This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jessica Cruel, the 37-year-old editor in chief of Allure Magazine, who lives in Newark, New Jersey. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m the editor in chief of Allure, and I have a lot of things going on. My day is a mix of making decisions, meeting with founders and executives, working with my senior team, and testing new beauty products.
I also teach a class at NYU, am working on a book called “Single Happy Female,” manage three rental properties, and create social media content.
I grew up in Georgia but now live in New Jersey. Here’s a day in my life.
I wake up around 4:30 a.m. and immediately check the news
If I don’t have to be anywhere until later in the morning, I’ll sometimes roll over, but it’s very hard for me to go back to sleep. Generally, I sit in bed for about 30 minutes.
The first thing I do when I wake up is open my phone and peruse Instagram or my New York Times app. I want to know what people are talking about and where.
My team knows very well that I’m one to DM them that early, too. I’m not expecting them to respond to me at 5 a.m., but when I see something, I have to share it.
I would love to scroll less on social media in the mornings. I wish I were someone who meditated or wrote in my journal because mornings are sacred to me.
I go to the gym 3 days a week at 6 a.m.
After I scroll, I sometimes go to the gym. I’m not an everyday gym girl; instead, I go about three times a week.
On gym days, I have to get out of bed by 5:30 a.m. to make the 6 a.m. class. I go to Rise Fitness, a gym that’s very focused on strength. We do barbell work, so it can be squat day, deadlift day, or bench press day. I’ve been going there on and off for about three years, so I have a great community there.
On non-gym mornings, I work on my side hustles
I have a lot going on, so there’s usually something I need to do in the morning that’s side-hustle-related.
That might mean preparing a presentation for the class I teach at NYU, filming content for my own social media, or being a landlord.
I’m still editing my book
I’ve also been spending these wee hours editing my coming book, “Single Happy Female.” Luckily, it’s all written now. The mornings are spent rereading things, checking the copy, and making sure the book is still the book I want.
I also spend some of that time filming social media content to promote the book.
I make myself breakfast every morning
For breakfast, I have one egg and about one serving of egg whites for the extra protein. Then I have some sort of carb, like an English muffin or Dave’s thin multigrain toast. Sometimes I have turkey bacon, avocado, or peanut butter.
I need eggs in the morning. I find that if I don’t have eggs, it turns bad really quickly. All of a sudden, I’m munching all day.
Then I head into the office, where every day is different
I live in Newark, and I take the light rail to Newark Penn Station before taking the PATH into Manhattan.
By the time I get on the train, it’s usually somewhere between 8:30 and 9 a.m. My commute is when I start working. Sometimes I have a printout of my book on my lap, reading it and writing in the margins. Other times, I’m opening my email and figuring out the schedule for the day.
I keep my entire life organized on Post-its
I’m a big to-do-lister. Lately, I’ve been making to-do lists on Post-its. I remember reading something that said your everyday to-do list should be limited to about five things.
I usually have two Post-its on my desk. One is all the work things I need to do, and one is all the side things I need to do — like making a quick phone call. At the end of the day, I throw away the Post-it and put whatever’s left on a new Post-it for the next day.
My days are filled with meetings and decisions
I have nonstop meetings. My day is a mix of one-on-one meetings with my senior team and meetings with founders and executives. We’re in the office four days a week, so I go in every day but Friday.
One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to work with really creative and smart people. Although I don’t write and storytell the same way I used to, I love hearing talking to people. That’s one of my favorite parts of my job: I basically get to talk for a living.
The hardest part is that all I do is make decisions. Every five seconds, I hear, “Jessica, we need your opinion on this.” That can sometimes derail a day, but I really enjoy hearing ideas.
As a leader, I try to remain calm
I learned pretty early on that people take a lot from your body language and facial expressions. I’ll never forget, I was once sitting in my office, and I must’ve had my head in my hands. One of my senior team members came in and said, “Hey, the team is really concerned because they’ve seen you in here with your head in your hands. They think the magazine is going to close.” I just had a headache.
I try to always make sure I provide a calm presence for my team, even if I’m thinking, I don’t know what we’re going to do. I would say about 20% of the time, I’m freaking out inside and calm on the outside.
I usually eat lunch at my computer
I’m trying to get back on track with my health, so I have Factor meal delivery for lunch. I take it to my office and eat it over my computer.
I’m liking a lot of their pork tenderloin meals because I’m trying to prioritize protein like everyone else. I mostly have Factor for both lunch and dinner. Usually, I end up cooking about one meal a week.
I test beauty products for work
A huge part of what we do at Allure is testing products. During the Best of Beauty season, I might try four new products at once because we’re trying to determine what’s best. Right now, I’m loving SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and Danessa Myricks Blush.
I probably throw about five new things in my bag every night before I leave the office and record the results. We’re always showing people the products that we’re trying. Sometimes that means I’m in my bathroom with my phone recording myself putting on lipstick because we need to put that on the site.
I try to leave the office around 5:30 p.m.
I head home around 5:30 pm, and during my commute, I listen to Today Explained or a finance podcast. When I get home, I have a Factor meal and watch Chinese dramas.
I try my best to make that transition from work to home.
Once a week, I teach a class at NYU at 6:20 p.m.
Wednesday nights are different because I teach a class at NYU. The class is called Managing a Digital Brand. It’s a master’s in publishing class, and I teach students how to build digital media brands.
I teach from 6:20 to 8:50 p.m., so it’s a whole different night routine where I’m just surviving.
I spend about 30 minutes managing my three rental properties
Landlording can mean something different on different nights. I have two properties in New Jersey. They’re multi-family, and I live in one of the apartments. The rental I have in Savannah, Georgia, is a single-family home.
Today, I have to pay the mortgages, which is fun. On a typical night, I might be filling out my expense spreadsheet for the week or checking with my property manager. I could be arranging for someone to come cut the grass, ordering a package because the smoke detectors are going off, or calling for help with the electricity.
Usually, on Saturdays, that’s when I’ll do the trash cleanout or anything that’s heavy lifting. Otherwise, my weekends are mostly spent resting at home. A day in bed is fun for me.
