A day in the life of a young corporate Londoner.
A simple concept but one many seem to be interested in - and we don't tend to see so much of online. While we do a lot of the same things in our routine, I know when researching life in London, this is something I would have been curious to know. So here it is! 6am - hit the snooze button.
6:10am - wake up and either grab a coffee before beginning some creative work or hit the gym for a class (depending on the day). My blog writing/planning normally happens at this time.
7:30am - if I don't go to the gym - eat some breakfast (Deliciously Ella granola, greek yogurt or kefir and blueberries/honey) and get dressed. Working in a corporate (company of more than 250+ people) environment means there is a dress code. This usually means no exposure of shoulders and stomach, no facial piercings (I believe even the three ear piercings I have in one ear aren't technically allowed), hair must be a natural-ish colour, darker colours, (you get the idea).
8:15-8:30am - leave the house for work. I am fortunate enough to live three doors from the tube station, which makes the strain of the underground a little more bearable. While the tube is a massive convenience, it doesn't stop me and many other Londoners hating on it during commuting hours. It's the one time Brits forget about their need for personal space. As I currently work in PR, I will typically pick up a copy of City AM for the office once out the other side. A useful morning resource for Londoners in business, finance and property to keep up to date with the latest news in the city.
9am - in the office, I will swap my trainers (because ain't nobody got time for commuting in heels) for my courts that I keep under my desk, grab a coffee from the kitchen and fill up my water bottle.
9:05am - supposedly it's best practice not to check your emails first thing, however working in MarComms or PR means being in constant communication. So I usually check my emails first thing and complete all correspondence. And the work day commences.
I have worked in jobs that have meant I've been in meetings all day, however presently I typically have maybe two or three meetings on the occasional day absolute max. So I can typically get all my work done with few distractions.
Throughout the morning I try to get the tasks that require me to think a little more out of the way - as I know I am not the best early-mid afternoon worker.
11am - a second coffee or green tea is typically needed to get through the mid-morning slump and push through to lunch.
12:30pm - lunch time! Working in central London and therefore one of the busiest cities in the world, I have always tried to do something in my lunch breaks. Not quite as social, yes, but considering people pay lots of money to visit the very things that are round the corner from my office, it seems silly (in my mind) to waste the opportunity.
At the moment I work in Marylebone. Which means Selfridge's/Oxford Street is five minutes from my office, Baker Street two minutes and the Wallace Collection across the road. If it's not exploring the area, I find a cafe to sit and work on the blog. And if work is hectic then yes, I am naughty and sometimes I do work through lunch.
1:30pm - the afternoon begins. I know when I work best (6:30-11am and 3pm-9pm), so I typically try to write press releases that don't require as much brain power or system reporting of press releases, as I can typically put some music on and get on with it.
3pm - coffee/green tea boost and snack. My go to snack is an Eat Natural cocoa and nut bar.
4pm - every other Friday we have a "drinks trolley" which is exactly what it says on the tin and can be a massive welcome on some occasions. My go-to is a glass (plastic cup) of wine.
5pm - I have two monitors so I will typically be checking emails as they come into my inbox throughout the day, however half an hour before the work day ends, I will do one final focussed sweep of emails before the end of the day.
5:15pm - write a to-do list for the following day. This will include my top three focusses and any other smaller things I need to do like checking in with a project or a follow-up email that needs to be sent.
5:30pm - providing there is nothing outstanding, I will slip back into my trainers and head home. On some occasions I might stay a little longer. For example when I am waiting for a response on a newsletter from the CEO or a reply from a journalist. On Mondays we also have a yoga class in one of the meeting rooms, so namaste around for that. Yet on the average day, I do leave the office on time.
6pm - I try my best to get an Instagram post out - but I know my track record isn't always consistent, my bad!
After work:
On a quiet week I will usually get home just after 6pm, cook and relax or work on something and then relax watching some YouTube or the occasional Netflix show - any Riverdale fans out there? #NoShame.
My dinner usually consists of what my housemates fondly call "stuff in a bowl". That is, some kind of mix of black beans/quorn, veg, an egg and maybe some spelt pasta and cheese mixed in a bowl with whatever random seasoning I fancy that day. I'm a lazy vegetarian, but you can't forget those all important food groups!
Quite often though I will have searched for events and talks to go to on Eventbrite and Instagram and attend at least one of these a week. Particularly as a lot of them tend to happen in the Mayfair/Oxford Street/Soho areas with the occasional one in Shoreditch. I tend to have a soft spot for sustainable fashion, entrepreneurship and start-up events/talks/panels. Most of the events I go to are in fact free of charge, but otherwise many tend not to be more than a tenner - basically the cost of a London pint...
10:30pm - I will try winding down, taking make up off, having a shower and going to sleep.
But realistically this will probably happen by 11:30pm. A little later than is probably advised.
And then that's a general day of a young, corporate Londoner.
Is there anything you do differently?
Han x
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