The REAL routines of successful women

Sleep

Get up, coffee, feed the dog, sort any washing, cleaning etc

get the boys up and ready for school/nursery

swim and sauna (some time alone to prepare for the day)

open the office, morning meeting plan out our day/week. Remainder of morning spent in the office, training staff, recruiting, selling etc

Lunch

Demos of my platform with clients

Podcast for Michaela Wain Interviews

Pick the boys up

Everyone's in bed, I will spend this time planning my social media posts for the week and researching my industry and improvements which can be made

Sleep

Sleep

I start my day with Bible study and prayer

I have a shower and get dressed. Love to wear what I'm feeling. My mood dictates what im wearing

I check my email

I have breakfast and check social media

I have another session of prayer to start my day

I make PR calls for samples

I have appointments with clients

I break up for lunch

I check social media and emails

Fittings with clients

Dinner, events, styling, check email, make calls, get ready for bed

Bed

Sleep

Wake up time varies between 6AM and 7AM as every day is different. Usually I'll make a coffee and go through my inbox and LinkedIn with BBC breakfast on in the background so I can keep half an eye on travel news etc

HIIT first thing in the morning gets rid of grogginess so I usually try and do something everyday. All my HIIT exercises are equipment free and alongside I use free-weights, meaning I can work out at home. Saves all that time/energy going to and from the gym!

Shower. I'll look at the 101 tasks I've got to do for the week and try and prioritise a plan for the day (usually consists of a digital note on my iPhone). I'm the sole person in the business so this usually means 2 hours of “admin”; encompassing anything from submitting VAT returns, ordering glassware to emailing buyers or arranging the dispatch of gin from my warehouse to a customer!

Working breakfast in front of my laptop. Porridge with banana and peanut butter (currently obsessed with Pip & Nut!)

Head to the station (often power-walking or a jog as I'm usually running late!) and catch a train into London. I'll have a few bars and restaurants lined up in close proximity to each other (such as Shoreditch) to visit with gin-laden backpack in tow. The next two hours are spent attempting to persuade bar managers that MUHU deserves a place behind the bar, or even better, in a cocktail!

30 minutes catching up on the 10+ emails I’ve received since morning

Lunch is whatever's nearby. I find that you're usually within a 2 minute walk of a Pret wherever you are in central London, so I pop in grab a tuna nicoise salad or a baguette. If I'm lucky enough to find one - Itsu is a treat (MASSIVE fan of Asian food). I eat lunch and reply to yet more emails

A couple of introductory calls with social media/marketing freelancers, distributors and potential investors. MUHU is really new to market and I don't find a lot of time to spend on social media, which is really crucial for a new brand, so I'm trying to find a reliable partner to help with some of the workload

I'm in the middle of a fundraising round at the moment so at least one afternoon will involve a strategy meeting to look ahead at the next 12-24m, exploring the best routes to market for MUHU and how to get the right distribution in place

Meet other founder(s) for a networking coffee (or, preferably cocktail!) I'm always amazed how many people are happy to share their stories and its reassuring the hear that everyone is in the same boat and facing the same challenges. Learning from other people's mistakes before you make them yourself if immeasurably valuable

Train home. Journey back takes me around an hour and I usually spend it scrolling through LinkedIn (I'm a bit of a LinkedIn addict)

Get home, cook food. Right now with the cold weather I'm cooking up lots of delicious, hearty bean stews, roasted sweet potato cubes (so addictive) and chicken. Time spent cooking in my kitchen really helps me to relax and get away from my phone for a bit. It's probably therapeutic in a similar way that yoga or meditation is to other people. Life is very hectic at the moment so downtime is key!

Slump on my bed to devour food in front of Netflix. Right now I'm watching Cheer

More Netflix

I try and go to bed and get away from screens (TV/phone) for about half an hour minimum before I go to sleep. Blue light tends to inhibit the sleep hormone melatonin meaning I can find it hard to sleep if I've had too much close to bed

Bed

Sleep

Rallying in my son into action, Get my son up, fed and ready for school

PT, An hour session with my personal trainer

Team Meeting, Have a check-in with my team to make sure we are all happy and moving the business forwards. I'll also go through how our client's ad campaigns are performing with our Facebook Marketing team

Group coaching, I am on Zoom supporting my group training programme with a Q and A session

Group check in, I run several Facebook groups so I will check in to see that the team have answered questions and answer anything outstanding myself. I'm hot on making sure my community is well supported. I will also take this time to do some FB Lives and check in on my Social Media channels

Lunch, although I make sure I have lunch away from my desk, I will usually take this as an opportunity to catch up on something I need to read

Creative time, This is the most important part of my business, so I always ensure I have creative time to put together new content or flesh out new ideas I have

School pickup, My partner and I will take it in turns to pick up our son. He has some kind of club to go to most days as he loves sport

Dinner, we try to have dinner together as a family when we can. My partner is an amazing chef, so we always have something delicious cooked up for us!

Inbox/Check in, I try to stay out of my Inbox during the day as it can be a rabbit hole to getting nothing done! I’ll do a quick check-in to take care of the most important emails

Bed

Sleep

Getting ready, I wake up around the same time unless I'm flying or heading in to a client meeting. I check emails, IMs, DMs, and the tool I use for automation before heading down for breakfast

I watch the news while making and eating breakfast and check BBC, France24, Euronews, Bloomberg, and NHK World while eating something like cheese on Peter's Yard Crispbreads (the only way to go) and drinking Assam tea (Im picky). Its important to not just get news from one source

I do find it difficult to concentrate on one thing because of my ADD but still I turn off distractions and focus on whatever I need to get done - an audit, slides or preparing training. I make sure to break up the time unless Im in a story flow (conference talks are stories that tie together tactics and outcomes)

Lunch of a chicken breast and salad or something similar while checking the news again. It's one of the few times I walk around the house a lot so I try and stretch while cooking (without burning food)

I will get up and take breaks from the screen but I'll also try and focus on work when not making myself more mugs of loose leaf assam tea. Really hard to just focus but I do my best!

I'll watch some TV, have a light dinner or do something like watching Netflix or similar but I tend to work at the same time

Gym 2 - 3 times a week when I'm not under deadline but in truth often this is missed to work after downtime

I'll make popcorn and watch some TV. Usually after I finish the popcorn the laptop goes back on my lap and I'm working again

I need lots of sleep

Sleep

If I can afford this luxury I like to naturally wake up and meditate for 15-20 minutes. I love the ‘calm’ app, but if you’re able to mediate without an app..That’s great! I like to check in with my body and emotions and ask myself what I’d like from the day

Mantra. I have a mantra written on my mirror which recite!

Music. Music fuels my soul. I love playing music whilst I have my coffee! From Reggae to Sade, Indian music or a bit of Tom Misch... depends what I’m feeling like! I also like to burn some incense and dance in the morning... just move my hips whilst I’m waiting for the kettle to boil! A trick I learnt in Bali to connect to my femininity, my goddess! The power of dance. Works wonders!!

Turn my phone off airplane mode and attend to any important emails. I won’t look at my phone til this point! From experience I find it beneficial to sleep with my phone on airplane mode and away from my bed

Exercise Boxing or hot yoga! These are my favourite forms of exercise. I love classes!!

I’m now ready for the day!! Obviously sometimes I can’t achieve all of these things. I’ll do what I can - and try not to judge or berate myself if I don’t have the time or energy to do all of these! This is me on a great morning... all we can do is do our best!

Sleep

Sleep

I hit the snooze button just a couple of times, get up, shower, juice some celery (meant to be good for you), and eat my favourite breakfast: oats, blueberries, raspberries, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts and almond milk, plus a mug of green tea

If I have a gym class I usually try to cram in an hour of work beforehand – either finishing a feature, or replying to a couple of emails I didnt get to the previous night

I do a Zumba class or go for a swim. Other days I might go for a walk in the woods at the end of my street. Nature is a big part of my life

I grab a sandwich from Pret, head to the library with my laptop, and get down to business. No two days are alike. My new book ‘Wanderland’ is out at the end of April and currently I'm reading through proofs

Today I had a meeting with a radio an d TV producer friend to discuss possible ideas. Very creative and fun – I love brainstorming

Went to a café, bought a green tea and finished writing a feature for a magazine. Snacked on an apple and some dark chocolate. Worked on a consultancy brief – I've started a service, and I really enjoy sharing my knowledge to benefit others

This eve I gave a one-to-one tutorial to a woman who'd like to become a travel features writer. She wanted to know how it all worked, and I was only too happy to fill her in with advice and suggestions. She was enthusiastic and good-natured, and we both enjoyed the session

Sleep

Sleep

Twins wake me up! Getting everyone ready to start the day

Breakfast with family, porridge time!

Exercises, cardio workout at home

Fun time with kids, taking kids to the park and soft play

Office time, working on the marketing objectives, planning and managing the team

Gym time, yoga class

Dinner time with family, favourite Pomodoro pasta

Time for bed, ready time and getting ready for bed

Sleep

Sleep

The alarm goes off. Thankfully, I am a morning person (although I always have two snoozes!)

I enjoy getting ready for the day ahead; taking in the news, having breakfast (nearly always Cornflakes and AllBran), checking emails and making plans for the day

I live in Brighton so I have a 3 hour commute each day (when the trains are running properly!). During my commute I listen to Radio 5 Live and crack on with some uninterrupted work

A coffee stop is essential! A small skinny cappuccino because everyone needs a coffee stop on the way into work, right?

Catch up with my leadership team

I always try to leave the office for lunch, usually with team members as we like to eat together. I always say I'll try something different but almost always end up with a tuna & cucumber sandwich!

Client meetings, prospect meetings, Board meetings, catch up with team members – my day can unfold in many ways

Leave the office to head back to Brighton. The anticipation about whether the train is running on time will be building around now!

I like to keep fit, so if it's a workout day I like to run, use the rowing machine, or even do a bit of hula hooping!

Unless there is something very important, I try to disconnect and wind down. Generally with a glass of wine and Have I Got News For You, QI, Brooklyn 99, or my current favourite, Avenue 5

Bed

Sleep.

I wake up and start planning my day, take a shower - still brainstorming - get dressed and ready. I love to have a chat with my family before they leave the house.

I typically start my work at home; I check emails, business news etc.

I drive into work, popping into Costa on the way and picking up a full fat latte – it's a real vice of mine!

I tuck into a dark chocolate digestive with the third coffee – with two sugars - of the day.

Work.

I take my lunch break, normally eating a cream cheese and salmon sandwich, followed by mango chunks or a banana; unless, of course, it's Friday and we order either pizza or Chinese. I TRY to eat lunch away from my desk but it rarely happens.

Work.

I get home, take my shoes off and unwind with some music blasting.

I make dinner for my family, usually Ghanaian rice and stew.

I sit down with my daughter, we talk about her day and I glance over her homework.

I check my emails and read a chapter out of my book for that month. I love inspirational books.

Bed.