5 AM
A day in my life is very hectic and chaotic at times. The first thing I think about at 5AM before my workout is… DEADLINES. Everything at a newspaper is about deadlines.
After my workout, I take my girls to school and stop to get coffee and head to work by 8AM (depending on what is due, it may be much earlier).

8 AM
First thing in the morning, I pull all the designers in to go over what needs to be done by the end of the day. It is like a teacher giving out assignments. This way, there is no confusion about who is doing what and no time is wasted. The daily newspaper ads always get designed first. They range from local car dealerships to Hy-Vee (grocery store) to Kmart. Most of the ads are completely designed and laid out by us, but sometimes they are done by corporate and emailed in as PDFs. Then all we do is size and fit into an ad.

10 AM
After daily ads are out of the way, we move on to our bigger projects such as MLS (real estate guide) or The Southwest Iowa Shopper. The MLS is one we are currently working on. It is a monthly tab (booklet) that consists evenly of the four realtors locally. They split the price of it between them and share the space. It is always eighteen pages long and each page consists of dozens of houses or apartments with full descriptions. It is a huge project to tackle monthly and we usually only have a weeks time to proof and finish. It is completely designed and laid out by us monthly.

We have many other tabs. We just finished a bridal tab in January that was a lot of fun. We do a coloring book every year for kids and we also have one called Middle Scene which is a booklet for seniors about healthcare and nursing homes.

When we are finished with MLS this month it will be time to move on to our annual Progress edition. It is a huge tab that consists of ten sections sorted by industry. It is a tab meant to show the community how well business has progressed in the last year. I think it is beneficial for the community to know this information. Each section in 6-8 pages long so this tab ends up being fairly large. It will print March 24 so we will have a month to finish it. Then of course, MLS will be due at the same time.

On Thursdays, I have to download the next weeks TV Guides to go in the daily paper and we also begin working on The Southwest Iowa Shopper, which prints every Monday. Some of you probably have a shopper or something like it in your community. It is a free weekly paper that consists of ads and classifieds. It also contains the local retailers and grocery store inserted ads.

1 PM
Throughout the day I also have meetings with clients about new design ideas and also something I hate…misprints. It doesn’t occur everyday but it does happen quite often. When it does, I am the one that has to answer for everyone. Yesterday, Dale from Fareway (a local grocery store), came in when he received his Shopper. Every week he runs a big four page insert that has a double spread and a front and a back. We accidentally printed it with two back pages and the double spread. I couldn’t believe it made it all the way to delivery. I have to apologize (I felt terrible) and I agreed to run the entire insert in tomorrows paper free of charge.

I have also been in meetings with our publisher dealing with our budget and working on finding ways to cut costs for new equipment and supplies. So far I have gotten us new software, a new computer (we need three), a new hard drive, a super drive, and a new camera. These things have saved us time with less technical difficulties. We work strictly on Macs (which I love) and were very behind in the times.

I also have had many meetings with the fire department about their annual convention book. This year’s convention for the state is being held here and I landed the job of designing and laying out the book. It will end up being about 800 pages long in full color. It will be very time consuming but exciting!

I know you are thinking that this all sounds pretty boring but honestly I am using my education (what little I have). Things can be pretty routine and standard but many times we get to be creative and revamp an old layout or completely design new ones. I use creativity everyday and that is all I ever wanted in a job. I am gaining experience in my field and am successful in it so far. This is good to know I didn’t choose the wrong field! I have also gained much experience with Quark, Multi-Ad Creator, and Macs. These are all things I did not know how to use before I worked there. I work long hours and sometimes my day begins at 7AM and doesn’t end until 9PM (Fridays usually). I work in a wonderful environment though. It is a place where no man is left behind so if I stay late, no one else will leave until the job is done. We all care about each other like a family and everyone helps out. We have our ups and downs and we make mistakes but our motto is: One person’s mistakes and triumphs are another’s. I don’t plan on working here forever but I do love the satisfaction I get from my job.

I work full time at a local newspaper. There, I am the composition manager and carry many responsibilities. It calls for long hours and some working at home. I am also a part time student at AIO. I carry a 4.0 and work very hard to keep it that way. I also do some freelance on the side.

Many times in person and in class, I have been asked how I do it all. My girls are happy and healthy; I have a job I am great at, and a wonderful marriage. The answer is simple; buy a date book. I schedule everything and write everything down. I have to or I will loose track of everything. I have four simple rules that maintain balance in my life and my family’s:

1. No work until the kids go to bed at 8PM.
2. No school until the kids go to bed at 8PM.
3. Spend one full day with your spouse every week. (Date Night)
4. No missing school events or sport events with the kids.

Those are my very simple guidelines. Without them my life would be a mess and everyone in it would be miserable. It is all based on my priorities. My family always comes first. My education comes second. My work comes last.
I am going constantly and I have times when I just can’t go anymore. Then I put myself first. I take a day off and go for a drive, sleep in, or go out with friends. Even if it is just for an hour, we all need time for ourselves. It just isn’t healthy not to. I focus on my family and work during the week and work on schoolwork and work all weekend. I have become the time management queen! Life sounds hectic but I am still one of the calmest and laid back people you may ever meet. I have yet to find much that will upset me or stress me out because I know things always find a way to work out. I have always felt there is a solution to everything and won’t quit until I find one.

Another important key is to stay healthy. I work out and eat right. I admit, I am a smoker but for some reason my body balances itself out (for now anyway). Staying healthy helps maintain a healthy mental state. I also try to think positive at all times. I like to keep everyone around me enthusiastic and happy. I love people and am very happy surrounded by my family, friends, and co-workers. All of these simple things get me through each and every day. Sometimes it is hard but I just stay strong and keep my priorities straight.