Day in the Life: Optimizing WFH to Suit Your Personality

Hey there! 👋

I’m Spring, and I’m currently interning with the team at Rebecca Allen, working as a digital intern and optimizing our web presence through design, development, data, SEO, and blogging. I go to Williams College in Massachusetts, but because of quarantine, I’ve been in northwest Florida since March. I approached this summer pretty confused, given everything that was going on, and alongside my introverted qualities, I found myself easily drained and distracted handling #working from home, my family and uncertainty about school. I’ve found that tuning into my own unique strengths while mitigating my weaknesses helped me optimize my work. 

Here’s a glimpse into one of my days:

8:00am: Start the workday with intention and a lush activity 

After pressing snooze 5 times (I’m a night owl🦉), I get up to take a shower - that time alone lets me clear my mind to take on the day. It’s really important that I check in with myself. I make sure to engage all of my senses to wake me up for the day’s responsibilities. I put my music up loud and guide myself into the kitchen where I make coffee, check in with friends to see if they’re okay, skim emails and pin funny articles. One of my email favorites is the Morning Brew. 

9:00am: Daily check-in with the Rebecca Allen team 

Good morning! Our team waves to each other on Google Hangouts. “How was your night?” We all catch up, spill over funny little things that happened to us, bathing in nuances and making sure we’re all aligned on the team’s goals. It was challenging at first - adapting to remote work and communicating through a screen, but we’re all in this together. My mom and I created a schedule where we both allow each other to have several hours of quiet time in the mornings. 

12:00pm: Take my little brother to his appointments 

I take this time to go for a Starbucks run, drive my brother to physical therapy or let him go to the local courts to play basketball. I also use this time to complete tasks related to school, like my financial aid files or doing Zoom meetings with professors to prep for my research going into senior year. Here’s where my personality helps hone my love for note-taking: voice notes! I also enjoy using drawing pads, tablets - anything to shake it up! 

Spring in The Skim, Nude IV

3:00pm: Surprise! House showing 

Given the uncertainty that COVID has brought, my family is moving. The realtors text us, giving us a couple hours’ notice of a late afternoon show. This means we need to leave the house. My mom and brother use this time to run errands while I leave to visit the nearby deserted fishing docks. I’ve tried to stay nimble and adaptable, realizing that life is always changing and that it’s okay. I bring a book with me. The ones I’m reading now are Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards and The Art of Performance by Jeroen de Flander.

4:30pm: Deep dive into front-end web development 📚 

I’ve got several hours to myself before preparing for dinner (we eat late), so I spend this time learning new practices and techniques I can implement into my current work. I’m also prepping and running tests for site updates to go live at night. I’m studying Learning Web Design by Jennifer Niederst Robbins, which also houses a lot of useful SEO techniques. Good code comes hand-in-hand with SEO strategy. 

9:00pm: Mindfulness through yoga 🧘‍♀️

Ahhhh, one of my favorite parts of the day. I’m using the Glo app on my iPhone and choose a 45-minute yoga session that helps release hip and lower back tension. Thumbs up for attending to mental and physical health! 

Well, that’s a little glimpse into my day as an intern with Rebecca Allen - trying my best to take it one step at a time. It’s comforting to know that I’m not alone in navigating this unusual time. So, if you know someone in school who may benefit from hearing how someone else is figuring this out, please pass this along. 🤝

Until next time, 

Spring