7:00 am: My first alarm on my phone goes off. I recently discovered I can link my Spotify and Amazon Music as my alarm (Has this been around for a while?!). It's been quite fun waking up to my personal concert in the morning.
7:10 am: Run through my to-do list in my head. I always write it the day before but I have a pretty great photographic memory. I hope it never goes away. Instinctively I grab my phone to check for any Teams messages or emails. Yes, I know I shouldn't grab my phone first thing. It takes 21 days to break a habit (supposedly) and today's just not the day to break habits. 🤣
7:20 am: Finalize any post I have going out today. I owe a portion of my love and confidence for my career to my little corner of the LinkedIn community that I have built up since the pandemic. It really is such a wonderful place to meet all kinds of people from many walks of life. I enjoy the daily interactions.
7:30 am: I am absolutely obsessed with mangos. I ate my first one a little over a year ago — again, I know, late to the game — and it's been a lovely relationship ever since. I find a bag of cut up mangos in the fridge (💗) and make my daily acai bowl. My bowl usually consists of mangos, bananas, almond butter, coconut, and cacao. I also get a light stretch in.
8:15 am: Get dressed and ready for the day.
8:45 am: Respond to any quick emails, get ready for my first call of the day, and clean a fresh page of my Rocketbook. Oh, the satisfaction.
I make a mental note that I need to order some Rocketbook pens. Mine are running out of ink. Rocketbooks are great if you like to handwrite notes but still categorize and search items. I am old school and remember things much better when I write them out. I even handwrote all my essays for law school and the bar exam. I know, wild. 😂
9:00 am: First call of the day! Internal meeting with one of our subsidiaries going over a new product module a client wants in their portfolio, what the usage will be, and what documents they will need to execute.
9:30 am: Review and edit a license agreement for a potential vendor. (Here’s to hoping it's mutual!)
10:00 am: Meeting with a division's developers regarding Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for a new product launch.
10:30 am: Weekly subsidiary meeting regarding latest updates and progress on various team projects.
11:15 am: Random employee call asking my thoughts on a recurring client question and how to respond. I enjoy these calls because I appreciate that our employees value my advice. They come to me proactively for both business and legal advice. And it feels almost like a stop-in if we were in the office.
11:30 am: Scheduled call with an employee to go over any final documents they have that are needed for a client compliance situation.
12:00 pm: Cross-functional call. This is the start of what looks to be a series of calls regarding policy updates with our finance and human resources teams.
12:30 pm: Siete Almond Flour Tortilla filled with chicken, avocado spread, and lettuce with a Waterloo Peach drink. I do a mix of Whole30 and Paleo, and absolutely love it.
I have been on Paleo since 2012. I don’t follow it as strictly as I did for the first few years, but I just feel better and more energized when I stick to it. Also, I fill up my Stanley cup with ice water. I'm terrible with water intake, but @TheBuyGuide got me hooked on the Stanley cup so I try to do better with that.
I also chat with a potential member of our local ACC chapter and take a random employee call asking my advice on a “change request” they want to send to a client. Employees always get a kick out of it when I chat with them while making lunch or dinner. I don't mind it and it's multitasking at its finest.
1:15 pm: Review documents for a potential acquisition down the road. This is one of my favorite things to do, I think because it's an area I study a lot and love getting into because it's always a mix of both business and legal.
2:00 pm: Review the data privacy protection of a particular jurisdiction. Also, I look into the source code protection they offer and expand on the language in their agreement.
2:30 pm: Assist an employee with filling out required legal information on a tax-exempt status form.
3:00 pm: Call with finance to gather pay stubs and tax documents I need for an employee's visa extension.
3:15 pm: Negotiations with a potential client's counsel regarding a revised contract.
3:45 pm: Review a statement of work and Teams chat with one of our developers to make sure we can comply with the service level and hours requested.
4:00 pm: Call with insurance broker regarding a lease question and performance bond needed for an upcoming project.
4:30 pm: Call with outside counsel regarding an update needed on a submitted US Patent and Trademark Office document.
4:45 pm: Call with our counsel in Mexico regarding a labor law update and the subsequent changes needed in employee contracts.
5:15 pm: Run through requested changes to our standard subcontractor agreement. Find the changes agreeable, send an email to that division to get it signed, and request a final executed copy.
5:30 pm: Research how to reopen a company account so we can comply with a requirement for an immigration document in a particular jurisdiction.
6:00 pm: Write out some topics for a new training session. I also send out a calendar invite for a weekly meeting with one of our subsidiaries to keep me updated on changes to client products.
6:30 pm: Make a Home Chef meal! I switch out any mayo or dairy the recipe calls for with avocado mayo and dairy free cheese. I think this is a fun way to try new recipes and have all the ingredients on hand. However, my eight-week discount subscription is coming to an end and I think I just miss my staples, so I'm going to put pause on it for a while.
8:00 pm: Attend a family member's soccer game, cheer him on, and do a bit of research for tomorrow's post.
9:00 pm: Unwind for the day. Respond to any quick messages or emails.
10:00 pm: Write out the next day's post and finalize an article.
11:30 pm: Pop on a movie and sign up for some basic coding classes. I've always wanted to learn, so might as well start somewhere!
2:00 am: I know my sleeping habits are nuts. Thanks, law school. Ten years later, and my life still isn't the same as before. Fall asleep during the movie. Wake up and do a quick skin care routine and turn the dishwasher on. Hop into bed and get excited for tomorrow.
I really love my job. I did not always get to say that, so reminding myself how far I've come puts me in a grateful mood.
