I’m not really one for routines, mostly because I don’t have a tight structure on what I do each day. Weekdays and weekends are all the same, being self-employed. There’s no such thing as work-life balance for me — there’s just life, and my work is huge part of that.
If I do have routines, though, it’ll go something like this. There are two important things I should note here: First of all, I’ve never been a morning person. Secondly, I don’t have a regular 9-to-5, which means that I generally don’t get up (or go to bed) at a set time.
9:30am (ish) — Wake up
I have a very unhealthy habit of watching dramas every night in bed. More often than not, I wake up to the sound of people talking in a scene. The first thing I do is lie in bed and check emails play with my iPhone for several minutes before actually getting up.
I give my face a quick rinse with water then make a green juice (青汁) with young barley grass powder.
10am — Workout 👟
Before I do anything else, I get a quick 30 minutes workout at my building complex’s gym. The fitness room/gym is always empty in the morning, so I don’t bother making myself look more “presentable”. It’s just several flights of stairs (or a quick elevator ride) away and I never bump into anyone.
10:30am — Skin Care 🚿
I then take a very quick shower. I wash my face with whatever foaming facial cleanser that is most within reach. That tends to be the same product I used the night before.
The rest of my skin care routine follows. I wrote a detailed post about it back in July here. I don’t do “wait time”. Personally, I find it makes no difference. I wait just long enough for each product to be absorbed — no more and no less.
10:45am — Productivity is a hit or miss 👩🏻💻
Late breakfast while doing some day-to-day admin work on the site. A sizeable chunk of the site’s content is produced during the time. This is also when I’m most active on Twitter.
I’ll do makeup and hair during this time period as well — makeup usually takes me about 15 minutes, hair about 5 minutes.
My afternoons are always bit of a mixed bag of work, meetings, and errands. On the rare occasions that I’m free of errands and prior commitments, I’d just keep working from home. In reality, I spend a lot of time browsing online in the name of research.
1pm — Haircut 💇🏻♀️ (once a month)
My haircut appointments are now pre-booked on the first Monday every month at 1pm like clockwork. My boyish cut means monthly trims are required. It’s non-negotiable with my fast-growing hair — go any longer and I’ll look like a non-orange Mahna Mahna (from the Muppet).
I find it a lot simpler to pre-book salon visits in advance.
2:30pm — Lunch
I start to get hungry around 2:30pm. For me, lunch is often more of an afterthought (and a half-assed afterthought, at that).
My go-to lunch when I’m out and about is 2 onigiri (おにぎり) and another green juice (青汁) with young barley grass powder. If I’m still at home, I tend to boil a few frozen dumplings.
2:30pm — Meetings/Work/Errands 👩🏻💻🛒
Continuing any combination of work, meetings, and errands. I live in the heart of the city and everything is within walking distance.
7:30pm — Dinner 🥘🥢
I usually start thinking about dinner by 7:30-8pm. I despise everything about cooking, and I live steps away myriad of restaurants and cafes, so I very rarely cook. I’ve a few friends who also don’t bother cooking, so we tend to hang out and share dinner together.
If I’m by myself, I order food delivery before spend the evening continuing working on client projects or the website with the TV on for a bit of background noise. Sometimes, I’ll also be crocheting amigurumi on the side to give my mind a little break.
I do find myself working late into the night 4–5x a week. It’s less of a conscious plan and more suddenly realising that it’s close to midnight but I’m still looking at my laptop screen.
12:45am — Cleanse 🚿
Once I’m completely wrapped up for the day, I cleanse myself from head to toe — first removing my makeup then wash my face, hair, and body.
1am — Bath 🛀
After shower, I take a long soak in the bathtub. There’s a built-in waterproof TV in there so I often watch a drama in there to unwind. Once the episode is finished, which is usually 30-45 minutes, I’m done. It’s automated and programmable — water stays at the exact temperature that I’ve set.
1:45am — Rest of skin care
I do the rest of my skin care routine then rough-dry my hair.
2am — TV or dTV /Hulu Japan in bed 📺
Once skin care routine is done and hair is dried, I pick something relaxing and calming to watch in bed so that I can fall asleep to it.
I only know about “green juice” because I’ve seen it used as punishment on Japanese game shows 🤣 Do you like the taste?
There’re different kinds. The one I buy tastes like matcha.