Day in the Life: Stacey Shaw

Name: Stacey Shaw 

Title: Assistant General Counsel 

Company: Careington International Corporation 

Location: Frisco, TX 

5:00 am 

My first alarm goes off, and I usually hit snooze. It’s so early! I am a night owl and stay up late. I have always been this way. 

5:30 am – 7:00 am 

I have to get out of bed no later than 5:30 am to start getting ready before my twins get up. One sometimes gets up early and goes downstairs. The other usually has to be coaxed out of bed. I try to have us all downstairs by 7 am so we can have their backpacks ready, take our vitamins/medicine, and have breakfast before we leave. They have to make sure their charged Chromebooks are put in their backpacks and that they have a healthy snack for school (Pirate’s Booty white cheddar). I also try to ask if anyone needs snacks for martial arts. If anyone needs snacks (fruit snacks or Smartfood — my personal kryptonite), I throw them in a bag so I can drop off at martial arts when I pick them up. They tell me they cannot possibly fit anything else in their backpacks (cue the eye rolling). 

Spots, our 95-pound German shepherd mix, has to go outside before we leave, and I make sure she has a full bowl of water and food for the day. She is the best dog and is the only one that listens to me! She knows our routine and goes where she needs to be without me even asking. I love her so much! 

7:20 am 

The school doors open at 7:20 am, and I try to drop the boys off between 7:20 am and 7:30 am. I usually park and walk with them through the parking lot until they get to the crosswalk and watch them walk through the doors. Once I get back to my car, I try to turn on “The Daily Jay,” a seven-minute daily mindfulness practice in the Calm app, to start my day; it’s especially helpful if the car line is backed up! 

8:00 am  

It takes me about 30 minutes to get to my office in Frisco. I always take the stairs to my office on the second floor to help with my step count for the day. I set my items down and log on. My Microsoft Viva Insights (Viva Insights) app within Teams asks me for a confidential check-in to see how I am feeling for the day. I do that quickly and then look at the trends to see how the past few days have been. I check emails to triage for urgent matters and try to see if there are any emails I can quickly respond to and knock out when I am energized. 

9:00 am 

I head up to the third floor and have a 15-minute huddle with my team to go over any roadblocks, questions, issues, etc. We have these meetings twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday. 

9:15 am 

I head back down to my office. I also have Viva Insights set up to block focus time. Depending on how many meetings I have scheduled for the day, my focus block may be in the morning or the afternoon.  

11:00 am 

I head back to the third floor for my weekly one-on-one with my manager. I always prepare an agenda for the meeting and have my questions/items ready to review and discuss. 

12:00 pm 

I also have Viva Insights setup to block lunch. For many years, lunch meant a protein bar or shake quickly consumed at my desk while still checking emails. My manager recently told me I needed to block focus time, and that was my impetus to also block my lunch to protect that time. If I don’t block that time, team members will often schedule time to meet during that block.  

I pride myself on being available for my team by having an open-door policy because I am in the office almost every day; however, I also need a break. I try to bring my lunch on most days (usually a protein shake, but sometimes I accidentally forget it and have to order delivery). Panera is my go-to delivery order. I usually get the same thing and have my order customized in the Panera app. When my order is delivered, I head downstairs to our lobby. I always enjoy saying hi to our receptionist. She is always a bright light in my day and always asks about my boys.  

Afternoon 

In the afternoon, I usually have meetings or attend webinars. If I am lucky to have my focus time in the afternoon, I try to knock out as much work as I can because I know the evening is going to be very hectic. The boys just started tackle football a few weeks ago, and Mondays and Thursday nights are really LONG nights. 

5:00 pm 

I start packing up my things to drive the 40 minutes to martial arts to pick up the boys.  

5:40 pm 

I arrive at martial arts and wait for my kids who are in the aftercare room in back. It takes them several minutes to put their socks and shoes (which are not allowed on the mat) so I watch the younger kids train while I wait. I love their energy and enthusiasm. They play fun games, and the Professor jokes with them about having to do push-ups if they don’t listen. I ensure the boys have their white football pants and red socks in their backpacks, so they can change at martial arts and be ready to go as soon as I pick them up. 

5:45 pm 

The boys get in the car and put on their cleats as soon as possible. Practice is at the local middle school or high school, which is about five minutes from martial arts. As soon as we arrive, I quickly help them get their shoulder pads, practice jerseys, and helmets on.   

6:00 pm  

They head to the field for practice, and I tell them I will be back in a few minutes so I can go let Spots out and feed her. They remind me to bring the Powerade electrolyte popsicles (as if I could forget). 

6:10 pm 

I arrive at home and bring in their backpacks and my items. I let Spots out, feed her, and ensure she has a full bowl of water. I change out of my work clothes and into athletic clothes. I pack up the cooler with drinks (and Powerade popsicles) and head back to the field. I take out my rolling cart first and then take out my covered chair. I roll my way to the sideline and plop myself down to watch practice. I say hello to other parents I know. The boys usually come over quickly because they have lots of water breaks. It is still very hot in Texas in September! 

8:15 pm 

Practice is finally over. The team comes by for a popsicle (there are two flavors). One of my twins likes to stall and run around the field, so it takes us even longer to finally leave. His best friend on the team asks after practice if he can come over to play this weekend. We walk to my car, and I load everything back in the car. 

8:30 pm 

We try to figure out what we are going to eat for dinner. We are all fans of breakfast for dinner (or any meal for that matter), so sometimes we will get breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts because they are one of the few places that serves breakfast all day. They like the wake-up wraps and stuffed bagel minis, and I like the egg white and veggie omelet bites. I usually have points to redeem, so I usually get something for free. Sometimes it takes a while in the drive-thru line, so the boys complain, and I remind them that they asked for Dunkin’… Other times we eat something I can quickly heat at home. 

8:45 pm 

We finally get home! They take off their sweaty, dirty clothes, and we finish eating. I see if Spots needs to go out again, and I remind them to charge their Chromebooks. I fill up their water bottles for school. Then we head upstairs for them to take their shower and get ready for bed. It is like herding cats! They usually want to wrestle at this time … You would think they would be exhausted from being at school all day, then martial arts, and then tackle football practice, but they have unlimited energy.  

9:00 or so 

After their showers, I remind them to floss and brush their teeth, and then we do our nightly reading with our favorite books. One usually falls asleep right away. One likes the fan on and light off, and the other likes the fan off and lights on. They rarely agree on anything. 

11:00pm or so 

I sometimes take a shower or finish any chores I need to finish. Sometimes I take care of personal emails or get my lunch/snacks ready for the next day. Usually when I am in the shower, I remember things I was supposed to do, so when I get out of the shower, I take care of whatever I remembered in the shower (adding something in my Amazon cart, logging on to finish something, etc.). 

Midnight  

I finally turn off the lights and often turn on some sleep music in the Calm app. I have no trouble falling asleep!