An honest "day in my life" (WITH time stamps!)
plus *how* I carve out time for work, health, & self-care amidst a busy season of life
So today I’m writing about something that truthfully feels a little bit RIDICULOUS for me to share, which is…
a day in my life. (?!)
Like, you guys, let's just cut to the chase— I am NOT cool enough for this.
^^A spiritual representation of how I feel typing out this very newsletter right now.
So, while I don’t think I’m interesting enough for this….
Whenever anyone else shares “a day in the life”, I want to know EVERYTHING. Every detail. Every meal. What do they do in the morning? When do they eat? What do they listen to? What are their habits?
I just think it’s so intriguing to see how people live and kind of peel back the curtain…
So after getting a few requests (and hyping myself up that even an ~ordinary~ day in the life may be somewhat interesting?!), I recorded my day (…in painstaking detail) so that you guys can see all of the little habits, timings, and rhythms that are in what I would consider to be a typical day in my life.
first, let’s get to know one another—
But before we jump in to a typical day, let’s set the background, shall we?!
There are a lot of new faces around The Reset lately (yay! hello, new friends!), and I just wanted to do a quick, ol’ fashioned introduction:
Hello, my name is Kate👋🏼 not Katie. Or Katherine. or Kaitlin. Just Kate.
I’ve been a registered nurse for 7 years, I’m a board-certified health coach (trained by Mayo Clinic), and I have my doctorate degree (DNP) specialized in integrative health.
I am passionate about natural remedies, holistic habits, & lifestyle changes to improve health. But with my training and education, I *also* understand + respect modern medicine. (AKA— I’m where “crunchy” meets science.)
My husband’s name is Adam— a bad joke makin’, craft beer drinkin’, distance runnin’, nature lovin’, forehead kissin’ magic man 🕺🏻 He makes life FUN. And peaceful. Together, we have a one-year-old son, Miles, and a fluffy 4-legged-cotton-ball-of-a-dog named Summit. At risk of getting overly sappy— I’ll sum it up by saying I genuinely LOVE this life with my boys.
My little fam lives in a verrrry quirky 1963 mid-century modern (you can peek at it below!). I’m talkin’ wild wallpaper, secret doors, a hidden playfort... it’s quirky & cozy & everything I ever hoped in a home.
(I know I’m a health-focused newsletter, but please let me know if you ever want some house content! You guys seem to love the “lifestyle” posts, but I never know how far to veer from health topics…. *nervous laugh*)
^^curious what an O.G. 60’s mid-century-modern looks like? here’s a mini 11-second tour of my house
For those that care (you know who you are): I’m an Enneagram 7w8. manifesting-generator. aries sun, cancer moon, gemini rising. and I alternate between ENTP & ENTJ. I know some of you are LOVIN’ the personality test summary (and many of you are rolling your eyes), but basically, I am an odd balance between logical, focused, get-er-done, energy *and* totally carefree, creative, and “just wingin’ it” vibes.
My “normal” job is using my doctorate to teach college courses (fall semester is right around the bend?!), but my "main” job is, well… right here! Over the last 4 years, I have cultivated an online presence where I share holistic (and realistic) health information on my blog/insta, work as private health coach, and run my signature 8-week wellness program (my next live cohort opens in a few weeks! Jump on the waitlist here.),
…and, recently my paid substack subscription has become a substantial part of my income?! I am so thrilled to say that “The Reset” is officially #17 on the Substack health charts (wow), and nearing my 15,000th overall subscriber. (double WOW). From the bottom of my heart, thank you SO much for supporting my writing, small business, and my mission. Free or paid, *every* subscription means a lot to me. Truly.
TO SUM IT UP
Hi, I'm Kate. and I strive to make health feel SIMPLE.
I am driven & organized, but still lose my keys every day. I have no desire of "building an empire", but moreso building a career with an abundance of TIME. I love whole food cooking, moving my body (running & yoga are my favs!), lazy days on Lake Superior, wine nights with friends, evening walks with my little fam, and long baths.
What you can expect here? bits & pieces of this lil life of mine AND holistic (and realistic) health ideas for *your* life.
a day in MY life?!
Now, back to the point.
When I finally hyped myself up to record a day in the life, I wanted to pick a really typical, non-glamorous, ORDINARY day.
(Of note, I do use the word “typical” a bit loosely here – my average day varies a lot as a work-from-home business owner & mom because my husband works 12-hour rotating shifts. So while this recap isn't my every day it is a *very* typical day when Adam is doing a 12-hour shift at work and I am solo on the homefront.)
I don’t claim that my “day in the life” is perfect (because it’s definitely not) or that I have it all figured out (because I definitely don’t).
But, when I boil it down, it does feel like a soul-filling cadence.
But, let’s be honest—
In this life stage, it's a a lot of trial & error, and not every day is a success. There are many times where I feel organized, proud, and like “I’ve got this!”
…and there are other days where the house is messy, I didn’t even come close to accomplishing my to-do list, and I feel pulled in 93284092384 directions. *sigh*
But, that’s life.
The push, the pull.
The ebb, the flow.
So, while there is no fool-proof day, I really feel do like I have “cracked the code” in many ways to having a peaceful (yet productive) day *most* of the time.
Because, this stage of life feels like the ever-shifting, teeter-totter “balance” of daily responsibilities, parenthood, trying to run (and grow) my own business, take care of my health, clean the house, make time for myself, for friends, relationships…
it’s… a lot. but I am doing it!
And I know MANY of us are in similar boats. No matter if you are a parent or not, no matter if you have a business or not, we all have responsibilities, tasks, and to-do’s on our plate.
I am confident this “day in the life” will inspire you that *even* amidst a busy season of life, you can still find moments of joy. of peace. of health. of ease.
So, no, this is not a “fancy” day in the life. But it is an honest, ordinary, real-life-approved 24-hours for me.
I think you will resonate with many parts of my day, *and* hopefully have a few aha moments of how you can start to infuse moments of HEALTH & self-care into a busy day.
So without further ado, this is an average day in the life (with time stamps!)
6:15 a.m.
My sunrise alarm clock graduuuuuallly brightens my room until it feels like daytime (even though all the curtains are drawn) while it plays some soft music to gently lull me out of sleep.
This is a BIG contrast to how I used to wake up— absolutely jolting awake in a very stressful, abrupt, Dolly Parton 9-to-5 kinda way with my old blaring alarm clock. This one wakes me up so much more gently. I bought it a few years ago on a whim— it kind of seems like a cheap knock-off of the Hatch alarm system, but tbh, no complaints. I love it.
While I would love to sleep until the veryyyyyy last second (and I sometimes do), I’ve found that waking up a bit early— even when I don’t want to— and having some time to myself before Miles wakes up really grounds me.
6:20 a.m.
I know all people say “don’t look at your phone in the morning!”, but I am always gonna keep it real with you. From the MOMENT I wake up, I am sittin’ in bed & scrollin’ . And honestly? I love it. Hahaha.
While I typically don’t open work emails or social media (I do have SOME work-life boundaries after all ok!!!!!), I gleefully open pinterest, let my eyes soak in that beautiful blue light (kidding. kind of.), and scroll through my secret vision board, inspiring images, and just kind of use this time as a mini manifestation/visualization moment for the type of life I want to live.
^^This may sound fluffy, but don’t knock it— scrolling my vision board and seeing images that remind of my goals is truly SO inspiring to me at the beginning of a day.
So, is screen time the “best” thing in the morning? Absolutelyyyyy not. But is this what I do? Yes.