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A Day in the Life of a Style Blogger

January 27th, 2016
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I get a lot of questions wondering what a typical day is like for me. Well, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there really is no such thing as a typical day.

Every day really is quite different depending on what needs to get done – writing, editing, making photos, brainstorming, planning our editorial calendar – and I’ve become accustomed to, against my nature, adapting my work habits on a daily basis to fit the situation.

So one day last week, I kept a log of what my day was like. Here’s a peek into a day in the life of a style blogger.

6:28 A.M. No alarm and this is the time that I wake up?! While there’s a very, very small temptation to get up and start my day early – I’m usually extremely productive in the mornings – that’s not happening today. Back to bed. Important factoid: I did not look at my phone.

9:12 A.M. Okay, now it’s really time to wake up. And now I’ll take my phone from the nightstand and check the news and do the first email purge of the day. I’ve still got two tunes I listened to last night going through my head – Chick Corea’s Quartet No. 1 from Three Quartets and “As This Moment Slips Away” by The Bad Plus feat. Joshua Redman.

Every morning I’m not traveling starts with NPR. One of my best recent electronic investments was a Bose Soundtouch speaker for upstairs, which completes the system I have in the kitchen and for the TV. It sits on my desk, but I can control it from my phone. Ah, technology.

9:46 A.M. Make my way out of bed and over to my desk. This is the morning check to see if the day’s post auto-published without any problems – sometimes I’ll forget to do one thing or another. I always prepare some social posts then – bitly, Google Plus because I nurture the belief that it still has some effect on search ranking, make a photo for Facebook and draft a witty promo.

I live in a loft and was initially nervous about keeping my workspace upstairs just steps from the bed. The last thing I want to do is to be thinking about my computer – or have easy access to it – while I’m trying to get some shut eye.

But, I have to say that it was a good decision. So far, I haven’t succumbed to the temptation of getting out of bed to type and I’m happy to say that the temptation has never really materialized. What’s been most refreshing has been separating my workspace from my living space downstairs.

10:07 A.M. So now when I’m downstairs, there’s nothing to distract me from my breakfast, coffee and a little bit of reading in this beautiful and comfortable chair.

This is a rare day in that I actually don’t have to run out of the apartment for any reason. So I can take my time and make my own coffee at my own pace.

10:41 A.M. Can the team at The Rake do no wrong (other than that dressy sweatpants editorial in the last issue)? The quality of this publication is second to none.

11:26 A.M. Sit down at my desk to write tomorrow’s post.

12:43 P.M. I can be the worst when it comes to writing. I like to procrastinate, which I heard is good for you, but today’s interruptions have come in the form of being on hold with the bank, taking care of paperwork (hey, it’s tax time) and checking Instagram.

2:12 P.M. Writing finished. If it seems like a long time to write a simple post, it’s because there are aspects of putting a post together that are much more time-intensive than the actual writing. Researching how best to position the post, resizing and naming images and adding links is time consuming. No way around it.

2:34 P.M. Rob and I are doing a studio session tonight so I’ve got to pull some outfits. Also need to prep for two sponsored campaigns we have to shoot tomorrow.

I always have fun in the studio, which kind of surprises me because I hate feeling confined when we’re out shooting. I guess I enjoy the creativity of trying to create something interesting on a blank canvas as opposed to finding a good location for our typical “in the wild” style editorials.

2:37 P.M. Wait, I need to make photo selects from our shoot three days ago. Rob is always good about getting stuff up but sometimes I drag my feet on making selections…

2:50 P.M. Obsessing (a.k.a. procrastinating).

3:15 P.M. Shower and gathering everything I need for the shoot tonight.

5:01 P.M. A couple days ago I dropped my car off at the car dealership. Just got a call that it’s finished and need to go turn in the loaner and pick my vehicle. Rob is cool with me coming about an hour later than originally planned on. I’m thankful he’s low maintenance when it comes to last-minute schedule things like this.

6:50 P.M. Dinner.

7:45 P.M. Arrive at Rob’s and get set up in the studio (i.e. Rob’s attic). We’re shooting for a couple new content series on the site. Eventually, we hope we’ll be able to find a dedicated space to set up shop so we can have everything ready for shooting at a moment’s notice – just haven’t found the right space yet. As it is now, we waste a lot of time building the light kit each time we do studio sessions. It would be awesome to just roll up, have it all ready, dialed in and go!

9:01 P.M. Wrap at Rob’s and make my way home through some light snow.

10:06 P.M. Finally get home and put everything away. I’ve been really good about keeping everything in its place, lately. I have a tendency when we’re deep in shooting mode to let my closet explode all over the place and then to kick the can down the road when it comes to cleaning up.

But, as I’ve noticed, a neat and organized space keeps me very, very stress-free. It’s also why I make a habit of spending the 45 seconds making my bed every morning. After all, it doesn’t take much to pull the duvet up and smooth it out! Time always well spent.

Don my pajamas. Pour some whiskey. Call Robin.

10:32 P.M. Back to my desk to make some photo selections.

11:18 P.M. Send Rob picks. Going downstairs to the chair to read…

11:24 P.M. Dammit! Rob is so fast on the turnaround that I look through the finals for Friday’s post. I can resize tomorrow. The Eames chair awaits…

11:53 P.M. A little reading. Into bed. Lights out.

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style

Brian Sacawa

Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers. Since 2013, his goal has remained the same: to provide men the advice and inspiration they need to dress well, develop their personal style, and gain more confidence. Brian’s interest and passion for men’s style and luxury watches has led to his writing for The Robb Report, The Rake, and Sotheby’s and he has been quoted on menswear in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today.com, Brides Magazine, and the Huffington Post. He lives in the woods north of Baltimore with his wife, Robin, kitties Nick and Nora, and German Shepherd/Collie mix Charlie.

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