer OFF"

Donna

__________________
Virtual Assistant in France
www.farmhouse.fr/donna

Wow was I a lot more structured when I began my business 2 years ago! LOL I bet it's changed a lot for you too Tess

Well, one thing that has definitely stuck is I work very hard to shut down my computer daily at 5-5:30pm. My poor daughter gets "ignored" enough by me all day long. ( I don't ignore her of course, but she surely doesn't have my full fun mommy attention.)

My client load varies from week to week, therefore it's hard to keep a consistent schedule. (Not to mention the teleseminars & webinars & training I participate in, phone appts, lunch meetings and social networking events )One week I could have 25 billable hours and the next only 5. I try to take advantage of the slower weeks to catch up on housework and do fun stuff with my 3 yrs old daughter. 2 years ago I would've taken that opportunity to market! market! market! but I realize that time is flying by at such a fast pace that before I know it my baby will be in school. I don't want to choose work over blessed memories that I'll have for a lifetime. (Family first!) I'll be "all business" when my kids are grown.

So anyway this is a full-load schedule (no other obligations)
7am-wake up and drink lots of coffee while I check my e-mail, respond to clients and wait for my eyes to focus
8:00am-9:30am Client work
9:30am-Shower & get dressed
10:00am-Daughter wakes up, feed & change her, throw laundry in
11am-1pm-Client work
1pm-lunch
1:30-check e-mail and respond to clients
2pm-5pm-Client work
5pm-Cook dinner
6pm- eat
6:30pm-9:30pm-House chores, errands, family time
9:30-put baby to bed and enjoy quiet time
11-11:30pm-Out like a light!

Those client work times are regularly interrupted with letting the dog out, getting the baby a snack, making sure she's not getting into trouble, etc... I usually can't accomplish more than 5.5 billable hours in a day. If it's mandatory that I HAVE to, I will work at night, but I try to avoid that at ALL costs!!!

It will be interesting to revisit this topic again in a couple of years.

__________________
Dawn Lawson | At Your Service
http://freelanceadminsupport.com

BTW-When I have a full schedule, I do MY admin work Saturdays...accounting, project management & blogging/marketing. Otherwise I do it during the week.

__________________
Dawn Lawson | At Your Service
http://freelanceadminsupport.com