A day in the life of Me is not exactly intriguing or exciting. I don’t work in an office or in a lab, so when I wake up on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and the occasional Saturday (the days I do research when I’m not at my other job), I think about where I want to work that day. To get exercise, I almost always walk as far as reasonably possible off campus to a coffee shop downtown or in Kerrytown. I will occasionally work in the Reference Room in Hatcher, but I try to avoid going to the library or any other university buildings during the summer at all costs. On the days I feel lazy, you can catch me posted at my dining table all day. I am currently writing this post from the League. This is my first time working here. So far so good. Would recommend.
I wake up around 6:00/6:30am every day, listen to the NPR morning report, then shower, dress, and maybe eat breakfast depending on how much time I have or how many groceries I have (ha ha). I grab my backpack (all I need is my laptop) and I then try to make it to my morning destination by 7:00-7:30am. I like to work at the Argus Farm Stop on Liberty St on Wednesday mornings. It’s a grocery store and cafe, but the seating area is in a “greenhouse.” It’s a nice little community space. It’s nice to leave campus and be around humans of all walks of life– the moms, the toddlers, and the retirees enjoying their morning walk and coffee.
I typically spend 4-5 hours at my morning destination, and then around noon I either buy a small lunch or go home to make something. After lunch, on the days we have seminar, I will either work for another 2-3 hours at home or head to a different coffee shop or a building on campus until 3pm.
Coffee! Is! Key! The only work I do all day is read and write. Although recently I started collecting newspaper clippings from an online archive. If I did not have coffee, I promise you that I would fall asleep working every single day. Truly. I love the research I do, I’m learning a lot, but the work is completely solitary. The good thing about solitary, independent work is that I do have the flexibility to quite literally work wherever I want, but the downside is that my days can feel very long and monotonous.
Here are some pictures of what my work space typically looks like: 
So, after Tuesday seminars, I head home to make dinner and hang with friends. After Wednesday seminars, I have to immediately drive to my evening class at WCC. Busy, busy days. It’s absolutely worth it, however! I love this research and the opportunity I’ve been given through WAGSFP. Many people would consider me lucky for my flexible work schedule. I am incredibly lucky!