My dad was asking me the other day: “What is it that you do anyway? Do you seat around all day and look at fabric & paint samples?” I have to admit that my father doesn’t approve of my career choice, according to him I should have been a doctor, a judge or the next Michaëlle Jean!

Our conversation gave me a great idea for this blog. Thanks daddy! Although I don’t get to save lives or make Laws, I love what I do!

What is it that I do? Am an Interior specialist! When I look at a space I have the ability use the space in the most efficient and functional way and I am really good at color combinations.

Morning

A day in our household starts early, I wake up at 5 in the morning.

The first thing I do is a workout in my family room that changes regularly. Right now I am doing Piyo and I love it! After my workout I take some time to pray and set my mind on positive things. I have shared right here that I get afraid or anxious most days and praying helps me face the day.

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I take a 2 min shower (no joke)!  What’s a 2 min shower? Get wet, lather soap, rinse and walk out.

Although I work from home I make it a point to dress business casual, it actually helps me feel more productive.

Then I make breakfast.

I never eat the same thing but I always drink Earl Grey Tea! My favorite breakfast is a Yogourt Parfait. My son usually wakes up by the latest 6:45 and I make sure he’s at day care at 8:30.

A Day in my life

Work

Although some TV shows have often shown the home staging and interior design industry in a glamorous and exciting light, there are a lot of physical and emotional demands and challenges involved in the day to day operations of an Interior specialist. Helping people keep a home they love or sale it is first and foremost a business, not a hobby . From developing  business and marketing plans, operating policies and procedures,  networking,  meeting with clients, contracts and then the actual work.
Being the owner of a small business, I handle the day to day operations of the business as well as the work itself.  After taking care of the business; billing, responding to emails and calls, marketing, making sure schedules are being met, setting up networking meetings and other common responsibilities most small businesses must do  I typically meet with up 8 clients a week on a busy week. These meetings  average about 3 hours each including  travel, time at the property and any follow up contact. Some of those initial appointments turn into additional work.
There is no typical day for me. For the moment, most of my clients are available to meet for consultations in the evening or on weekends. So unless I have day time appointments I use the day to do research, draw plans, write service offers and analysis for properties that need to be staged. I also update my social media sites and this blog. I try to do the difficult task earlier in the day and leave the fun stuff like shopping or choosing samples for the afternoon. When I have no ongoing contracts I do a lot of prospecting and I reach out to brokers, builders and suppliers for possible partnerships. I leave one day a week (usually Fridays) to be on the road and visit any ongoing construction sites to make sure all is according to plan.
My work day temporarily end at 5pm to get my son from day care and eat diner just the two of us! Since the summer is not a busy period for me I choose to end my days at 3pm to spend good quality time with my son. He loves playing outdoor!
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Hubby comes back home at 6:45 and takes over with our toddler. He’s in charge of the whole bed routine while I usually go out to meet clients or stay home to do a little more work.

By 10pm I’m no longer functional. My husband says I turn into a pumpkin!

Eating

Scheduling time to eat has been the hardest part of working from home and being on the road. After breakfast I found myself working for hours and forgetting to eat! By the time I realized I was hungry I just wanted to eat everything in the pantry. Since I have started working from home I gained a whopping 20lbs even with my daily workout routine. I realized its because I went from eating 6 small meals a day to eating two meals. My body is basically acting like its on starvation mode and holding on to all the fat!

To remedy to the situation I prepare my food in advance as if I have to go into the office. I keep my lunch on my desk along with snacks like vegetables and fruits and a bag of nuts in the car. I make sure I have meals that are easy to eat with one hand (when I’m on the road… Wraps are my favorite). I don’t actually make dinner everyday but instead I use whatever free time I have on weekends to prep my food for slow cooked meals. This crockpot meal planner and these recipes have saved my life! So far I lost 5 lbs!

A Day In My Life

Creative Breaks

There are times when I don’t feel motivated or I have no ideas for the projects I am working on. when this happens I take a 30 minute creative break. Basically I step away from the task at hand and I do something that I enjoy or even something new. Here are somethings I have tried:

  • Baking something new
  • Listening to music
  • Reading one chapter of a good book
  • Draw or paint
  • Go for a quick walk
  • Plan a cool date night for my hubby & I
  • Stretch
  • Unclutter my desk

Scheduling Me time

As a daughter, a wife, a mom and an interior specialist, life gets pretty hectic sometimes . It’s important that I have some time by myself to rest and recharge. It helps me be better at everything that I do. One a month a schedule a massage with my amazing massotherapist and I take the whole day off! Usually I take a nap after my massage, I have sushi for lunch and I take a long warm bubble bath at night.

 I absolutely love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for any other profession! It can be daunting at times to wear so many hats as an entrepreneur. Some things are part of my expertise while others aren’t but I’m learning and I’m not a perfectionist because perfection is BORING!

I’m curious, what do you do to recharge?

 

 

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