Life is a series of choices, both good and bad. Some choices are out of our control, but others we command completely. Choosing to live and work as a banker with CBZ Holdings in the rural is one of mine. This is what my typical, productive day looks like.

Morning Routine: Protecting My Peace

My day begins by snoozing my 4:30 AM alarm, only to finally respond to the one at 5:00 AM. I then begin a dedicated one-hour study session. During this time, I read on topics of interest, write content for my TkcNotes blog, and tackle school assignments. The beauty of this hour is the profound quiet; my mind is still fresh and clear, perfectly primed for complicated concepts.

A key rule makes this possible: no phone in the morning. When I interact with my alarms, the only thing I do on my phone is hit ‘play’ on Spotify, starting my “Work With Me” playlist. I’ve noticed that any day I start with social media or doom-scrolling is a day that feels lost before it even begins.

After my study session, I quickly head out for a jog. There’s something about moving my body in the morning air that blesses my entire day. By 6:00 AM, there’s enough of that clear, pre-sunrise light to make it feel safe and beautiful. My ultimate goal is consistent: a successful 10-minute jog daily before work. If I miss, I allow myself to skip only one day—a habit tip I picked up from Matt D’Avella.

After the jog, I move into my chores: making the bed, heating water for my bath, picking out my clothes for the day, sweeping and mopping the room, and cleaning the yard. Then, it’s time to brush my teeth, bathe, dress, and eat breakfast. This entire routine takes me from about 6:20 AM to 7:30 AM. Again, the no-social-media rule applies. It’s only music, either through earpods or a speaker, to ensure I protect my morning—and by extension, my entire day.

Work

The Commute

My workplace is a mere 10-minute walk from my home. I deeply appreciate this luxury. It’s during this walk that I finally take a glimpse at my WhatsApp to see if anything is truly urgent. I plug in my earphones and enjoy the walk down the quiet, dusty road. It’s beautiful.

The area I live in is quiet and calm, with no traffic—either people or vehicles. On a normal day, I might meet a total of three to five people and riders combined. This serenity sharply contrasts with our office complex, which is often bustling with people by the entrance early in the morning. Most are clients of the registrar’s office, coming to apply for birth certificates, national IDs, and passports.

The Work

My work hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. I am a customer service teller stationed at a passport office, so most of my clients are there to make payments for their passports. However, I also assist any walk-in clients needing a variety of banking services: opening accounts, loan applications, deposits, withdrawals, and anything else offered at a large branch. With many government offices in the area, we also handle corporate clients and queries, all in the spirit of serving our community.

A rural community is small and interconnected; everyone knows everyone. There’s a higher chance you’ll interact with clients outside of work—at church, or when buying groceries from their shops. It’s this close-knit feeling that makes rural life so unique.

The Lunch Break

Depending on the day, I take turns with my colleague to break for lunch, ensuring there’s always someone at the counter to serve clients. This usually happens between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM.

I almost always have a home-prepared meal, as I prefer them to the local takeout options. It’s easy: I head to the back office, heat my food, and enjoy it while catching up on social media feeds. Afterward, I’m back for the final stretch of work—about an hour to an hour and a half of serving clients before the branch closes at 3:00 PM.

Evening Routine: Winding Down

After work, things get interesting again. I have a scheduled one-hour study session from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Again, this is for studying topics of interest, working on school assignments, or writing.

After studying, I prepare dinner. This is also when I make my lunch for the next day. I try to keep meal preparation to under an hour so I can eat and finish cleaning the dishes by 8:00 PM. One hack I’ve discovered is to clean as I go—washing utensils immediately after I’m done using them. That way, when I finish cooking, I only have a few dishes left to wash after eating. (For those wondering, I use LP Gas for cooking; it’s easier and more reliable than electricity or firewood. Thankfully, my home is connected to the grid, so I don’t worry much about lighting or charging my gadgets l use electricity.)

After everything is done, I truly relax. I might watch a Netflix show, something on YouTube, or scroll through social media until I fall asleep, usually between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM.

And that’s it—a productive day in my life. I get to enjoy a simple, intentional life, far from the noisy echoes of the city.