These Photos are a Lie

Sezane blouse
Mott & Bow jeans (c/o)
Christian Louboutin heels
Keltie Leanne Designs ring (c/o)
Madewell rings
Keltie Leanne Designs earrings (c/o)
Guerlain Kiss Kiss Matte lipstick

…maybe not. Maybe they’re more like an aspiration. It is not a lie to say that this is what I want my work days to look like. We took these photos in my home office, where I spend a minimum of ten hours every weekday, and more on weekends. There was a time, in what now feels like the distant past, when I got up every morning, got dressed and did my make-up before going to the office. I did it with no particular joy, but because it was mandatory. When the opportunity to conserve precious time by working from home came up, I leapt at it eagerly.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about what my work-from-home life looks like. And while the text was brutally honest, the accompanying photos mostly reflected my weekend reality. A regular day in my life consists primarily of trying to find every possible way to save time so that I can get more work done. This isn’t a complaint so much as a realisation that I came to recently. I have worked from home for so many years now, and been so totally in control of my time, that I don’t remember what it was like not to account for every single second. To say that my work life is demanding is an understatement. Time spent on normal activities like changing out of my yoga pants into real pants is time that, most days, I can’t afford to waste by spending it away from my desk.

If you came into my office on a Saturday morning, you would probably see me the way I look in these photos. But if you came in at any point between Monday morning and Friday afternoon, you would more likely find a frazzled, make-up-free mess. My hair is usually pulled back. My yoga pants and cardigan are always on. Often, I am wearing a less than glamourous headset so I can speak to one person while emailing another. The woman putting on her lipstick in a full-length mirror with immaculate hair and a beautiful silk blouse? I’m only her two days of the week.

These photos are more like a fib than a lie, I suppose. I dream of a work life that allows me the time to get dressed and done up in the morning, just because I can. That isn’t a reality in my industry. And, for the most part, I’m okay with it. The fact that I don’t look cute doesn’t make me any less good at what I do. But it would be disingenuous of me to say that I do always look cute and put together. I don’t want to perpetuate the myth that my life is always instagram-worthy. Comparison is the thief of joy. And beautiful photos inevitably lead to comparison, so I am putting a disclaimer on them. All of them.

My life is not perfect. If it were, it would be boring.

I am, overwhelmingly, happy with my life and the way it looks. I would never lie about that. My life is cluttered. Frantic. Often chaotic. Totally imperfect. The fact that I am not often out of yoga clothes during the week makes getting dressed on weekends so much more special. I take photos of the best bits of it, the prettiest bits, because they are my favourite, but they are only part of the story.

So I suppose these photos aren’t really a lie… but they aren’t the whole truth, either. Tell me – what does your everyday life really look like?