How I Structure My 9 to 5

A peek behind the curtain of how I organize my workday as a full-time content creator, mom, and DIY enthusiast.

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about my “5 to 9 before my 9 to 5.” Those early morning hours are the calm before the chaos of my children waking up for school. Today, let’s talk about what happens during the actual workday.

Technically, my work hours are more like 8 to 4 (with a healthy dose of flexibility), but let’s dive in.

From TV News to Full-Time Creator

Before I ran The DIY Playbook full-time, I had more traditional jobs. I began my career as a news reporter in my early twenties. Those were long, jam-packed, unpredictable days. I worked four days a week, with extended hours.

Later, I transitioned to a more corporate 9-to-5 life as a TV producer, which I did for about a decade. It was fine, but I have to say… this chapter I’m in now is by far my favorite.

There are two things I especially love:
Flexibility and owning my schedule.

As a working parent, those are absolute game-changers. Whether it's a midday doctor’s appointment or a last-minute school pickup, I have the freedom to adjust as I go…a luxury I don’t take for granted!

The Big Picture: My Weekly Workflow

I’ve found that batching tasks is the most efficient way to get it all done. I can’t do a DIY project every day, and I can’t write a blog post every day. Instead, I can dedicate specific days to knocking out a few projects or writing a couple of posts. Here’s a general look at how I structure my week…

• Monday: Admin & Writing Day
  I always review my finances on Monday and do some bookkeeping. In the afternoon, I’ll do some SEO work and post outlines so I’m ready to write on Tuesdays.

• Tuesday: Writing Day
  Deep work focus. Right now, that means book writing, but this has also been blog or Substack time in the past.

• Wednesday: Project Day
  DIY projects, photo shoots, and content creation. It's the hands-on, messy, visual day. I like that I can get out all of my gear, make a mess, and knock out multiple projects.

• Thursday: Meeting & Content Organization Day
  I keep this day flexible to accommodate calls and check-ins. I meet weekly with my affiliate manager and monthly with my brand manager. I also organize all of the content that I shot on Wednesday. I write reel scripts and send them off to my video editor. I edit photos for use in upcoming blog posts and articles.

• Friday: Planning Day
  This is non-negotiable. I prep captions, plan the week ahead, and make sure I’m never starting Monday blindly. I also use this as an overflow day to finish any lingering tasks from the week.

A Day in the Life: My 8 to 4 Workflow

Here’s what a typical workday looks like, give or take school pickup and the usual curveballs.

8:00-8:10: Time Blocking

My Trello board (more on that below) lists all of my tasks for the day. Meetings, posts to write, content to share, etc. Before I dive in, I slot everything into a time block of no less than 30 minutes. For example, from 8:30 to 9, I will share the daily blog post, share the reel, and respond to comments. Then, from 9 to 11:30, I will work on the next chapter of the book. This helps me set realistic expectations for the day and allows me to allocate enough time to complete everything. Sometimes I’ll look at the day and realize that I can’t do it all, so I’ll shuffle my week around.

8:10–12:00: Deep Work Block
I start by sharing that day’s blog post or Reel. Then I put my phone in another room so I can really focus. This is when I do my most concentrated work—writing, planning, or brainstorming for the book and Playbook content. I’ve found that my brain works best in the morning, so I try not to schedule other things for this time.

12:00–1:00: Lunch and Walk
I usually eat around noon and take a walk with my weighted vest. Sometimes I listen to a podcast or call a friend. Other times I use it for creative thinking. Big ideas seem to love showing up on a walk! I’m sometimes that weirdo on a walk, leaving myself voice memos on my phone about projects or new posts.

1:00–4:00: Lighter Tasks
I handle more administrative tasks here. Planning photo shoots, sourcing materials, writing video scripts, editing photos, responding to comments, or making collages. It’s a mix of creative and catch-up time.

Creating Boundaries When You Work From Home

Working from home has its perks, but it also comes with a lot of distractions. The laundry is always sitting there. The kitchen needs tidying. There’s always something you could be doing besides working.

To keep things from blending too much, I’ve found a couple of strategies that help me stay focused:

• Tidy before I work.
  I struggle to focus when the house feels chaotic. While my coffee brews, I do a quick sweep…making the beds, cleaning the kitchen, and tossing in a load of laundry. That way the house is calm and I can just focus on work.

• Timed resets.
  In the afternoon, I’ll set a 15-minute timer to fold laundry and tidy up. I try to do this in the 3pm hour to reset the house before the kids get home from school.

How I Plan My Days (and Keep My Sanity)

I love a good system. Here’s what I use to keep my personal and work life running (mostly) smoothly.

• Trello
  This is the bread and butter of how I organize my days. I wrote an entire blog post about how I use Trello to organize my week, and even though it’s four years old, I still follow the same system!

• Kitchen calendar
  We keep a dry-erase board with the next two weeks of family events and appointments. I’ve been eyeing the Skylight calendar and might give it a try as a little family upgrade.

• Google Calendar
  I use it for content planning and coordinating with my team and with Finn. It’s great for managing meetings, shoot days, and reminders.

• Notion
  I use Notion with my video editor to plan Reels, keep track of edits, and organize scripts.

Family Flexibility

Monday through Wednesday, I usually wrap work around 4:00 pm. Thursday and Friday, I pick up Rory from school at 2:45 pm and then head to get Ellis. We have swim lessons on Thursdays, and on Fridays, we're usually ready to dive into the weekend with our family movie night!

And now that summer is here? Let’s say things are a little more... fluid. Camp schedules change weekly, and I’m adjusting as we go.

That’s what my workdays look like…structured, but flexible. Productive, but not perfect. I hope this gives you some inspiration if you’re building your routine or just curious how I fit it all in.

Let me know if you have any questions! I’d love to hear from other working mamas. How do you structure your days to get it all done?