Showing posts with label day in the life

Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager: Quarantine Edition

in , , by RoyallyPink, 6:00 AM

I've been in quarantine since March 13th and my daily routines look very different now from two months ago... just like everyone else's. 

I am someone who is a creature of habit, who loves her little routines and relies heavily on doing the same thing every day. After about two weeks, I was in the groove of my quarantine routine and now I'm an old pro.

The weekdays are definitely easier on me because really, that routine has hardly changed. I'm still working from 9-5 every day, working out, dinner, cleaning, blogging, and then tv & bed. The weekends are vastly different and that's another post for another day.

Today, I want to highlight what my Monday-Friday looks like as a social media manager while working from home in the middle of a pandemic. 

*If you don't know, I run social media for a beauty brand and have been at this job since September. Previously, I was the Social Media Assistant Manager at Laura Geller Beauty for 4 years. I started in social media when I graduated from college in 2014 and truly love everything I do.

8-8:30 AM


9 AM


  • Sit at my desk, open my work computer, and get started on the day! 
  • Answer emails, respond to comments and DMs, schedule posts for the day/week
  • Around 9:30 AM, I might have a granola bar before my actual breakfast because I'm not super hungry in the morning. 

10 AM-2 PM

Just a little peek at what my desk looks like during the day

  • Meetings usually start at 10 AM (except if there is a rare 9 AM meeting) and will run all day. I average 2-4 meetings per day and we have been using Microsoft Teams for them. I love Teams so much - it has helped me feel really connected to the company and my co-workers. We've done company-wide meetings, happy hours, and game nights with it so I could not recommend enough.
  • I'll eat breakfast around 10:30, 11 AM depending on when my meetings occur. My go-to's are oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich. 
  • In between meetings, I'm answering more emails, creating Instagram Stories in Canva & Photoshop, scheduling posts, and writing copy. If I have a deadline for a project, this is usually my productive time. 
  • At the beginning of each month, I have to do reporting for the last month so depending on timing, a lot of my day consists of that. 

2:30-5 PM 

  • After 2 PM, I take a break and have lunch. It can consist of Tyson Air Fried Chicken Nuggets, Steamfresh Veggie Pasta, Trader Joes Mini Chicken Tacos or Chicken Cilantro Wontons. 
  • After lunch, until 5 PM, there might be more meetings but I try to focus on copy and content creation so that my brain can rest a little from presentations and reports. 
  • Once 5 PM comes, unless there is a virtual happy hour, I close down my laptop and put it away for the night. This helps me keep some sort of balance and if something is really urgent, I have my work phone. 

Other things I might tackle during the day:

  • Influencer briefs or reports
  • Webinars/virtual conferences -- there have been so many of these popping up and it's a great way to learn more about my field and break up the day.
  • Competitive reporting/analysis - this is a good way to find new content to post and see what the industry is up too. 
  • Community management never stops so every hour or so I'll check on my posts, respond to comments and DMs, and just engage with the followers. 
  • Things come up last minute all the time so I might have to throw a presentation or analysis together last minute or put together a content brief. At the beginning of COVID, things were changing hour by hour and it was a wild ride but a great learning experience. 

After 5 PM 

  • Depending on the weather and my energy level, I will do a pilates workout, a weight workout, or go for a walk. At the start of quarantine, I thought I'd do video at home workouts but after a few tries, they just didn't work for me. 
  • After a workout, I'll cook/help with dinner, shower, and rest for the night. I might read, do some blogging, other writing, or just lay in bed watching TV until an appropriate time to get under my covers. 

I'm very grateful to have a job that allows me to work from home and a company that has taken great steps to keep us informed and take care of us. I am so thankful for this job and to be able to do what I love... even in the middle of a global pandemic.

Let me know if you liked this style of post - I will definitely do a nighttime routine and a weekend one!

xoxo
B



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Day in the Life: Nighttime Routine | February 2017

in , , , , , , , by RoyallyPink, 7:00 AM
Nighttime and getting ready for bed is one of my favorite times of the day. I am very into relaxing, as if you couldn't already tell, so I'm very into calming down before getting snuggly in my bed.

I've been wanting to do a nighttime routine post since I started my blog almost 5 YEARS AGO but I just never got around to it. It's also different now that I have my own room and have really perfected the ritual/routine.

I believe that it's really important to calm yourself before bed and get into the right mindset before getting ready to sleep. I've had many a nights where I was too anxious to sleep and tried to force myself asleep but ended up waking up every hour because my head wasn't in the right place.

Do whatever you find relaxing an hour or so before getting into bed and just calmly get yourself into the right frame of mind.

Now, I've read enough lifestyle and wellness articles to know that you're not supposed to be on your phone, use phone as an alarm clock, or even watch tv before bed but I go against all those rules. As someone who never has the TV off, I sleep with it on too. It turns off in the middle of the night but if I wake up and can't really sleep, I turn it right back on. The only way I can NOT sleep with the TV on is if someone is in the room with me, otherwise, it's on.

I've been this way since I was a baby -- I can't do anything without my tv on. When I used to have phone interviews when I first graduated college, I needed the TV on and just would put it on mute. If I'm home, my TV is on.

nighttime routine-sleep-sleep routine-royallypink


Back to the nighttime routine....

1. Shower: I always shower at night and it's usually the thing that calms me down most. I take scorching hot showers even though it's really bad for my dry skin but I'm a rebel and refuse to listen. I never shower in the morning because I'm too tired, and there's nothing worse than being cold after a shower in the wee hours of dawn. I also like to wash the grossness of the New York City subway off of me at night.

2. Blog, Article, Etc: After my shower, I'll usually sit down at my desk (or in my bed) to finish some blog work, write an article, or schedule some social media posts. I'll admit, there are many days where this doesn't happen because I am so exhausted and the thought of even opening my computer is a struggle. It is however, usually part of my routine because sometimes when I get into bed too early and know I didn't do any blog work, I feel guilty and end up cracking the laptop open anyway.

nighttime routine-sleep-sleep routine-royallypink


 3. Oil Diffuser/Candles: Post shower, I get my room in the mood. I have string lights above my window that I turn on, light a candle, and if I'm feeling extra anxious, I'll turn on my oil diffuser. The mood lighting and scents instantly make me feel super relaxed and truly make all the difference.

4. Skincare: At this point, I'm probably tuned into whatever show is on TV that night; Vanderpump Rules, Beverly Hills Housewives, This Is Us, and of course, TGIT on ABC are usually the main culprits. This is the time that I'll start my skincare routine. I probably washed my face in the shower with my Tarte Frixxtion Stick but if not I use my Tatcha Powder or Clarisonic with a gentle cleanser. I then follow up with my oil, serum, and a heavy moisturizer. I may also throw in a sheet mask or regular mask to uber relax if I'm in the mood.

5. Journal: If I remember, I'll write in my regular journal or gratitude journal. It's really important to me to write down my thoughts and write down how I'm feeling or what kind of day I had. I definitely do not write a regular journal entry every night and I just started with the gratitude journal in the new year because I wanted to be more mindful of good things that happened to me or what I was thankful for that day. It helps with my anxiety and to just give me peace of mind.

nighttime routine-sleep-sleep routine-royallypink

6. Read: I try to read every night but I'm not always successful. I have a stack of books on my nightstand but also have a few books on my iPad that I've been reading. This is also something that distracts my mind and calms me down -- mind you that the TV is on mute while this is going on (it always comes back to the TV).

7. Meditate: I've been SO into meditating before bed. I downloaded the app "Night Melodies" and they have so many different meditations to do to soothe you to sleep and they also have a white noise feature where instead of meditating, you could just listen to any white noise you choose. This happens when my TV is basically on mute, I have my Henri Bendel eye mask on, and I'm ready to go to sleep. When meditating, if I'm not an anxious mess, I'm pretty much asleep within 15 minutes. It's a miracle worker!

nighttime routine-sleep-sleep routine-royallypink


In the midst of all of this I'm in and out of bed to get water or go to the bathroom, and I'm on and off on my phone. My phone life doesn't sleep until I do.

Another thing to mention is that I take my medication from birth control to my anxiety medication; what I've discovered in the past few months is something that has changed my sleeping routine. HUM Nutrition popped up at Sephora a few months ago, before the new year, and I was intrigued. I'm very caught up on herbal and all natural supplements that assist with stress, anxiety, and sleep so when I saw Beauty zzZz, I was intrigued.

It's an all natural supplement that helps promote a restful sleep; it contains melatonin and B6 and is classified as a vegetarian tablet. I do not take this every night because I don't need it every night but on the nights when I'm feeling fussy or know that I had a hard day and may be worked up, I'll take one about 10-15 minutes before I go to sleep.

Now, the difference between this and something like Zzquill is that it kicks in right away and doesn't leave you drowsy in the morning. I've never felt more refreshed in the morning than when I take this. It puts you to sleep quick but you're not groggy at all in the morning. If you have trouble sleeping, I highly recommend trying these; they're only $10 on Sephora.com and well worth it. (I've never tried actual melatonin because I'm afraid it'll leave me groggy in the morning. I could take this on a work night and not be afraid of how I'll feel)

(PS: I am NOT a doctor so I don't know how things will work for you but personally, as someone with anxiety and sleep trouble, this has worked wonders for me!)

After all of this is complete, I turn the lights off, blow the candles out, and relax with some of my favorite TV until I fall asleep.

 What is your nighttime routine? Is it similar to mine? Share below in the comments!

 xoxo
B
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