I’ve gotten a lot of requests for what my typical days are like working! Before I blogged I worked with bloggers 24/7. When I was working at a PR firm, my coworkers and I daydreamed of “what the bloggers did” during the day. It was almost a running joke inside our office!
We would say, “Oh my goodness it is beautiful outside! If we blogged I bet we could run to Mi Cocina and then shop!” Instagram perception is the only reality, right? 😉
Truth be told, I don’t lunch at MiCo all day, I’m just kind of a slave to my inbox.
I thought it would be fun to give an inside peak so you can kind of get an idea of how my days are structured and how strange they are! There are so many benefits to working for yourself. I can travel, I can take a nap and I can run to the mall at 10 a.m. However, the work never ends unless you want your bank balance to.
Each day is different because a lot of blog work is “behind the scenes.” There are a lot of meetings and PR brainstorming sessions that aren’t shown. I’ll share my day from yesterday since that is the “most” typical! [p.s. I say “campaign” a LOT in this. If you have no idea what that is you’ll think I’m crazy. Think of a presidential campaign but for a product. That is what PR firms do. So a campaign is a pretty broad movement with lots of little actions in it!]
P.S. My day will be different than another bloggers. Blogging has a lot of misconceptions about it because it can be anything from a hobby to a full-blown career. Some people spend an hour each week on theirs and some create an entire brand. My degree is in PR and that is what I have work experience in. Therefore, companies know that already and when they approach me for my blog they typically have me work on their blog campaign a little more extensively. I’m able to assist in either production or competition of it because I have a viewpoint of both sides of the market. So not all bloggers work as heavily on PR campaigns, and some bloggers are able to be even more involved than I am. Some bloggers work on editorial shoots for companies, etc. Bottom line: we all do different things for different companies based on our different talents.
6 a.m. I wake up, scroll through Instagram and grab open my laptop. I’ll click “publish” on my blog post for that day and respond to any crucial e-mails that came through in the evening.
6:30 a.m. I try and workout. Whether I’m doing a workout class or running my days go a lot smoother if I just get up and do it. I work at home by myself 90% of the time, so a workout is emotionally healthy, too.
7:30 a.m. I’ll shower and sometimes eat breakfast. I’m so bad about this! I’ll be starving but I just don’t think food “sounds good” until around 2 p.m. Does anyone else have this?! I always just “feel” sick in the mornings and have since I was a little girl. I can sometimes get down a protein shake.
8 a.m. The world is awake so I get to start social media! I’ll upload a photo and feature my posts for the day. If it’s a slow week on social media then I might buy Twitter followers online to increase engagement.
9 a.m. Conference calls start! Blog campaigns and events are planned months in advance, so I’ll have calls with PR firms where we plan everything from the type of champagne we will serve to focus group studies on what our target market should be with invitations. Sometimes I’ll be in charge of helping cover the theme for their editorial pitching or finishing up a campaign. In that case, I go meet with them to pitch. I love starting my days with calls because there is no one with more energy than a PR girl and it is more motivating than coffee.
10 a.m. This is where my job is kind of awesome. I can run my errands in the morning! The older I get the more of a homebody I become. I’m always having to run to stores to pick up pieces for posts and nothing gives me more anxiety than the Saturday mall crowd. If I’m styling for a company or an event I’ll go there and do that.
11 a.m. I’ll go home and finish getting ready to shoot a blog post.
11: 45 a.m. Shoot
12:15 p.m. Upload photos, edit, create graphics, set up posts. I try and arrange my blog posts a week in advance. It takes about an hour per post, but sale features and graphics can take a lot longer. This is when I really want a Diet Coke and start losing my mind thinking artificial sweetener is your friend.
1:15 p.m. I’ll work on PR campaigns at this point. Essentially everything you see online is only 10% of what I will do for a client. Most of what I do for them isn’t made public [because y’all would be so uninterested] but it can be anything from writing content for their website to market research.
3:15 p.m. I’ll instagram so that you all know I’m alive. 😉
3:30 p.m. By now my inbox is flooded and I’ll have a mini panic attack [I think everything is urgent and I’m hoping I grow out of that.] I’ll try and sift through!
4:30 p.m. I get to work on boring business tasks. Going through accounts, contracts and check lists to make sure everything is complete on my end so that campaigns can move forward. This probably seems redundant, but I’ll share an example that happened yesterday. I’m working on a campaign that has 12 bloggers in it. One blogger couldn’t do the launch date we had been working on because another one of her campaigns overlapped. So we changed the date, changed the entire editorial schedule and then I had to e-mail each other firm I was working with for the month of December to let them know their editorial moved. So then I had to resign contracts and run to Fedex to rescan 70 pages to e-mail out. That was riveting. Let me tell you. My job has never been more glamorous.
5:30 p.m. I’ll have meetings with companies I will be collaborating with.
6:30 p.m. I’m doing one of three things in the evenings: bible study, a PR/blogger event or working. If I go to an event or bible study I’ll work after. If I don’t have anything planned I get to stop working at around 7:30/8! If I do go to an event I’ll just make sure to check on e-mails and make sure everything is ready to be published for the next day.
Paul works insane hours, so I may see him around 9 or 10. I’m addicted to 19 Kids & Counting so I have to check in with Michelle Duggar and then I’m out by midnight.
Essentially my life is run by my inbox and PR campaigns and is kind of ridiculously boring! 😉
Do you have weird hours with your job?!
In case you were interested, I found a few more online steals for you! These are the sales I stocked up on for Christmas [and NYFW ;)]. Um are y’all at the point I am at where the holidays are so expensive?! I try to do a lot of sentimental gifts, but I’m a sucker and love spoiling people I care about. My mom has always done little touches like wrapping a smackers lip balm in my lunch box with a note in Elementary School and she just rubbed off on me! Needless to say, these sales have saved my bank account’s life.
Banana Republic: 35% off your purchase with code BRMOMENT | Link
Stuart Weitzman: 35% off 1st pair & 45% off additional pair | Link
I’m so confused still! So you’re not working for the PR firm anymore… are you still doing PR just as a freelancer on your own? And also running your own blog as a full time job?
Hi! I’m not with a PR firm anymore. I’m a full-time blogger, but I guess you could say I freelance, too! I just don’t see it that way because I only work with clients I work on the blog with, too. For example, say I host an event at a company. I may also have been contracted to assist in their PR campaign and help out their work with other bloggers, too!
Hi Katey!
I enjoyed reading your post about what you do for a living! I can relate to working the weird hours too. I have a B.S. Degree in Housing and Interior Design. I’m an interior design and I work for a company, but it is a little like having my own business within the business. I build a clientelle, schedule home visits, draw up floor plans, and make fabric, furniture, and accessory selections for clients. Some of the projects are big and some smaller. I love what I do! There is also a lot of behind the scenes work that influences the final product of a gorgeous room or whole house. Since I work on the weekends, that leaves my two days off during the week. I agree that this is nice, beating the crowds when shopping. I enjoy seeing your instagram posts daily! The pictures are always so bright and colorful! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
You are an interior designer?! That is SO awesome! I admire y’alls field so much for having to continually be creative and fit other’s needs!
Thank you so much! I love it! 🙂
I’m actually kind of obsessed with this post. I’m a blogger but it’s not my career nor is my blog as big as yours. I think it’s so interesting to see what it’s like inside the mind/day of someone who has made this their full time job.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Briana
RoyallyPink.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing this! I love knowing about this kind of stuff! Also I am the same way about food – it just doesn’t sound good this early!
Michaela || The Monogrammed Midwesterner
Thanks Katey for sharing your day! I’m a new blogger that would love to make this a career. Would it be beneficial to go back to school for PR, marketing, etc., or do you know of any blogging classes? I have a BA in Criminal Justice and worked in law enforcement for 10 years, which makes the blogging field a new and exciting experience for me!
xo,
Shantell
http://www.getyourchicon.com
Hi Shantell!
I don’t think it is necessary unless you want to be as involved in PR campaigns as I like to be! If you’re just blogging and sharing your style/life you definitely can have whatever degree you have! 🙂
xoxo,
Katey
Right now I am blogging and working full time so I have crazy hours.
xx, Jodi
http://highheelsandtutus.com
Love this post! It’s so interesting to get a behind the scenes look at what you do and it’s so different from other blogger “let me tell you how I work” posts go! Sounds like an awesome day!
xx
Jessica
Dirty Blonde Barrage
I am absolutely mesmerized by all that you do. I have found such a love and passion for blogging, so I really admire how your days are all laid out! To see that this college hobby of mine can turn into something so big and full time is a huge inspiration for me. Being a fashion retail major, blogging has only increased my love for designers and styles. I’m so glad I found this post, you are awesome!
I am EXACTLY the same way about breakfast. I basically have to force myself. Was so refreshing to finally know someone shares this with me. Ugh. Woof.
I have been to my fair share of New York events across the city. But this one is my favorite. I think their prices are reasonable and personally like the pudding and apple crisp they serve.