The one thing that I have learnt over the years as an artist is the value of the balance between a life with a routine and an exciting and unpredictable life. To create meaningful content, one needs to live both in manageable doses. While living in the hustle bustle of New York City, I realized how much I missed having a peaceful and stable routine. Currently, living in LA and while working on some of my upcoming musical projects, I am following a strict routine so buckle up here's what a day in my life looks like!
1. Morning: I usually wake up around 9 AM naturally without an alarm, this is followed by a quick conversation with my mom before she goes to bed as it is her late evening, preparing and eating #SolidBreakfast and taking a shower to get ready for the day. Most days, I eat eggs and salad for breakfast along with a cup of tea.
2. Workday: My work day begins at 10.30 AM, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays these are facilitated by my friends at Cave Day which allows me to mono task for 3 and a half hours non-stop, usually during this time, I like to focus on any big project that I might be working on that has a set deadline to get a chunk of the work done and out of the way.
Usually on Tuesdays, Thursday and weekends, I would break the rule of mono-tasking and focus on other things such as cleaning the house, laundry, buying groceries, going to the mall, painting nails, following a beauty regime or focusing on more creative tasks such as writing a new song, listening to new music, practicing singing and other instruments or playing around with ideas such as this blog!
Incase I am working on a client project, this would fit right into my workday, this gives me an opportunity to send them a rough draft by 2 PM.
3. Afternoon: I start prepping for lunch at 2 PM, I usually cook rice or pasta depending on the given day. While I prepare and eat lunch, it gives me an opportunity to listen to the music I maybe working on and write out any notes I have for tweaks to be made. I head out for a walk. Once I am done with lunch, approximately around 3.30 PM.I usually try to get around #10000Steps in.
4. Evening: I tend to be home by 5 PM after my walk, this gives me enough time to get dressed and leave for any event that I might have to attend in the evenings such as live performances, screenings, panels or networking events which usually start at 7 PM.
5. Bedtime: I usually like to be back by 10 PM so that I can eat something small and have a cup of tea before taking a bath and getting ready for bed. I usually talk to my mom for a little bit and aim to be faaassstt asleep by 1 AM :)
Not having a routine for days at length makes me very cranky and irritable and I often can't fall asleep. Having a routine has helped me clear my head and realistically finish big projects without panicking. There are times when I break out of my routine to work on a big creative project and wake up for long hours into the night, however, I have come to realize that habit can be quite detrimental to health over a period of time. Do you have a routine yet? Does it kill or fire up your vibe? Remember friends, slow and steady wins the race but it's okay to live fast and die young. Until next time!