I recently got a reader request to break down my daily schedule and explain “how I do it all,” which, to be honest, sent a chill straight down my spine.
If I tell everyone how I do it, they will realize I am not, in fact, doing it all, I thought. They will realize I am actually stretched so thin that I am on the verge of snapping in half.
But then, a second thought: Maybe no one is really doing it all. Maybe we are all stretched impossibly thin, and if I explain what my day-to-day is actually like, it could help pull back the curtain on the whole Instagram-versus-reality thing.
Of course, there were also the third, fourth and fifth thoughts: No one cares about any of this. Will I still be making Instagram Reels into my retirement years? Is this the meaning of life? But I generally tamp those down for later. (Later never comes.)
To understand what “all” entails: I have a 9-to-5. I am a staff writer for People magazine, and have been for six years. I also work as a “content creator,” which entails writing this Substack, filming Instagram Reels and Facebook videos, posting to TikTok when I remember, debating whether to start a YouTube channel, and (more recently) reaching out to brands for partnerships.
Then, there is my “book stuff”: My first book, Big Thrift Energy, is now in its fourth printing, and I am paid to speak at trade shows around North America about it. And I have another book coming out in 2027, which I have spent the past six months writing and having photographed.
A recent five-day trip to Nashville required me to do nearly all of those jobs at once: work my regular People shifts, appear on local television, speak at the Nashville Home Show, create social media content, and ultimately extend the trip for a five-minute appearance on NewsNation.
So, in the interest of answering the above reader question honestly, here is what those days actually looked like, along with how I save time when I can.
