A Music Industry Insider Shares A Day In Her Life
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6:50AM
My body clock wakes me up at this time. But if I do sleep in any later, my Alexa goes off at 7:15am. Luckily, I don't need a lot of sleep to function – there was a point last year when I was only getting four or five hours. However, that’s not something I advise as I’m conscious of how important sleep is – even when you’re not tired – so I try to get eight hours a night. My favourite pyjamas are the silky ones from Daily Sleeper.
I love my morning routine. I always drink peppermint tea before bed, which I think helps me feel revived when I get up. Alexa tells me the weather then plays a song right after my morning alarm goes off. It’s usually Victor Thompson’s ‘Dependable God’ because I feel like I'm being woken up with a prayer. When I listen to the lyrics and focus on what I'm grateful for, it sets the tone for the day ahead.
Once I’m up and stretched, I like to lift weights. I have a small at-home set-up and I do Russian dead lifts and squats. If I know I won’t be able to do a full workout that day, that’s the least I’ll do. Then I have a shower. I use the Naturium Perfector Salicylic Acid Body Wash. I wash my natural hair with Olaplex products only, and I like to use the Ava Estelle coffee body scrub once a month. It's an independent Ghanaian brand and very high quality. Liha Beauty’s oil is fantastic for leaving my skin glistening, and I use the Ren Ready Steady Glow Tonic for an extra skin boost. I tend not to wear much make-up in the office; I just prioritise my eyelashes, brows, and having clean skin and a lip oil on – either the Armani clear lip gloss or the NYX Fat Oil Lip Drip.
8AM
I try to think about what I'm going to wear the night before. I won’t get the clothes out, but I’ll visualise an outfit after checking the weather, so it makes it easier when I’m getting ready. Black is pretty much my colour palette, though I do mix it up a little more in the summer. Double denim is a trend I’m into right now, but ultimately the weather and my schedule dictate what I wear.
I would describe my style as feminine with a business edge. It’s so important to know what suits your shape. I love dresses, skirts, boots and a good-fitting blazer – power outfits. The recent Victoria Beckham x Mango collection had so many pieces that would sit well in my wardrobe. Karen Millen designs a lot of form-fitting dresses that feel business appropriate. A designer belt is a staple in my wardrobe. I own a lot of Gucci and for Christmas I got two pairs of boots from Louis Vuitton. Rick Owens is one of my favourite designers – everything he makes is for the female form. I admit, though, I’m on a shopping ban at the moment – nothing else will fit in my wardrobe.
9AM
I have an easy commute and am fortunate that my walk is pretty scenic. When I’m on the tube, I’ll look through my inbox to see what needs to be prioritised, and I also listen to music. I try not to schedule calls before 11am so there’s time to blast out email replies and read whatever has been left in my inbox from the day before. My tip is not to schedule calls back-to-back – you need 20-30 minutes to type up notes, email off action points, or prepare yourself for the next one.
10AM
This is the time to confess that I don’t typically eat breakfast. I’m probably inadvertently intermittent fasting, but I don’t like breakfast, so I don’t ever feel like I’m missing out. I take ashwagandha every day and most days I will have a Protein & Greens shake post-workout.
Usually, I’m at my desk by 10am. I like to make both physical and digital to-do lists to help me plan. I work in a co-working space in Shoreditch. It’s busy and bustling, and I love the community that exists there – it’s full of creatives and entrepreneurs from various industries. I’m not someone who enjoys working from home. For what I do, I need to be out in the world.
During the day I'll always get some fresh air at different points – whether that's walking to get my coffee or just taking a personal call outside. I need breaks to stay motivated, but I’m not a napper. Instead, I spend a lot of time outside thinking about creative concepts and ideas for campaigns and what I need to translate that into decks or emails. Where possible, I'll prioritise an artist or project per day.
Throughout my career, I've just had to figure it out. So now, as a boss, I like to encourage people to use common sense. As long as you're doing your work and what's required of you, the people I bring onto my projects get a lot of freedom. The summer can be very busy because it’s festival season – whether it’s Glastonbury or the Isle of Wight, I've spent a lot of time on the road over the last three years. One of the services my agency provides is planning nationwide album signings during an artist release week, and we probably execute five or six of these a year. I've just come back to London after spending a month in LA, where I spent a lot of time meeting with people at labels and management companies and checking in with the teams that I work with. I also managed a trip to Coachella.
1:30PM
Summer is for salads. For lunch, I'm loving The Salad Project in Shoreditch – although I'm trying to meal prep more frequently. I’m also signed up to a meal prep service that delivers three days’ worth of food per week, then I'll freestyle the rest. I'm a big believer in paying for convenience, plus it takes the guesswork out of my diet. Occasionally, though, I can’t stop my Lebanese ancestry from coming out. I can't get enough of chopped cucumber, hummus and yellow peppers. Otherwise, my go-to snack is chocolate – I have such a sweet tooth.
The biggest challenge I’ve had to face at work is navigating difficult personalities and toxic clients. I’ve had to ask myself if the money and time I'd invested was reason enough to stay in a harmful environment and ultimately the answer was no – once you can no longer justify being there, get out. In my experience, I’ve found it’s opened the door to bigger and better.
6PM
If you'd asked me a few months ago what time I left work, I would have said 9pm. But I’m doing a hard out at 6pm these days to restore a bit of order and balance. It’s so important to have some ‘me’ time in the evenings. Anything I don’t get through on my to-do list simply gets transferred until the next day.
My evening routine involves cleaning. I swear it’s a by-product of living alone; there’s no one else to get it done. If I'm in for the night, I'll change into comfortable clothes, have dinner, check social media or catch up with one of my sisters or friends, and chill out before bed. I'll usually shower and moisturise with a heavier shea butter-based cream, before applying the Clinique Moisture Surge on my face. I'm a big fan of lighting candles, and I've recently started stretching at the end of the day. I feel a huge difference in the morning if I do this.
That said, my social calendar is often full of dinners or industry events. I can often find myself at album playbacks or gigs, and it doesn't always have to be an artist whose project I'm involved in. Sometimes it's to support a friend or just because I like the artist. I’m out at least twice a week.
I never entertain at my house – I think I live too far out of the way for most people. It’s fine because I like small gatherings with friends and family much better. Big parties are usually for work or if a friend has a milestone birthday.
I'm a sucker for a good series. Anything Donald Glover produces, count me in – it’s guaranteed to be clever, witty, and with lots of social commentary on black stories. Atlanta is one of my favourites. On Netflix I also recently binged One Day and, of course, Baby Reindeer. Another daily guilty pleasure is a good scroll through TikTok. At first, I thought it wasn't for me so I was late getting on there, but I actually enjoy using it – there are lots of laughs and beauty and fashion tips. I can easily get lost in a black hole.
11PM
On my bedside table you will find All About Love by bell hooks, my journal, a bottle of water and lavender spray for my room and pillows. The last thing I reach for is probably my phone to put it on charge, and I also have a mint tea before lights out.
Follow @WhitInTheCity on Instagram.
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