What do I do everyday?

There are more croissants than there should be, and sometimes tears

This is what I’m doing now. I’m pressing send on this post and looking at this scene including the cat hair on that cloth-covered cookbook.

Hi! My name is Bree, and I write about how to have better days at work (and in life). Subscribe for writing on everything from Grandpa Mornings to being Ugly Healthy. You’ll also be the first to know about book launch events and giveaways—Today Was Fun will hit bookstores July 2025!

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I wonder if people wonder what I do every day.

Sometimes I wonder what I do every day.

For those who don’t know, I stepped back from my role as a partner in a consultancy last November and have been working full-time on my upcoming book launch since. On the one hand, it feels completely indulgent and semi-irresponsible that we’re foregoing my salary for this period, and on the other hand, people often ask me about “my team”—which always sounds to me like I’m supposed to be this Willy Wonka thought leader with Oompa Loompas polishing my content or something. To mix classic movie metaphors, it’s just me behind the curtain…

I thought some of you might be curious about what it’s like to write and publish a book full-time (while also being a parent to a 10-year old and caregiver to my dad who has Alzheimer’s). Welcome to the behind-the-scenes.

Here was last Tuesday:

• 6:30 Wake up; Brad brings me coffee in bed and I tell him he’s my hero

• 6:45 Get Arden up and running, get myself out the door

• 7:35 Start moving at my favorite, magical exercise class at FORWARD_Space

• 8:45 Settle in at my new favorite coffee shop with a drip coffee and a warmed Everything croissant (swoon)

• 9:00 Pick an excerpt from the book that will be published on Thrive Global. Want to know something cool? Arianna Huffington herself replied to my email and offered to help promote!

• 10:00 Write and rewrite my author bio 17 times

• 11:00 I honestly don’t know what I did this hour but I was still at the coffee shop

• 12:00 Join a webinar about pitching podcasts

• 1:00 Walk home and pass by a cool space in SoHo; walk in and ask if they do events since I’m looking for a book launch venue; get a free tote bag!

• 1:30 Arrive home, eat, shower

• 2:00 Honestly, I started thinking about my mom who passed away and cried for a bit; nobody talks about how grieving needs space on your calendar

• 2:45 Arden is home; cut up a mango for her

• 3:00 Head into a friend’s office to borrow their Pantone books; I need to triple-check the book cover colors since the printer can’t do a physical proof without it costing thousands of dollars

• 3:45 Leave the office and sit by a tree in Hudson River Park; I’ve been starved for Vitamin D and it’s a lovely day

• 4:00 Get an email from my project manager at the publisher with the second round of interior proofs to review; see that she also sent them to the audiobook producer (recording will start soon!)

• 4:15 Walk to my dad’s apartment to visit him and thank his caregiver replacement, Maria, for being so wonderful before she leaves

• 6:30 Head to

  Amie McNee
  ’s book signing in Brooklyn because I love her work and also to see how one does a book signing

• 8:30 Get home; Snuggle Arden; Do bedtime things; Play NYTimes games

• 9:30 Sleep

That’s a pretty busy day. Even though I wrote it accurately, it makes me sound more on top of everything than I usually feel.

Some days are better than this. Like last Thursday I got the news that an AMAZINGLY FAMOUS WRITER that I’ve admired for decades blurbed my book. I cried in the street and when I arrived at the coffee shop I told the baristas and they gave me free coffee and a croissant and offered to sell the book in their coffee shop! That was a pretty epic 10 minutes. I was on top of the world and even though blurbs don’t always sell books, in that moment I felt like I knew the book was going to be a wild success.

And then this morning I listened to a podcast about book marketing and instead of feeling inspired I felt like shit. I posted something on LinkedIn that didn’t get a ton of engagement and normally, I’m like, “Nevertheless!" but today it made me feel like I was going to sell exactly 12 copies of my book.

So it goes.

The best I can do is savor the good days and not beat myself up for the hard days. I remind myself that this is what being “in the arena” feels like. I get myself a snack.

Happenings

Brad Hook Podcast

I had a blast talking about Today Was Fun on the Brad Hook podcast. Have a listen!

Lighthouse Excerpt

Check out an excerpt from Today Was Fun in the AI and innovation newsletter, Lighthouse. It went out to 30,000 people! I thought that was cool.

It’s about what people need from leaders when things are hard and changing fast. Spoiler: It’s not a cheerleader.

If it entices you, there’s also a picture of me looking baller, according to my friend:

P.S.

Right now, think of one fun thing that happened today. It could be a bird landing on your window sill. Or an email that made you smile. Or getting something done that you’d had on your list a while. Maybe you’re wearing your “good underwear” today—you know, the soft ones with no holes. No matter what happens, today is a day you are alive and you get to enjoy that thing. That’s pretty special. You’re also welcome to tell me about that good thing in the comments. No pressure to disclose the quality of your underwear.

P.P.S.

You’re also welcome to AMA about writing a book and/or caregiving. I’m always happy to pass along what I know.

With love,

Bree