This week’s post topic was chosen by my Instagram Stories followers, and it was narrowed down to “A Day in the Life Of”. One caveat. As I have written before, no two of my days look alike, so I will normalize as best I can. You ready? Let’s go.
I wake up at 6:45am. From 6:45 to 7, I check emails, the blog website, and Instagram and mentally prepare myself for the day. At 7, I go back to sleep with my son. We snuggle from 7 to 7:30. This is the favorite part of my day. At 7:30, the mayhem begins as my wife and he work to get out the door by 8 and me soon after. I drink a Mountain Dew every morning. (If I ever suddenly die, tell the coroner to check for excessive Mountain Dew.) I film a quick Instagram video for the blog, and then turn on gangster rap and sing at the top of my lungs for my 5 minute commute. I’m sufficiently hyped. I blaze into the office (I am a banker) and get straight to my to-do list. No coffee runs. No how’s the weather. On it. I get 90% of what I need to get done each day by lunchtime because I don’t horse around. I am uber-focused. So my top priority project and client-related items happen before lunch. At lunchtime, I either go grab something tasty (I work Uptown) with my co-workers and friends, or I go home. If I go home, I may take a hot bath, go for a run, or watch Stephen A. Smith (I love him!). The afternoon (unless I have scheduled client calls) is for projects, “desk work”, and the part of my job I love the most. Mentoring and helping my co-workers. I am currently mentoring 5 people either formally or informally, and this is really where I feel like I can add value to people’s lives. I have 2 goals with all of these interactions. Help them understand the big picture and that there is a massive world out there. Help them understand a “bigger” way to think. If they are smart and motivated, we can teach them to be good bankers, no problem. It’s the larger intangibles that can really affect their lives, and they oftentimes are not getting this anywhere else. I then check my to-do list for the day and make sure I am pleased with the progress. I make a to-do list for tomorrow. And then it is boys time. Recently, it has been darts and grapefruit vodka from 5-6pm. It’s good for the soul. Then I’m out.
6:30 to 8:30 is family time, in some way, shape, or form. I travel usually once every 3 or 4 weeks now. Christy is out of town once every 6 weeks. She also now has women’s group commitments 1 or 2 nights a week. So really, there is no rhyme nor reason to family time. But somehow, it works. If it’s boys night, we go to a Hornets game or have a Chick-Fil-A date. If it is full family, we go out to dinner half the time and stay in half the time (I cook a mean frozen pizza). Every other night a bath. Every night some kids movie and reading a book. That’s family time, however it looks, and some how, some way, we have molded a pretty incredible 3 year old.
At 8:30, it looks like I am just staring into my phone. But from 8:30 to 10:30, I am creating. Working on content. Studying behaviors. Thinking. Researching. Writing. Strategizing. Interacting. I usually have 5 text strings going. I may have a phone conversation with my friend and business partner Junior. I absolutely love it. It is fulfilling. I hope I am adding value to other people’s lives with the unique way I see the world, and I just love doing it. My phone then usually dies, which means it is time to go to bed. 8 hours sleep. Mandatory.
I want to point out a few things here. One: As a general rule, I do not waste time. I don’t spend any time watching the news, reading all the bad news on Facebook, or watching TV (minus sports). I have a firm belief that these mediums are ruining the way people view the world. I have been actually traversing the USA meeting actual people in actual places, and 99.9% of people are absolute gems. Two: I have a firm belief that real interaction with co-workers, friends, family, strangers, guys if you are guys, girls if you are girls, and alone time are all insanely important. My day typically includes all of these categories, and that is intentional. Do not discount these 3 in particular that so many are not doing: strangers, guy time (in my case), and alone time. Massively important.
And that is my day and a few of my thoughts. If I had to pick one word to describe my day, it would be intentional. I don’t meander. I run my day. It doesn’t run me. And there is so much, I mean so much, value in that!
Have a great week.-Benj
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