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OFFICE UPDATE + ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS

05.29
JENN THATCHER ART DALLAS PAINTINGS
JENN THATCHER ART DALLAS PAINTINGS

I’m so excited to share these new photos of my office, especially now that I have the most beautiful piece of artwork hanging behind my desk! A big thank you to local Dallas artist, Jenn Thatcher, for painting this incredible piece. It ties together all of the fun colors in my office and is such a great anchor for the space! I’m thrilled to share Jenn is painting a triptych for my dining room, which I should be receiving in just a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for that!

I still have a couple of things left to do with my office before I do a full reveal – for example, I finally ordered desk chairs for myself and my intern’s desk, which should be here soon. The chair you see in these photos is stolen from my dining room! In case you were wondering, this particular chair is from an antique set my mom found while shopping the Round Top Antiques Fair that I had recovered with GP & J Baker Madron fabric in Teal. I’ve gotta say it looks pretty fabulous in my office too!

I’ve also got a space next to my desk that is just a big empty wall, and I’m thinking it might be fun to do some kind of gallery wall with some of my favorite travel photos! We’ll see. I may need to move some things around. Until then, here’s a sneak peek + a Q&A about my work routine!

answering your questions


QUESTION // How do you schedule out your day? I work from home and need a routine!

ANSWER // Below is a look at a typical day if I don’t have meetings/not traveling!

6:15/6:30am – Alarm goes off. I throw on my workout clothes, brush my teeth, put in my contacts and then make my regular coldbrew coffee (basically just do Chamelon Cold Brew Vanilla mixed with almond milk creamer and water).

6:45am – Once I’ve made my coffee, I’ll sit down at my desk for an hour and a half to tackle big items on my to-do list or things that require my full focus (like writing blog posts for The Style Scribe and Sussex Style Watch, newsletter blurbs, etc)! I am 100% more focused in the morning than in the afternoon, so I try to get all of my writing done then.

8:00/8:30am – Work out. If it’s Monday, Wednesday or Friday I do BBG at home in my garage, but if it’s Tuesday or Thursday I’ll go to OrangeTheory!

10:00am – Hop in the shower and get ready for the day.

10:45/11:00am – Sit back down at my desk and work for another hour or two. I’m likely still doing some writing things at this point as long as my coffee is still working!

12:30/1:00pm – Make lunch! If eating at home, I always eat at my desk.

1:00-6:00pm – Work on collages, respond to emails/DMs, shoot photos, do try-on sessions, update THE SHOP, etc.

QUESTION // What methods do you use to keep yourself organized? Planner, apps, etc?

ANSWER // For my editorial calendar and revenue tracking I use Google Sheets. For brainstorming, content planning, travel research, etc I use a variety of Google Docs! For appointments/meetings, events, scheduling workouts and things I need actual reminders for, I put it in my iCal which is synced to my computer and my phone.

I do not use a paper planner or calendar – I have terrible handwriting…. and would just prefer if my “plans” were digitally synced so I could access it anywhere – even if I don’t have access to my own computer or phone! I can just log in on someone else’s device if necessary.

QUESTION // Any insight on how you stay focused and handle distractions working from home?

ANSWER // I think the key to success in working from home is establishing a dedicated workspace. Having an actual office has completely changed the game for me! At my old place, I would either work from the couch or from the dining table, neither of which was great for my focus or comfort. I ended up with some pretty bad neck problems from hunching over my laptop on the couch and sitting uncomfortably at the dining table. I now have a desk with a riser for my computer monitor which keeps my gaze up and neck/back comfortable all day. Because my office is away from the street and doesn’t have a TV in it, I’m also less likely to lose focus because of noise or visual distractions (which for me is a major ADHD issue – especially with sound!).

With that said, the level of focus required definitely depends what I’m working on! When I’m writing, I need complete and total silence. If I’m working on collages or updating THE SHOP, I usually have a podcast on to keep me company! When my intern comes in, I usually have some music on in the background.

QUESTION // What inspires you in keeping your content fresh?

ANSWER // One big piece of inspiration for my content is travel. The other is the change of seasons – each one comes with new events, holidays, outfit ideas, etc that can help steer my content somewhere new.

This is going to sound silly, but seeing new arrivals on websites I frequent is also very inspiring to me. Because clothing can be released so much earlier than it’s needed (we’re already seeing pre-fall come out!), it’s a fun preview and gets me excited for the coming season! Plus, I always have a running wish list of new products after looking at Shopbop, NET-A-PORTER and Matches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

QUESTION // How do you prioritize your to-do list and accommodate when unexpected tasks come up?

ANSWER // It’s not often I’m surprised by an unexpected task. Occasionally a brand will reach out and ask for a quick turnaround for a project or event, but as I’ve said in the past, outfit posts are the easiest part of this job – I just have to make sure my intern is available to be my photographer!

Because I am pretty much a one-woman show, if something does come up or I haven’t had time to complete something because of travel (or someone coming in town), I generally just have to work late or plan to wake up early the next day to get it done. Not a great system, but I’m working on it! I personally have a very difficult time with the work-life balance thing.

QUESTION // What do you do to get more human interaction since you work (mostly) by yourself?

ANSWER // I usually try to schedule a couple of meals with friends during the week! Occasionally I’ll go work from Park House or somewhere else if I’m desperate to get out of the house, but I’m just not able to focus well enough to do a great job (whatever the task). I also have a few friends who are new moms, and have loved visiting them once a week (or every other week). Going to OrangeTheory is also a fun time for me to interact with other people first thing in the morning – gets my day off to a great start!

QUESTION // What is your philosophy on fitting in exercise during a busy work day?

ANSWER // I think if you know you’re going to have a busy week/day ahead of you, schedule your workouts first thing in the morning. Knock it out, even if that means waking up one hour earlier! I always do my workouts first thing in the morning, because I know I will talk myself out of it if I don’t get it done right away.

If you’re someone who says “I’m not a morning person”, train yourself to be. Go to sleep earlier, wake up earlier – it’s that simple. That way if a day gets too busy and you have to work late, you already have it done and don’t have to worry about it. I never regret a workout, but always regret skipping one.

QUESTION // What is your favorite activity to do for the blog? Collages? Try-ons? Outfit posts?

ANSWER // I looooove putting together collages! With that said, sometimes they are also the death of me. I’m a stickler for a cohesive aesthetic when it comes to collages, so if the colors don’t vibe well I may start the whole collage over after working on it for hours. And some collages take more time than others! I spent the entire afternoon (nearly five hours!) working on one collage last week – it can be a real time suck if you’re as much of a perfectionist as I am.

QUESTION // What analytics do you look at? What have been your most successful clothes/series?

ANSWER // The analytics that are most important to me are the ones on rewardStyle. I can track which products get the most clicks and conversions (sales), how much I’m earning each day/week/month, which brands I’ve sent the most traffic/revenue to, etc. I have Google Analytics as well, but haven’t had the time lately to sit down and review them – would love to make that a priority if I can free up some time!

Regarding my most successful clothes/series, it changes all the time! Most recently, in the last month these jeans have been the most popular/have sold the best. Looking at my analytics for the last month, while I do get the most clicks from my InstaStories, most of the big sales come from my actual blog posts and newsletter (which is so great to know, since I can’t control Instagram if they change something else!!!).

In case you didn’t know, Instagram stops tracking user behavior within the app after five minutes of opening a link – so if you swipe up on a piece I share and don’t buy it within that five minute window, I miss out on the commission. This is probably why clicks are so high, while conversions are lower. If you want to make sure you’re giving me credit while shopping on your phone (no worries either way, but people always ask!), the best thing to do is to exit the Instagram app and open Safari or your regular internet browser and go to thestylescribe.com/shop. I have a dedicated tab for TUESDAYTEN and for my Instagram outfits!

QUESTION // Do you do “desk Mondays” where you don’t schedule meetings all in one week?

ANSWER // While this isn’t a hard or fast rule, Mondays usually are big computer days for me! I get a little work done on Sunday preparing for the week, but Monday is the big day where I finalize posts and newsletters for the rest of the week if things are not scheduled far in advance because of travel. Really, any days where my intern doesn’t come in are big computer days! I’m at my desk from dawn til dusk.

QUESTION // How are you so motivated, organized, and follow through so well with your content?

ANSWER // I think there are two key reasons:

  1. It’s just my personality. I’m very Type A and an Ennegram #3 (The Achiever). I’m ambitious, competitive, and a perfectionist. I love having a routine, setting goals and reaching them, and want to be successful at whatever I’m doing!
  2. I absolutely love what I do! I’m very lucky to do work I’m passionate about. I wake up each morning excited to sit down at my desk and work on content for you guys. I LOVE connecting with my readers and chatting with them on Instagram. While some of the work can get redundant from time to time, I generally feel very inspired each week to get creative and try something new!

Not everyone is a self-starter or good at working from home. What comes naturally to me, may not come naturally for you! Some people just do better in a setting where they have built-in structure (like a corporate office), whereas I am good at creating that structure myself.

QUESTION // What does your intern do for you? I recently started my own online boutique and in need of one!

ANSWER // My intern is my photographer, but she also assists me with researching articles for my weekend newsletter, screenshotting/creating the square images for the products in THE SHOP, she assists with social media (scheduling tweets, pinterest, etc), and more things like that. I have found all of my interns through SMU which has been helpful. Once I found the first one I liked, I just had her refer friends at the end of her internship who I would then interview before hiring. It made the process super easy! My interns usually only come in 10-15 or so hours a week because of class schedules. I have an “onboarding” Google Doc that features a rundown on tasks they will be expected to do, with details on each one – on the first day or two, we go through that list one by one and I train them based on that sheet. That has made getting them up to speed very easy!

While I’ve loved having interns, now that I have Sussex Style Watch my plate has become too full. I am now in need of more help! Currently trying to figure out what that means, but ideally I’d find someone who only needs to work part time but that can assist me with bigger things like writing content, putting together collages and managing some of the more important tasks so I don’t get overwhelmed – like a stay at home mom around my age who wants to work but not full time. If you know of anyone… Send them my way!

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