Online Money Dot.com

I recently did a post on my Portuguese blog where I outlined what my typical day looks like. Since it was such a popular post I decided to do the same thing here, and share with you how I spend my average day.

10:30 - 11:00 - I usually wake up at about this time. I was never one to wake up early, but if I have to do it its not a problem.

11:30 - This is when my first contact with the computer happens. I have a folder in my bookmarks called “Affiliates”, and a sub-folder called “Once a day”. This last folder has a list of about 20 affiliate programs that I open once a day, thus the name. The other folder has some more moneymakers that I sometimes check more than a couple of times a day. This lets me see how the previous day went as far as affiliate sales.

I also check my Paypal balance to see how ebay and my e-commerce website did during the night. There is no better way to start the day then seeing how much money you earned while you slept. I usually also take a peak at my Adsense earnings. At this point I already usually have a cup of coffee in my hand.

My next stop is Google Analytics. I like to see how my main sites did in terms of traffic, where it came from, and what visitors were looking for.

12:30 - Its time to start thinking about lunch. Should I just stay in? Should I grab something with a friend? So many decisions to be made Usually I just grab something out of the fridge, I am not really that hungry yet, and I really haven´t done much to deserve a big lunch.

13:30 - I usually go into town and have an espresso. Its about a 5 minute drive. I usually have a beer also, half a pint of Guinness. I also to check out the headlines on the daily papers.

14:30 - Time to head back home and get some real work done. I start my day off on ebay. I have to print up the envelopes for the things I sold in the last few days and that need to be shipped out. It usually takes me about 2 to 5 days to ship. This part of the job is just “cut and paste” between the emails I receive from Paypal, with the shipping addresses, and an envelope printing software I use. I have this part very automatized, after all I have been at this for several years, and I have learned to reduce the time I spend on this part of the job.

Normally someone will do the packaging for me. This part of my day will last until about 17:30.

17:30 - Time for another trip into the city, with a stop at the post office to drop of the things I want shipped. Also time for another coffee, a beer, talk to a few friends, but all this in a hurry.

18:00 - Back home, with three options:

1. I go to the gym. This is a new routine for me, I started about 4 months ago. I like going, it makes me feel good, and with even more energy. I usually try to do a steam bath, and sauna once a week, along with my daily routine.
2. If it were summer I would take a dip in my pool and grab some sun. Just some of my luxuries here around the house
3. I do some more work, usually visit a few sites, and try to catch-up on anything more urgent.

19:30 - Back to my computer. I try to answer a few personal emails, or do a little reading, but always on the computer.

20:00 - I get some free time about now. Time for some quality time with my beautiful wife. We go out to dinner or have something here at home. Sometimes we go out for a drink, or to the movies. Some of the days I like to watch a few of my favorite shows on TV.

22:30 - Back to the computer. Depending on the day of the week, or on what I was doing before, it might be a little later than this. I visit a few of my favorite sites, mainly blogs.

23:30 - 01:30 - Time to write my blog posts. Since my writing skills aren´t that great it takes me longer than normal to write my posts. To make things a little worse, I write for both Portuguese and English blogs.

01:30 - 3:00 - Back to eBay. This time to answer some emails. I must answer about 30 to 60 emails a day. I use a few tools to make this task easier and cut down on the overall time it takes me.

03:00 - 05:30 (?) - More free time, but always on the computer. At this time of the day (morning) I do a little of everything. I will work on some of my websites, read some blogs, study some new projects, and any other thing that comes to mind. Usually I can only go to bed after I´m really tired. If this is not the case I will usually have a hard time falling asleep, always thinking of new ideas, some good, some bad, but most of them will never be put into practice. I try to sleep between 5 and 6 hours per night, that gives me all the energy I need.

Basically that is how my day looks. I like the fact that if I don´t feel like doing anything I don´t have to. On the other hand this is my average day 7 days a week. There is no one to bug me if things don´t get done, but on the other hand there is no one else to do things except me. If I slack off one day then I will have double the work for the following day. I think I work a lot, but since I really enjoy it, I feel good about it. If I ever want to work less I can always sell a site or two, but I don´t see that happening anytime soon.

I hope you found this interesting. Want to share what your day looks like?