A Day in the Life of The Astral Planner Founder, Elena Bobysheva

“I champion the idea of being more conscious.
I call it being an active architect of your own life.
Building your life like an architect builds a structure.”
— Hill Harper

7:00 A.M.

I always have my alarm set for 7:00 and 7:15 but sometimes I naturally wake up much earlier, around 6:30. Then I brush my teeth and drink a glass of water that I left on my nightstand the night prior – to jumpstart my digestion and also because I tend to get headaches if I have caffeine first. Several health articles I’ve read recommend starting your day with water and fresh squeezed lemon – I tried it but it’s not for me!

7:05 A.M.

Then I head into our kitchen to serve breakfast. My punctuality is expected at 7:05 on the dot by my . . . fur daughter. Luna sleeps in bed with my husband and I but as soon as she feels me stir she knows food is coming so she puts on a vocal performance to hurry up the process. 

I am not a morning person so I give myself half an hour to come alive while enjoying a Nespresso in bed. I love listening to the Serene Morning playlist – a free Spotify playlist I created for our email subscribers – while I sip on my latte. If you love classical and instrumental music, this playlist will make you feel like you just woke up at an estate in the English countryside. It’s so calming and aspirational!

7:35 A.M.

I do my morning dry brushing and skincare routine (exfoliate, cleanse, tone, and SPF) and generally get myself ready for the day. I work from home so I don’t wear make-up unless I have video meetings that day. I prefer to be fresh-faced all day so my skin can breathe!

The Astral Planner Founder, Elena Bobysheva, wearing an original dress design from her own Ready-to-Wear label.

7:40 A.M.

It’s time for movement! I prefer to do intense work-outs in the evening so my morning exercise primarily consists of something soothing and low-impact like yoga and stretching. I also like “B the Method” and I will do a 15-30 minute circuit a 2-3 times a week. In the spring and fall I enjoy going on morning walks but with it currently being winter in Chicago – well, it’s a bit too frigid for me to enjoy it!

8:00 A.M.

I always try to batch similar tasks together to optimize my time so after completing my low-impact work-out, I conclude with a 5-8 minute meditation since I’m already on the mat. I prefer non-guided meditations as I find them more relaxing.

8:10 A.M.

It’s time for breakfast! My year-round favorite breakfast dish is homemade avocado toast with cherry tomatoes, flax seed, nutritional yeast, pistachios, black and red pepper, parsley, salt, and fresh squeezed lemon on toasted, rye bread. But I do occasionally switch it up between Acai bowls in the summer and granola with fruit, nuts, and oat milk in the fall. I’m not one to eat and stare so I watch the news, listen to podcasts or motivational speakers (I love Les Brown) or if I’m in need of light and happy content, I will watch a YouTube video while I eat. My favorites are Jonna Jinton for the stunning nature content and I’ve also enjoyed Lydia Millen at times — especially her earlier interior design content.

8:40 A.M.

I feel the most calm in a clean and organized environment so even though Saturday is our main cleaning day, I set aside a few minutes each morning to do a general tidy-up like folding laundry, making the bed, unloading the dishwasher from the night prior, wipe down counters, etc. There are times when the house is in shambles though because my husband and I get so busy with our businesses (and other obligations) that we have trouble keeping up with everything else.

9:00 A.M.

I’m at my desk in The Astral Planner home office! The first thing I do is check my emails, customer inquiries, and orders that have come in overnight. If there is a project that I have delegated to an external party, I will check in with that team and request a status update, provide feedback, or approve work. Another thing I do is perform a market review of our current competitive landscape – it’s just good business practice to maintain a general awareness of your industry…so you can have that competitive edge! ;)

10:00 A.M.

I structure my deep work hours around my sleep chronotype, which is a combination of wolf/dolphin, so I don’t dive into intense tasks until 10 A.M. Once it turns 10, it's pretty nonstop. As a solo entrepreneur, I have to be. I've got to be super focused. Nearly three years in, I’m still directing and managing all aspects of my business. I’m committed to growing this business slowly, intentionally, and steadily. On any given day my responsibilities range from designing products; updating existing ones; managing overseas production; writing copy and designing content for The Astral Planner website; creating and scheduling social media content; writing blog articles; creating newsletters; directing and styling brand photoshoots; handling customer inquiries across multiple channels; researching and growing our accounts (direct and wholesale); checking in with retail partners, daily operations and administration; bookkeeping, filing sales tax, fulfilling orders . . . and the list goes on. At the moment, I am navigating through our busiest season and also planning our very first pop-up shop — so amplify everything times ten!

Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to manage this number of high-level tasks, on my own, on the day to day, without my Executive Daily Planner.

1:00 P.M.

I’ll have a working lunch at my desk and I’ll perform tasks that require little bandwidth like responding to Instagram messages/comments, emails, researching, or reading up on something so I can eat and work at the same time. If there’s an educational business webinar happening, I’ll hop on and listen to that. What’s for lunch? I will typically have a hearty, lacinato kale salad with colorful assortment of vegetables, brown rice, mint leaves, fresh parsley, and vegan protein like chickpeas, couscous, or quinoa or sometimes I have spicy, vegetable soup. I love spicy foods! My Executive Daily Planner is on my desk throughout my work day and I will use this time to check off my morning routine (1 Glass Water — check, Skincare — check, Physical Movement — check, Stretch — check, Meditation — check, Personal Development — check). I also log what meals I’ve had so far and any gut sensitivities or mood changes I’ve noticed, check off taking my vitamins, log my caffeine intake, and drink lots of water. My Executive Daily Planner has vitamin, water, and caffeine icons on the daily pages which makes remembering and tracking all of this really easy.

1:30 P.M.

On particularly straining days, I will take a few moments to decompress after working over lunch and I will go on a brief 15-20 minute walk outside or use our treadmill if the weather is unpleasant. Working from home (or in an office) it’s quite easy for me to become sedentary. I wear a pedometer so I can keep track of whether I’m close to hitting my goal of 8k-10k steps a day.

2:00 p.M.

I am back at my desk for the second half of my work day. If I start to feel a dip in energy, I will have a cup of caffeinated Earl Grey Tea or a shot of espresso. I am constantly referencing my planner throughout the day for upcoming calls or appointments, reviewing progress on various projects, what I need to prioritize, checking off my to-do list, or making a note of tasks that need to roll over to the next day.

6:00 P.M.

I wrap up my work day, tidy up my desk so it’s beautiful, organized, and welcoming the next morning, and start making dinner. My husband and I love cooking dinner together at home. We have different palettes — I am vegan and he is not but he is a fantastic, self-taught home chef who loves experimenting with different recipes that both of us can try. He recently made vegan sushi and a plant-based twist on traditional Russian piroshki. I love dinner in the kitchen with just the two of us and Luna, of course! Luna gets served her dinner at this time as well — always a broth (for cats).

7:00 P.M.

I’m in our home gym for my evening work-out of 25-35 minutes weight-lifting, followed by 35-40 minutes cardio. I prefer to do my cardio outside because I love nature and sunsets. By the time I finish, I can catch a glimpse of early stars and planets making an appearance in the darkening sky. If the weather is bad, I will utilize our treadmill and combine that time with catching up on a TV show. Most of the time I prefer to just listen to music though. I made an energizing playlist if you’re looking to feel like a superhero during your workout, which will become available in The Astral Planner community digital library in early 2023. You can sign up here to get notified when our community hub goes live.

8:10 P.M.

I hop in the shower and begin my evening routine afterwards — stretching, facial exercises (I prefer this routine for lymphatic drainage because you don’t need any fancy tools, just your hands and face oil), reading, and journaling. What am I reading? At the moment, I am reading Atomic Habits by James Clear but I also love reading fantasy books or new age books about starseeds and reincarnation, etc. What do I use for journaling? The Cosmos Journal, of course! ;) I’ve always wanted a journal that made me feel like I was literally staring into the night sky, had a luxuriously soft satin cover, and that combined abstract, dainty design elements but I could never find it — so I designed it myself. I use the Starlit Affirmations Edition for writing down ideas for my business, personal ambitions, or my feelings about a situation and the Celestial Realm Edition for writing down quotes that resonate with me from the various books I read. Most of the time I have The Astral Planner’s signature playlist, “Self Reflection under the Stars”, playing in the background.

9:00 P.M.

I log on for my evening shift and start working again for about an hour or two. But I'm working from bed so I’m comfy and cozy ;) . . . and I tend to get my best ideas at night! (It’s the wolf/dolphin sleep chronotype out and proud, ha!) I will also finish filling out my planner for the day.

This includes logging my meals and my fitness (number of days I’ve been consecutive, steps for the day, time on treadmill, which weight lifting exercises I completed and how many sets/reps). I very often come across Angel Numbers, almost on a daily basis, so I write them down in their designated space on the daily pages. Numerology has been a part of my life for many years (almost a decade, in fact) but if you’re just starting to familiarize yourself with Angel Numbers and Synchronicity Signs, you can always flip to the educational pages in the front of The Astral Planner and read the explanations and symbolism for each combination.

10:00 P.M.

My husband finishes work and after that we get to spend some time together – talking about our day and what’s happening with each other’s businesses or making plans for the weekend. There’s a lot of laughter and humor in our house and Luna’s hilarious personality is the cherry on top. We really should have named her “Mischief Managed”! We very rarely watch TV because we just don’t have the time but every now and again we find ourselves in a binge watching blackhole. Some shows that we have enjoyed in the past are Vikings, Outlander, The Witcher, The Last Kingdom, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Sherlock Holmes (the British version with Benedict Cumberbatch). I have not seen House of Dragon because I still haven’t gotten over what they did to Dany in Season 8 of Game of Thrones.  

12:00 A.M

I tend to go to bed between 11:00 PM and midnight but there are many nights when I am up until 1 am packing orders.

Oh! And I never go to bed before I refill Luna’s snack bowl and water :) Yes! She has her very own snack station in our bedroom in case she gets hungry during the night. My husband calls her “privileged princess” and my response to that is — rightfully so . . . even if I get woken up by her crunching in the middle of the night :)