HISMD: Director Risk and Audit at a Global Manufacturing Company

Partner. Two kids (almost-3yo & almost-1yo). Hybrid. St. Louis, MO. Early morning work time.

This "How I Structure My Day" Series started from an Instagram post I did about my own life, under which a woman asked if it would be possible to see how women working a more full-time, traditional job did it. I asked women to share, and, man, have people responded. The goal is to show how women from different industries, with and without kids, with and without partners, with family living with/near them and not, wfh to 1+ hour commutes, etc. structure their day. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do!

The Snapshot

• Partner: Yes

• Children: Yes - almost-3 & almost-1

• Hybrid

• St. Louis, MO

Typical Morning

WFH days (T, Th, F)

• 5 am: wake up and usually start working right away if I plan to work out later in the day, or work out at this time (run outside or basement workout of pilates/strength training)

• 6 am-ish: done working/working out and start "morning routine"...empty dishwasher, prep breakfast, make coffee, wash face/brush teeth, put on my eye patches and drink water, feed the dog, get bottle ready for baby

• 7 am: wake up kids and have breakfast as a family at the table, get ready for daycare drop off (brush teeth, diaper changes, get dressed, etc.)

• 7:45 am: usually out the door by this time! Walk to daycare (10 min walk) if it's nice or my partner takes them on the way to the office. Clean up from the morning rush so the kitchen is clean and go start my day back at my laptop hopefully by 8:15.

Office days (M,W)

• 4:45 am: awake and workout first thing (basement strength training workout in pj's for the win!)

• 5:30 am: take the dog for a quick mile walk

• 6 am-ish: start "morning routine"...empty dishwasher, prep breakfast, make coffee, wash face/brush teeth, get dressed and ready for work, pack work bag and get things set out on the counter to get out the door, drink water, feed the dog, get bottle ready for baby

• 7 am: wake up kids and have breakfast as a family at the table, get ready for daycare drop off (brush teeth, diaper changes, get dressed, etc.)

• 7:45 am: usually out the door by this time! Drive to daycare and then on to the office - usually at my desk by 8:15/8:30 depending on traffic.

Morning "Make Life Easier" Hacks

• Prep pretty much everything the night before: bottles made, dishwasher set to run, lunches packed, shower at night, idea of what you're going to wear, etc.

• Routine, routine, routine: we do the same thing as a family every morning if possible so my kids know what to expect

• Bring kids' clothes and toothbrushes downstairs so you don't have to go back upstairs after breakfast. Once we're downstairs for the morning, we're downstairs. Makes getting out the door so much easier.

• Keep breakfasts simple: we have about 3 breakfasts on rotation that are either meal prepped or super quick to make. Give my toddler 2 choices every day and go.

• Usually whoever is going into the office (partner and I both work hybrid) takes the kids in to daycare since they're already leaving the house.

Transition into Work Mode

• Office days: listen to a podcast on my commute

• WFH days: reset the kitchen, go to my dedicated work space, and spend 5 min on my phone since it's usually away during the morning routine

What my work day looks like

Office days

• Office days are typically a whirlwind. I use these days to get in as many in-person meetings as possible so am often in a number of different meetings throughout the day.

• Every day is a little bit different depending on where we are in the calendar leading up to board meetings, other major projects, etc.

WFH days

• I usually use these days to have meetings/calls with our teams that are across the country or outside of the US. I am on the phone a good portion of the day, but also use my calendar to block focus time on WFH days so I can get through more heads down work in peace and quiet. Our kids go to daycare out of the home full time, so I truly feel productive when I am at home.

• If I haven't done my workout in the 5-6 am hour, I will usually block 1 hour on my calendar to go for a run mid day with our dog.

Strategies for managing work

• I have invites in my calendar as reminders for major deadlines for deliverables usually a week in advance.

• I also use these invites/reminders to remind me when my partner will be traveling and I really need to keep to my tight schedule since I will be solely responsible for pick up/drop off and morning/evening routines. I know that when he is traveling, I will not be as flexible with later meetings.

• I have a OneNote "command center" as I like to call it that has key items:

  • 1. each of my major focus areas and notes/overall to-do's,

  • 2. a very condensed priority list where I have my top 5 tasks to accomplish this week v next week,

  • 3. a running list of updates by focus area for my boss and my team to keep for our weekly 1:1's,

  • 4. list of vacation days at a glance for the year,

  • 5. list of key dates at a glance for the company fiscal year (e.g., board meetings, budget is due, all hands call)

• I use different colors on my Outlook calendar for meetings, reminders, personal items (e.g., running time, dr appointments), and focus blocks so I can quickly at a glance see what my week will look like in advance

Lunch/Snacks

• I eat lunch at my desk 95% of the time...at this point in my life, I'd rather get more work done in a condensed period of time so I can take that break in the early evenings to be with my family. I do pack my lunch and snacks for days I go to the office and have lunch and snacks available at home. I eat every couple of hours.

Breaks

• On office days...not really. With my commute and wanting to get back home, it's a pretty solid grind for the hours I am in the office.

• On work from home days, I usually prefer to run during the day when it is light out, so if my schedule allows I take a break at some point to go for a run and reset.

Leaving work

• I usually stop or leave work at 4:30 every day so I can pick up my kids since they still go to bed pretty early. Occasionally that means logging back on after 7pm when they go to sleep, but more often than not, I just use some early morning work time when I need to catch up.

• I am sure to block until 8:30 am and 4-5 pm on my calendar so I typically don't have meetings during this time and have the flexibility to see my kids when they are awake and catch up on work another time.

• WFH: I still usually wrap up by 4:30 so I can start prepping dinner as I tend to cook more on days I WFH and rely on leftovers or pre-made meals on office days.

Transition out of work mode

• My commute - usually call my mom or a friend, listen to a podcast.

• WFH days - I stop and either take the dog to get some steps outside or close down my computer and go to the kitchen to start prepping dinner before I pick up the kids. I'm probably about 50/50 here. Sometimes I look up and am running out the door to grab the kids so there is no transition.

After work hours

• 4:30-5: commute or prep dinner depending on the day

• 5-5:30: pick up kids from daycare and get home and play/get dinner on the table. We cook 95% of our meals at home. I'm usually the primary on cooking, but my husband will sometimes take it on the days he is working from home and I'm in the office, or he helps corral the chaos while I try to cook with a stage 5 clinger baby

• 5:30-6: family dinner all together - we do this pretty much every night without exception

• 6 - 7: bedtime routine for the kids (clean up, bath, brush teeth, pj's, read books, etc.)

• 7 - 7:10: my partner and I usually do a 5-10 min core workout on the peloton app together

• 7:10 - 7:30ish: "closing shift" as I call it...tidy the house, load dishwasher/clean up kitchen, prep bottles and lunch for the next day, shower if needed

• 7:30 - 8:30: partner and I watch a show together and have a sweet treat or snack on the couch. I'm usually also scrolling my phone

• 8:30ish: upstairs and ready for bed and in bed...I definitely scroll my phone in bed before I fall asleep, which I know isn't great but oh well.

• 9 pm: I have an app blocker set for my phone to turn on at this time, which means lights out and I go to sleep

• Note on this time: I would say this leans more heavily to personal admin work or relaxation. I try not to work in the evenings, but it maybe happens 1x a week or less. I save that catch up work for early mornings since I am definitely not a night owl. Personal admin work like making grocery list, reviewing calendars with my partner, prepping things for tomorrow, other "mental load" type tasks and definitely relaxation. Lately relaxation has kind of looked like eating sweets and disassociating with tv or scrolling my phone, which is something I'd really like to change.

Nightime non-negotiables

• Run the dishwasher,

• Clean the kitchen

• "Reset" the first floor,

• Nightly skincare

• If I have the energy:

  • Meal prep,

  • Shower,

  • Plan clothes,

  • Do other tasks around the home I've been putting off (like putting away laundry)

Afternoon/evening “make life smoother” tips

• Opal app blocker has been a life saver! I use it to block socials from 5-7. Even more than that, I have started in the past month or two putting my phone completely away and setting my Apple Watch to Do Not Disturb mode. 2 full time working parents means that those few hours after daycare and before bedtime really are sacred, so I try to have zero distractions.

• My partner and I have a good tag team of one person cleaning up kitchen after dinner while the other gets the boys upstairs and the bath going (usually switch off). Then we hang out as a family to wind down/read books between bath and lights out.

• The other big key is my partner and I both being on the same page that we want all the "closing shift" tasks done before we get to veg out or relax. That 5-7 pm window sometimes feels like a marathon, so it's easier for us to just keep it going and get everything done before we relax.

Outsourcing

• Oh yes! We have someone come and clean the house every other Tuesday. I never had this growing up so was VERY resistant. But wow, is it worth it. Removing the mental load of trying to find time to scrub toilets or mop floors is amazing and completely worth it.

• We have full time childcare for our kids which affords us the ability to get in solid and distraction free work during the day.

• We usually get take out once on the weekend to take a break from cooking.

• If my husband is traveling or we both have to be in the office a certain day, we do doggy daycare so our pup can get some energy out and not be stuck at home alone all day.

• We are not handy so definitely outsource anything home improvement/repair related.

• We don't live near our families so we have a couple of reliable babysitters that we use for date nights or if we both have an evening work dinner.

Exercise

• Exercise is definitely one of my non-negotiables to making sure I'm showing up as the best version of myself. It's my me time and a huge stress reliever! I do something every single day. I’ve run several half marathons and 3 marathons so running is a big part of my life. I don't have time to run as often anymore, but I definitely prioritize running 2x during the week and usually 1 longer run on the weekends.

• I do strength training following an app program that has 3 workouts a week...so those are usually how I fill the other 3 days of the work week and are usually done in my pajamas in the basement.

• Investing in a simple home gym set up (free weights, bench, bike, treadmill) has been a game changer for keeping exercise part of the routine.

• The last day of the week is one of the weekend days where I've been trying to incorporate pilates for a change of pace and intensity and have been really enjoying that.

• My partner knows how important exercise is to me so is 100% my advocate and does whatever is needed to make sure I have the time and space to do those things.

• My dog always comes on my runs with me, and I have made it my resolution in 2025 to get outside for a 15-20 min walk every day no matter what. Helps the dog and helps me get away from my desk and get some fresh air!

Anything extra the sharer wants to share

• This is definitely not small and I think a huge part of the reason that I am able to manage a full and successful career, my family, and still do things that fill my cup - my partner. We are 100% a team and feel like we divide and conquer so much of the workload of managing our house and family. For example, I hate laundry and he loves it - so it's something I don't ever have to think about. We are interchangeable in terms of being able to do the kids' routines or keep up with the house and I think that is key to neither of us building resentment and being able to tap in when the other one is in a busier season of work.

• We use shared notes on our phones to keep the menu and a running grocery/Costco list. We really try to plan ahead in 2-week sprints which eliminates feeling like you're scrambling every other day for needing to run to the store or figure out what to make.

That’s a wrap for this one!

Thank you so much to this woman for generously sharing.

A reminder of the ground rules to ensure women continue wanting to share about their days and feel safe doing so.

• Encouraging comments always welcome!

• If you have questions or even hang-ups about what someone shared, you are welcome to ask a question for the sharer in the same kind, genuinely curious way you would if you were looking at that woman in her eyes. She might respond through me.

• If comments are judge-y or mean-spirited, I reserve the right to delete comments. I can handle being criticized about my own work here (and even still, to a degree – I’m also a person), but I go into full mama bear mode when people come after my people – including women who are being vulnerable and sharing in the first place.

• Thanks to the vast majority of people who are so kind!

New here? Welcome!

I’m Kelly Nolan, an attorney-turned-time management strategist and mom of two. I teach the Bright Method, a realistic time management system designed for professional working women. In addition to this fun new series, I share bite-sized time management strategies on Instagram. Thanks for being here!

After experiencing overwhelm as a young patent litigator in Boston, I figured out a time management system to help me show up in the ways that I wanted to at work and at home – without requiring my brain to somehow magically remember it all. I now teach other professional working women how to manage their personal, family, and career roles with less stress and more calm clarity using realistic time management strategies. My system, the Bright Method, has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, and my work has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, and more. Learn more on my website, come learn bite-sized strategies with me on Instagram, or jump into my free 5-day program.