How To Sleep Less And Accomplish More: Long Island Donut and Coffee Edition
Can I be a travel blogger yet? Of the approximately 3 months of summer, I've been gone for more than half of it (though September isn't generally considered a summer month, I'll still be sweating on the subway platform for the foreseeable future, gotta love "FALL FASHION" WEEK), and working the whole time. I had a client ask me about workflow when content creating, and I thought, what the h$%l, let me share how I balance my insane content creating schedule!
Today, kiddos, I'd like to showcase how I can post every day while traveling, being a goodish girlfriend and a super-ish employee, modeling, and trying to work on my secret music projects; which I may someday, in fact, finish.
It all comes down to this: COFFEE AND DONUTS (and being efficient), while making sure I get enough protein and water in during the day. It's probably not the most balanced approach, but it works for me. I prefer to do a ton of work first, and less later, rather than smaller amounts throughout the month. Especially if I'm traveling and I won't be able to shoot/create, I think this is the best option: Plan ahead!
My friend, the lovely Sophie Turner and I booked an Airbnb to shoot in at the beginning of this month. We started the day out like we usually do: getting stuck in traffic, stopping to purchase fancy donuts and coffee, and trying to tandem-lug our giant suitcases up a spiral staircase to our apartment for the night (the downstairs neighbor at one point came out, shirtless, glowing, and helped us lift the last bag the last 10 stairs. I think he was confused as to why we needed so many bags for one night, and why we were batting our eyelashes so much).
Before we left that day, I made sure to go to bed extra early the night before, and get all of my prep done early in the day (and much of it two days before). Planning is the name of the game in most fields, and for creatives, it's no different. After our marathon shoots, I also make sure that I can come home and crash, and that I have at least the day after to recover before I'm back to running around the city, etc. In general, I think rest is one of the most important parts of being productive, so when you make a major time investment into creating for that month, it's crucial to set boundaries and parameters to take care of yourself, especially when working for yourself and making money creatively!
Wearing Yandy's "Never Enough" set in an XL
After we settled in and ate the quiche I brought (I made it! protein and water throughout the day are so important when you're going to be working a ton and sleeping very little), we did our hair and makeup, and started in on the first outfits.
Generally with hair and makeup, we start with less and build up to more. I try to get in as many natural light shots as I can until it gets dark, and this house came with so many balconies, we wanted to shoot outside as much as possible too (who knew I loved orange so much, I feel like this summer is my summer of ORANGE).
One piece of advice I would give to content creators is: how can you get the most amount of posts out of one outfit/location/etc. In the case of this lingerie set, I chose the bright photo outside for my Yandy post, and then selected another photo in the same outfit and shot it in black and white. That way, I could use it for another one of my body love posts :) Planning ahead and thinking big picture efficiency is the way to go here, because otherwise every day you're constantly floundering for what you're going to post that day, what caption you'll use with it, and often during those periods where I've made that mistake, I miss the window of ideal posting times (it's been first thing in the morning for me lately).
Wearing the Yandy the Taylor Metallic Bikini in an XL. Will work for many sizes.
Then we went out to the pool (after a quick lipstick change, water break, and fast update to my hair to keep up with different looks) before the sun started to go down. As you can see, it was a bit of a cloudy day, but I think the photo ended up working anyway.
We shot 72 outfits between the two of us on this trip. So we mix up easy and quick things like lip color and simple hair changes, and keep the base makeup and hair the same, so we can spend 5-10 minutes on each outfit, for both of us....AND KEEP TRUCKIN'.
Wearing the Yandy Crave Me Cut Out Mesh Gown in an XL
As the sun started to go down, it was time to eat another meal quickly, and start to break out the flash on my camera. To maximize every single bit of time we had there (which isn't much, keep in mind that we check in around 1-2 PM, do our makeup, and then we have to be out of the place by 11 AM); we even create content during our breaks. We both went live on our Instagram platforms during dinner, and then recorded a Youtube video while we sat and had a drink to rest for a minute.
Because we get sick of (and we assume our followers get sick of) simply blogger style outfit shots and fashion shots, we like to play around with editorials. The first trip we did, we did the milk bath series. This time, I wanted to do something with the car, as another way to get an extra photo or two, that's different from our normal photos, while we're already out looking for spots to shoot additional outfits (we can't do 72 outfits only in one apartment, we also shot around the beautiful neighborhood and on the bay).
I ended up loving how these turned out. And something like this photo above is another way to repurpose an outfit. I couldn't use this as a brand photo because it doesn't really show the outfit I'm wearing. But, as general content, I think it turned out pretty!
After shooting various items around the house with the flash (around 11 PM) we went into the bathtub and started doing some more creative style shots before we couldn't move anymore. We wrapped at about 12:30, and I got right in the shower. Literally, right next to me, while Sophie was taking off her makeup (AYEEEE, EFFICIENCY BISH), she recorded a skincare video that she needed to post. At 1 AM, we went to bed, to sleep 4 hours until we got up at 5 to do our makeup and get ready to shoot with the sunrise.
Wearing the Yandy Reality Check High Waisted Bikini in an XL.
Can you tell how tired I am in this photo? Thanks concealer! I was definitely getting the sleepy, giddy silliness thing that happens when you're exhausted and delirious. We shot from 6 AM to 10:30 the next day, to allow us time to clean up quickly, pack, and lug our suitcases back down the spiral staircase. The neighbor was nowhere to be found and it was raining, so it was an eventful morning, to say the least.
Then after a few hours in traffic, I dropped off Sophie, unloaded the car, parked it, and came back up to LAY ON THE COUCH AND ORDER SUSHI AND VEGGIES. 72 outfits in less than 24 hours? I deserve some NIGIRI PLEASE!
Today's post is brought to you by Yandy. Check more of their goodies out below:
Halloween Costumes (it's coming up!)
Plus Size Options (I wear both an XL in straight size and a 1X/2X in many of their items)
