A day-in-the-life of a social pro

What I love about the freelance way of life is that every day can look different if you want it to. Mixing things up can come in handy for keeping those creative juices flowing, getting you out of a rut or for providing a chance to learn from the people and businesses around you. Conversely, as someone with autism and ADHD, I also love that the freelance life offers me space for routine if I need it. Everyday can have the same structure, and I can control how I work to squeeze the very best from my time, for myself and for my clients. Honestly, It’s a win/win.

Daffodils on a lunchtime walk

Webinars love to see me comin’

Coffee coffee dingle dingle!

For me, most days start the same way. I wake up after snoozing my alarm three times (… I know, I’m working on it), and get myself and my kids ready for the day. In the twenty minutes or so I spend getting from the school drop off to my local coffee shop, I think about my day: What are my priorities? What am I excited about? What am I maybe… just maybe…. avoiding getting done?

This time is often when my best ideas come! Maybe that’s a Instagram Reel hook I’ve been struggling with, the key points of a carousel that’ll give my client’s users some valuable insight, or the answer to why a prospective client’s TikTok content isn’t hitting the mark with Gen Zs. I’m a firm believer that the big stuff often happens when you’re away from your desk, especially when you’re outside and moving around.

09:15: Once I’m at my corner table with a cold brew I use Notion to brain-dump, listing out any new tasks and arranging them in a board view to get a clearer picture of what needs doing and when. Then I log into Slack, my preferred contact method with my clients and larger professional network.

09:30: On to client social check-ins! I make sure any morning scheduled content has published as planned, any other content for the day is lined up, if I’m responsible for community management, I repost Instagram Stories, and answer DMs and comments. I’ll scan through the feed to look for any outbound engagement opportunities, dropping hearts and comments, and maybe posting an ad-hoc Story with a poll or sticker if I’m picking up a particular vibe from the community on the day.

10:30: Once I’m at home, my core work for the day begins from my basement office, which is adorned with food-themed Jellycats, Nee-doh cubes and the most perfectly thocky keyboard I took months to decide and finally purchase. Somedays I have scheduled calls or appointments. At the front end of the week I often have planning meetings or catch-ups booked in. We brainstorm content ideas or I feedback on recent successes or flops and how we can adapt our strategy or capitalise on trends in the data. Some days I might be taking a course, or watching a webinar to stay on top of best practices.

11:30: Time to log on to Zoom for a discovery call with a prospective client. This will be the first time we speak in depth, to find out what’s brought them to me, what their goals are and their pain points. We’ll talk through what they need, their budget and an existing or bespoke package I can offer, always making sure we set a timescale that works for both of us, too.

12:30: I shoot off a quick follow up email after the call, then it’s on to lunchtime! I’ve been trying harder lately to get away from my desk for a quick break. It helps to refresh my brain and keep me on track for the afternoon. I might take a walk around the block, or sit on my front steps for a while. Often I’ll dive into my current paperback or update my journal, too.

13:15: Log in for another full round of social checks on my clients. I do some outbound engagement, answer comments and DMs and post any shares or User Generated Content to Stories. Often I might find some inspo for content when scrolling, so I’ll screenshot it and add it to the relevant client’s shared board or folder. I use either Trello or Google Drive for this so they can add their own thoughts.

14:00: After checking emails and responding, it’s time to lock-in. I’m at my most productive in the afternoons, so I save this time for the big jobs. I’ll open up Google Slides, Trello, Canva or whatever other programme I might be using that day and get stuck into the biggest task on my list. And generally, I work in silence or with a lo-fi soundtrack at a low volume to let my brain do its thing. The work for the day could be content for future calendars, image or video editing for approved concepts, or writing for captions, scripts or storyboards.

16:00: If you’re in the UK, you’ll know this is when the daily tea time alarm goes off. I pause for a break with a hot drink, check emails and platforms, then lock back in. I like the end of the day for editing or proofing written work, or tweaking content after feedback. This might also be when I type up proposals for prospective clients.

17:30: After a final check of all the social channels I manage, it’s time to log off for the day. I’ll go upstairs to spend time with my kids, cook their tea and just generally hang out. For some clients, I offer an add-on package for out-of-hours social management, so I’ll log in for a final social check-in and engagement session in the early evening too.

Need a little boost when it comes to your social strategy, or an extra pair of hands to manage the day-to-day? Read more here about how I can help!