Day in the Life (Remote): Josie Dallam
Sales Assistant, Little Bee Books
Day: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Wake up: I try to wake up early and have part of a morning before work. I sometimes succeed and sometimes do not. I succeed today and got up around 7:20, mainly because I sat outside in the park reading over the weekend and got so caught up in my book that I didn’t notice how sunburned I was getting. I have been waking up early to put on several layers of aloe and moisturizer on before work since then. They also just started construction in the middle of the street right outside my apartment, so sleeping in wasn’t an option.
9:00 am: I start my day by checking emails as I make breakfast and coffee. Moving around my apartment and working in different places really helps me to feel some sort of structure, so I tend to work in my kitchen in the mornings. I respond to emails, build a to do list for the day, and read various publishing newsletters while drinking coffee and eating breakfast. As the sales assistant, I check the Little Bee Sales email inbox every morning to see if something besides spam came in.
10:30 am: I move to my desk in my room to get a bit more work done. I check yesterday’s sales and see what orders shipped from the warehouse overnight. We are distributed by Simon & Schuster, so I prepare the orders that shipped for invoicing and start to work on today’s to do list. I keep multiple lists, writing things down in various places is how I keep organized. I put all projects in a personal Asana account, I flag emails in my inbox that I need to follow up on, and I have several legal pads where I note things and make daily lists. This is the only way my panic about forgetting something can be assuaged.
10:45 am: I notice today’s Google Doodle is a game. I challenge my co-workers to see who will do the best. I miserably fail.
11:30 am: With the construction going on and my disheveled sunburnt appearance, I am very glad I only have one meeting scheduled for today, our monthly office meeting. One thing I love about working for a small company is knowing everyone and I always look forward to seeing people that I don’t work with as much on these calls and hearing about what they are up to.
12:30 pm: Answer all the emails that came in during the meeting and finish my morning to do list. I email the warehouse (they love me) to get tracking on a few orders for samples I put through last week for our international sales manager and forward along the tracking when I get it.
1:30 pm: Break for lunch. I generally try to step away from my computer and eat on the balcony or go on a walk to the park at the end of the street when I can. Because I am currently mad at the sun, I don’t do that today, but I still take some time and listen to a podcast while folding my laundry after I eat.
2:00 pm: I am a morning numbers person, which I know is weird, it’s a carryover from high school where I had math first period every day for three years in a row, it was a rough life. I tend to do any projects that involve numbers and math in the morning and save my afternoons for things that require less concentration. Today I work on submission grids and presentations for accounts. My boss just got back to me with edits for an Easter ’22 submission, so I make those changes. I also get ready for upcoming Spring ’22 presentations and Sales Conference. I have a list of information I am still waiting for, and I email editorial, production, design, and marketing and publicity to follow up on that.
3:30 pm: I have done most things that I really need a desk for and move to the living room to take full advantage of working from home and work from the couch. Moving to different parts of my apartment helps me keep concentration, especially in the afternoons. I answer emails that come in and work on setting up a new account and getting their order processed. I also try to brainstorm a TikTok to make for the weekend. I am a member of our social media team and help plan and create some of our social content.
4:00 pm: My boss calls me to go over a few questions, and I go back to my room to take that call. Nothing like a good mad dash down the hall with a ringing computer.
4:30 pm: Finish up all my sales tasks and get an idea for a TikTok. “Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy” my co-worker says when I share my idea. Famous last words.
5:30 pm: Finally finish that “quick and easy” TikTok. Time to clean up the mess I’ve made of the living room and sign out for the day.
