Shanghai International Literary Festival volunteer coordinator and mother of three York-Chi Harder shows us how she breezes through her day

06:30

Time to get up. I make sure that Laura, 17, and Sam, 11, are up and getting ready for school. The bus to the Shanghai American School in Minhang comes at 7am (ugh). We listen to news from the U.S. while getting organized.

07:30

Call my daughter Liz, 14, who is away at school in the U.S. We chat about her day and about plans for her March visit to Shanghai.

08:00

I start most mornings with yoga, pilates or gym. Fridays are reserved for tennis. Today I get on my bike and head to my friend Betsy’s house for a yoga session with our teacher Kelly. The beginning is always slightly torturous, but by the end I feel great.

09:30

Stop at Baker & Spice for coffee and a delicious piece of fruit nut toast and to read the newspaper. Outside our house I pause to watch the frenzy of activity as workmen attempt to plant fully grown trees in the lane–all in the name of beautifying Shanghai for the Expo.

11:00

Prepare for Shanghai International Literary Festival meeting with Tina Kanagaratnam, who spearheads the Festival. I organize the volunteers for the Lit Fest, affectionately known as Elves (name derives from “LV” for “Lit fest Volunteers” ). The Elves are the secret ingredient to the Lit Fest’s success. This year we have 16 Elves from a variety of countries and backgrounds. You’ll see us working at all the literary festival events. We also act as a local contact for the authors both before they come to Shanghai and while they’re here. Many have never been to Shanghai before, so it’s nice for them to have someone to call with questions. We want authors to feel well looked after and to enjoy their experience here. Occasionally we deal with author emergencies. For example, last year we had an author call from Pudong airport because he had arrived without a visa. Luckily our Elves are calm under pressure.

12:00
Meet Tina at Whisk. We go over changes to the schedule and special requests from authors and make sure that the 60-plus sessions are adequately supported by Elves. Then we get down to work, assigning authors to Elves. Assignments are made based on Elves’ requests, availability and some work on our part, matching up interests, nationalities, etc. After all the hard work we reward ourselves with yummy chocolate desserts.

15:00
Stop at Wulumuqi Lu fruit and vegetable market on the way home and do some shopping for dinner.

15:30
Email Elves to let them know their author assignments and confirm when they will work at the festival. As a volunteer, I’m around at the festival to hear a lot of the authors. I love listening to authors whose work I know, but for me the best part is discovering new authors. Last year it was Sophie Gee and Nicole Mones. The year before it was Patrick Gale. I wonder who it will be this year?

16:00
Laura and Sam have afterschool activities, so I go to the Hongqiao flower market to buy some orchids. I love the array of plants and flowers, especially this time of year. In the car I listen to Italian language lessons to prepare for an upcoming trip to Venice.

18:00
Kids are home. Supervise homework and listen to Sam practice his trumpet.

19:15
My husband Stephen gets home. We all have dinner together. Sam very enthusiastically gives a detailed account of an activity at school involving flight simulators. Laura bemoans the stressful life of a junior in high school.

20:00
I prepare for an Active Kidz board meeting while the kids finish up their homework. I’ve been involved with the board for a number of years. We have a brand new general manager and I want to make sure she has a smooth transition into the organization.

21:30
Stephen and I watch an episode of Mad Men (our current obsession).

23:00
Read a chapter of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, one of the authors coming to the Lit Fest.

23:30
Lights out until 6:30am tomorrow morning.

What We Think Hello, Supermom. Lit Fest organizer Tina Kanagaratnam said this about Harder’s ability to organize, manage and track down anything: “If York- Chi doesn’t know where to find it, it doesn’t exist in China.” Now we know how to find that orangutan for our office party. Tell York-Chi what you think of her day.