scijessreads

It took a few years, but I have made it back to a place where there is such a thing as “Summer Break.” And I do not take it for granted. I thought it could be fun to do a little “day in the life” sort of post, where I take what is an average day in the Summer months and go through my routine. Or sort-of routine, since I have less of one during the off months than I do when I am actively teaching during a semester. Maybe I’ll do another one when I get back to the Fall semester as a comparison.

Wake up: 5:30AM – I do have to set an alarm. I am a morning person, and even in the Summer, I keep some form of this.

CrossFit: 6AM – I suck at working out on my own, so I need to go to a gym with a class structure where the workout is planned and there are others to keep me accountable. CrossFit is the one thing that I have been able to be somewhat consistent with. I do love a heavy barbell.

Coffee / Reading / Pet Stuff: 7:30AM – After CrossFit, I get home and have my coffee. While drinking my much-needed caffeine, I read (usually on my Kindle) and take breaks for breakfast and feed the pets and walk the dog. I am usually still in my workout clothes at this point and have settled into my corner of the couch (or on the patio if it’s not deathly hot already. If I’m lucky, I’ll finally hop in the shower sometime between 10 and Noon.

Prep Work for Fall / Blog Writing: Noon-ish – Once I finally get in the shower, I am ready to actually do stuff. Even though it is a break, I always have work to do either for work (prep for Fall, stuff if I’m teaching online classes in Summer) or for this blog (now that I am trying to get it going consistently). For the blog, it’s prepping ideas and batch writing posts and scheduling them. Part of this involves creating images in Canva for the blog and Instagram now that I am book-focused. For work, I revise slides and lecture videos, create the class shells in Canvas, and revise syllabi and materials. Right now we are prepping to change textbooks. That necessitates making new study guides and other materials. I do these things either at home (rarely, since I tend to get distracted with other stuff there), at a coffee shop (also occasionally, since that requires spending money), or at the local library (most often since it is quiet and free and air-conditioned).

Being a Trash Panda: 5PM – Once I stop work (or errands, which I tend to tack on as I head for home), I get back home and change into my lounge/yoga clothes and either curl up on my bed or back on my couch. More reading happens, snacking happens, and general trash panda activities occur. I embrace the chance to just not HAVE to do anything if I don’t want to.

Yoga: 8:30PM – I recently started back up with Yoga, specifically the Chill version that I call “stretchy nap time.” It’s late (and I am not a night person), but I need it. Having reached the age where things start to get hurt, yoga helps me not get broken as often as I could (especially since I do CrossFit most days). Flexibility is not my forte, but I still love going to yoga.

Bed: 10PM – If I’m lucky, I go straight to sleep. Usually what happens is I read a little more on the Kindle and finally get to bed around 10:30 or 11. I try to get 6-7 hours of sleep. That doesn’t always happen. Especially if the book is good and I can’t put it down. Which happens more often than my poor sleep schedule would like.