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A Day in the Life of...
We all have our work routines (editor’s note: mine looks like coffee, coffee, meeting, meeting, meeting, coffee)–but ever wonder what someone else’s day looks like? Take a peek inside the daily shenanigans of our team members and learn what a day in their life looks like for them. What you learn may surprise or inspire you.
...Executive Assistant, Lisa Pascoe
7:45 AM
Arrive at Office
I feel pretty calm getting to work, and I like to think it’s because I like to journal every morning. It helps me to clear my mind. I’ve also recently started trying to read a few pages of a book to wake my brain up, so I’ll do a bit of reading before coming in. I’m currently reading Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris. It’s a series of brief chapters of successful people, in many different industries, answering questions posed by the author. 8 AM is my usual start time, and the first thing I do is turn on the music in the office–just call me the office DJ! I don’t eat breakfast before coming to work, so I’ll eat during my break. But I do have coffee every morning, which I trained myself years ago to drink black.
Today, we had an early JL Social Club (our employee resource group/culture committee) meeting. I arrived at 7:45 in order to help run that meeting (well, mostly to make my coffee, hehe). Our mission is to help create a sense of community, provide opportunities to learn on various topics (job-related or otherwise), and plan and execute events that embody our company’s values. We discussed the upcoming Blood Drive, as well as future “Lunch & Learn” possibilities.
We also covered plans for Halloween and what we can do in the office to liven up the spirits (no pun intended), and decided to celebrate each Friday of October with small in-office activities. We’re going to call them “Freaky Fridays.” Each Friday will have a theme, like Gothic Friday, Horror Film Fest Theme, Superhero/Villain Theme, with our annual Halloween costume party on the last Friday before Halloween—stay tuned to see all of the fun and creative costumes!
4:30 PM
End of day
Done for the day. I typically leave at this time to pick up my son from basketball practice and then head home from there. Home isn’t too far away and takes me about 30-40 minutes to get there. Dinner execution in our house varies; some nights I’ll cook, some nights we order out and others it’s leftovers (not everyone’s favorite, but it’s easy!).
4 PM
Catching up on emails
I continue working on emails and small requests, or check to see if there’s anything that the office needs (like the Costco order, our office supplies, or schedule maintenance for the building). These items are usually scheduled for specific days to accommodate cut-offs and my schedule. I look at the next day’s calendar and make note of the happenings and handle any tasks that I may have related to upcoming meetings or events. I write in my planner all tasks that need to be continued and completed for the upcoming days.
3 PM
Booking Market Travel Dates
I book market travel itineraries for Javier and Johnny, along with some of the other people who are headed to Market in October. This includes booking flights, reserving hotel rooms, and rental cars. In addition to booking travel, there’s a lot of logistical work that I do before Market begins and right after Market is over. Before Market, I order supplies, beverages, candy, and make sure it gets to our showroom on time. I also arrange the food trucks for our evenings in High Point, NC. After Market, I ensure the showroom gets cleared out so that we can start from a clean slate for the next market.
Market season is a very busy time. It’s a lot of details and moving parts, which requires a lot of careful timing and planning–but it’s worth it as they add up to a great experience.
2:30 PM
Meeting with Window Tinting Vendor
I met with an outside vendor to decide on window tinting options for our south-facing windows. There’s too much light and heat that comes in from those windows and the summers (and winters) can be brutal. Just ask Heidi [Gonzalez, Director of Product Development] and Princess [Collazo, Product Development Specialist].
This type of work–office maintenance, updates, cleaning, repairs–are the type of things that I take care of so that other people don’t have to think about it. I try to make sure things operate smoothly in the office to support our employees, and so that there aren’t interruptions to business.
12:20 PM
Lunch
I ate lunch downstairs today with the motley crew that assembles around the tables. I try to bring my own lunch when I can. I was a pescatarian for about six years. Then, my stepdad made me a really yummy brisket sandwich and I couldn’t resist…. I’ve slowly gone back to eating meat since then. It was worth it.
12:08 PM
Lunch Arrives
Lunch arrives. We’re having Chipotle today! Which requires ordering a day in advance. If we have guests, then I’ll schedule a catering order ahead of time to accommodate the extra people. But most days, lunch is decided on the same day. Chipotle is well liked (as opposed to the flavorless ribs) by everyone.
11 AM
TB with Javier
Jav and I typically look at his schedule(s) on Monday, but because things are constantly changing, and people will need him for a variety of reasons, we go back and shift things around on his calendar frequently. I didn’t shift a lot in his schedule today, but I did add a last-minute meeting.
We don’t like to use the word “gatekeeper” since it’s taken on a whole other meaning now, but I can serve as people’s guide to Javier. I’ll let someone know if now is a good time to approach…or maybe wait for clearer skies. I’m often taking the temperature of the overall mood in the office too.
9:30 AM
Jav Arrives
Javier [Sanchez, CEO] arrived later than usual this morning, so our touchbase took place a bit later than usual. Today’s was a quick pop in to greet him and let him know where we are this morning. I’ll touch base with him in more detail later this morning.
9:50 AM
Prep Conference Room
I set up the conference room for a meeting that Jav scheduled with Randy [Barbera, CFO], Carlos [Santana, Vice President of Finance], Johnny [Valle, COO], and an outside vendor. I turn on the computers and make sure everything is accessible and working correctly, so that the only thing they have to think about is whatever topic they want to discuss. A lot of my job is clearing the way of any possible obstacles and issues so that everything happens smoothly.
I’m Jav’s Executive Assistant, but I support other members of leadership too. (Adds Jav: “She gets things that require savviness and persistence done, so she’s become a go-to person for many leaders…sometimes at the expense of my stuff, but that’s ok.”)
10:50 AM
Unplanned Drop-in for Snack Tickets
Random drive-by stop from Aleksandra [Nikolovski, HR Manager] to buy snack tickets and to schedule a meeting with Javier. (Editor’s note: the snack tickets are for our Snack Program–employees buy tickets, and tickets are exchanged for a wide variety of snacks and beverages that the office (Lisa) keeps in stock.) I’m used to people popping in, swinging by to ask questions or schedule meetings for any number of things throughout the day.
I serve as the “411” or the walking Wikipedia of Jonathan Louis–if people don’t know where to go or who to ask, they generally come to me. I try to help out however I can, which means being flexible, diplomatic, and quick on my feet since every day and every ask is different and brings a new problem to solve.
Before our current on-boarding process, I was often the first point of contact to a new employee–the ambassador for JL in many ways. I still walk people through the office and give them a lay of the land, and introduce them to the many perks JL offers.
3:30 PM
TB W/ Crystal
Crystal [Nunez, Executive Assistant] and I touch base to get some meetings on the calendar for both Javier and Johnny. This can sometimes be difficult as they both have pretty full schedules, but we make it work. Sometimes it's a bit like playing Tetris, but it comes together at the end.
Additional Thoughts
Do you typically listen to music or something in the background while you work?
I’ll listen to audio books or podcasts during more menial tasks, and music when I need to focus.
What type of podcasts do you like listening to?
I listen to Breaking Points and NPR, where I normally get my news. I also like true crime, like Dirty John, Dr. Death, To Live & Die In LA, Chasing Cosby, Serial, or S-Word so I’ll listen to those types of podcasts or audio books. My top three in rotation right now are The New York Times’ The Daily, The Moth, and Small Town Dicks (which is about detectives!).
