a day in HER life [Jess]

Alarm goes off at 6:45AM. I Slowly get up and get a glass of water and groggily drink it, change in my clothes for a run, eat a bowl of cereal or a gluten free waffle, get my Nike Frees on and go for a jog with my Couch to 5K program. I use the podcast and RunKeeper simultaneously. I usually run down by the Lachine Canal that flows through our borough of St. Henri. 

I stretch after my run while reading Flipboard and then have a shower, eat breakfast and then head to work as the clock hits 8:30 for my 9AM meeting. Few days are the same with my specific role at work. I have a few weekly standing meetings for those I mentor or train. Otherwise, my schedule can vary from week to week.

If it's a Monday, I take the metro to Université de Montréal and meet my coworkers in Pavillon Jean-Coutu where I lead our team's staff meeting. Our bilingual meeting that often weaved between English and French depending on the current speaker and their current thought pattern. After the meeting, depending on what was going on that week, I'd often take the 135 bus over Mount Royal down to Guy-Concordia Metro and over to our office on St. Catherine and St. Alexandre. The days I go for a run in the morning, I don’t have time read my Bible so I do this first thing when I get to the office since our walk with God is a key point of the health of my work. On the non-running days, I read my Bible and pray instead of running. Next, I finalize my weekly schedule after the meeting. Ideally I would have taken some time Sunday evening to do everything but this time that didn’t happen.

This (example) Monday, I have some posters to design to advertise a few events we're putting on during the week and then a meeting with my boss to go over the things he wants me to help him with. I'll eat lunch at my desk, while thinking through my next meeting with a new staff I'm mentoring. We'll meet at 2PM at a Starbucks down the street so we can get some privacy (the office is beautiful glorious, but most conversations are easily overheard). I order a latte, she orders a tea (ever time). My mentorship meetings (with Sam and the rest of the girls) are the highlight of my week.

When I get back to the office, I get ready for a Fuze meeting online with the rest of the Team Leaders across Canada. The meeting finishes up just before 5PM so I collect my head and my things, get an idea of what I need to start with the next morning as well as where I need to be (which could vary between any one of the four university campuses in the city).

I take the Orange line back to Metro St. Henri, more often than not chatting with Andy, my boss, who lives a few blocks from me. I get home and make dinner right away. My husband and I got used to eating early because of my weird blood-sugar problems and my husband Willy's night courses. After dinner, we read a bit of the Bible: a chapter of the Old Testament and a Psalm. We clear the table and then Willy tidies my messy kitchen (LOVE!), loads the dishwasher and does the dishes.

He does this every day when he isn't rushing off to night class.  A blessing that I never miss. The feeling is glorious as I go sit on the couch as he's cleaning and most days I write. I'll write one or two or even three blog posts and schedule them to publish. If I’m ever really in the zone or have something ‘important’ to write but need the space to do it, I will often go to our local coffee shop Café St. Henri to write and reflect.

 

Willy will come and sit down next to me while I write and watch an episode of Top Gear on Netflix. I'll read for 30 minutes or more from one of my (copious) free books I get for Kindle, with Willy beside me reading either the internet or another book he's picked up. Some days we'll read all evening, other days we'll watch a bunch of Netflix. Our parents always poke fun at us because we're always together with our laptops on our laps, surfing the web and watching TV at the same time.

I'm usually heading in bed by 10:00PM if I've been a good girl and woken up at 6:45. No matter what, if I'm not in bed by 10:30, I'll be a grinch the next day. I've always needed a lot of sleep. Willy usually comes to bed shortly after me.

That's my day! Some parts are more typical than others, since few days are the same from week to week. You can follow along with what I'm learning about living an optimized life in Montreal and reaching my goals (all while doing it sugar/wheat free) at http://jessversteeg.ca or follow me on twitter @jesslin.