A Day in the Life of Jennifer Lopez

The Boy Next Door actress breaks down her daily routine for PEOPLE

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Published on January 24, 2015 03:15PM EST

Mother, actress, singer, producer – Jennifer Lopez does it all. The Boy Next Door star, 45, broke down her typical routine for PEOPLE – so what does a day in the life of Jenny from the Block look like?

Start the Day Right
Lopez usually starts her morning with her 6-year-old twins (with ex Marc Anthony), Emme and Max. Unless she’s out of the house before during shooting, “the kids come in between 6:15 and 6:45 a.m. Then we get ready for school [or] they’ll say, ‘We want you to make us breakfast!’ ”

Once the kids are out the door, Lopez drinks a BodyLab TastyShake and focuses on fitness. “My workout will be at least an hour to an hour and 15 minutes of different stuff,” Lopez says. (For more on how she got that hot bod, click here.)

Work-Life Balance
After working on both her body and soul (she sets aside about 15 minutes a day to do affirmations, pray and meditate), “I’m usually running off to a meeting of some sort,” Lopez says. “I wind up doing my makeup in the car to save a lot of time.”

After a day growing her empire (see: her seat at the American Idol judges’ table, her recording career, various brand endorsements), the single mom enjoys some downtime.

Dinner’s usually at 6:30 or 7 p.m. “I read somewhere that if you have dinner with your kids, they’re less likely to do drugs!” Lopez says. And then bedtime by 8:30: “They try to get me to read three or four books a night. I love that they love to read.”

For more of our exclusive interview, and to see inside Lopez’s amazing L.A. home, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now