Things Worth Knowing with Farrah Storr

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Inside the life of a 47-year old executive & writer

Why my typical day is not quite so typical after all...

Farrah @Substack
Jun 21, 2026

This week’s post is free thanks to Dove and the new Dove Whole Body Deodorant Range which you can find here.

I get asked about my career a lot. Which is funny because it’s not what I chose to write about here. But it is true that I have had a lucky run when it comes to jobs, having run glossy magazines for many years and now running Substack’s International side of the business. That said, it’s not been without its mess-ups, twists, turns and downright failures. (You can read my Failure CV here- and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like - my ‘alternative’ CV with all the jobs I swung for and didn’t get.)

Work is very important to me. It always has been. I grew up with a mother who worked hard and instilled in me the belief that you can make money by doing the very thing you love. Okay, maybe not as much money as you’d like, but enough.

I’ve also, it has to be said, sacrificed a lot for the career I currently have. Friendships. Fun. Even a family- though of course, that’s not the whole story. (And you can read that story here.) But I’m old enough and wise enough now to know that a career you love very rarely happens by accident. It takes time. And trust. And meeting good people along the way who are happy to take a risk on you.

So anyway, enough about all that. That’s a tale for another day. Instead here, as requested by many of you, is a typical day in my life- the good, the bad and the ugly. Plus an awful lot of running around.

Farrah x

6AM

The cut flower garden first thing in the morning

I actually set my alarm for 5AM which causes no end of pain for my marriage, but generally snooze until 6 in the morning. I adore the silence of an early morning, just me, the dogs and a cup of strong English breakfast tea. I will sit quietly for about fifteen minutes, flick through a coffee table book and then step out into the garden to feed the birds and see what is growing. I have a big cut flower garden so often I’ll be down there in my dressing gown with a pair of secateurs and a bucket of cold water. I’ll cut a couple of bunches of flowers for the house- at the minute it’s all roses and Love In A Mist, then leave them to ‘rest’ until later in the day when I’ll pop back down at lunch and arrange them in vases if I’m working from home that day. If I manage to get up super early then I’ll also try to do a bit of writing for 45 minutes or so. I don’t do this every day sadly, but I find I write best first thing in the morning. The thing is I have a book deadline as well as this Substack to write once a week so I find the time where I can. It’s definitely not always easy and I really have to force myself. Sometimes life is about deciding between the extra hour in bed or doing the extra hour of work.

7AM- 8.30 AM

Next I’ll pop into the shower and get ready for the day. I’m very low maintenance- just a slick of Hermes tinted moisturiser, mascara on my lower lashes (because if I can remember I try to get lash extensions done every month as my lashes are so criminally short), some blush, some eye liner and that’s it. Body-wise I’m super simple: I’ve started using Dove Whole Body Deodorant Range which is basically deodorant which goes beyond the underarms (there’s a cream, a spray and a stick for using on legs, arms, folds and basically anywhere you need it during the day for all over odour-protection) which with the weather we’ve been having is perfect. I use the stick alongside my regular underarm deodorant first thing in the morning, as well as on the back of my legs and chest- I like the Sea Mist and Peony scent but they have two other scents to choose from, and then I keep the spray can in my bag for touch ups later in the day. I especially like that this range is dermatologically-tested and aluminium-free. Next I take the dogs for their morning walk in the nearby heathlands. I deliberately don’t use that time to listen podcasts or the news, but instead relish the quiet and my precious time with my old dogs. It’s a sacred part of my day.

9AM

I spent a lot of time travelling. Rimowa do the best luggage and Metier do a great bag for carrying everything but the kitchen sink.

As the Head of International for Substack, my week is a tale of two halves really. Our main office is in San Francisco which I visit two to three times a year and then we have another office in New York which I’ll pop to about twice a year-sometimes more. In between that there are various colleagues working across Europe and Asia who I will try to get to when I can. A big challenge of my role is balance, since I’m working across several different time zones and running the UK office too. But I love it and I adore having colleagues who come from different cultural backgrounds and who often must teach me about their markets.

I go into the London office to see my UK colleagues one day a week-sometimes more depending on meetings. The rest of the time I work from home unless I’m on a plane which I am at least once a month. The Substack London office is quite bijoux and is on the River Thames in central London. For the office I’ll usually wear jeans, loafers, a simple sleeveless turtleneck and a blazer over the top. If I’m working from home then it’s jeans and a T-shirt and usually some statement earrings so I look presentable on Zoom calls- which I spend a large chunk of my life doing! As it’s summer and the commute can be long I take the Dove Whole Body spray with me into work as well as some blush, eyeliner and a statement lipstick for touch-ups.

1PM

My teeny little bijou office at home

My husband is a writer and also works from home so on working from home days I try to pop downstairs to see him in his office and to have a catch-up over lunch. Most couples I know would kill each other if they worked in the same house, but we have found a system that works for us. Basically we catch up at lunch and then always try and have dinner together. I’ll also spritz myself with Dove Whole Body Deodorant Spray to freshen up, especially along my back after all that sitting and taking calls. Lunch is usually very light- a salad with tuna either in the garden or back at my desk if I’m in a pinch. Which I know is not great. If I’m in the city I’ll usually eat locally. I like Toklas Bakery and The Corner Shop, which has a real creative scene, though a few weeks back I took myself off to The Courtauld Gallery at lunch (it’s next door) and wandered the rooms looking at Van Goghs and Cezannes, which felt deeply civilised.

2PM-7.30 PM

The rest of the day is taken up with calls. It’s a lot on my voice box so I always make sure I drink lots of water and herbal tea. (I swear by Tea Pigs Liquorice and Mint tea bags). If I need a break from my screen then I go and do some dead heading in the garden for fifteen minutes. If I’m in London I generally try to get a train by about 6.30pm as it’s a relatively long commute- almost two hours door to door. On the commute I either read a magazine or do a little bit of writing- often this Substack.

7.30PM-8.30PM

Bliss is a bath before bed

I like to try and have dinner with my husband. But before that we take the dogs on a short walk together just to clear our heads. Dinner is usually something special like a paella or a chickpea curry which I can whip up easily. Very occasionally I’ll then have to jump back on calls -usually with the US, but if I don’t I then make sure I have a long luxurious bath to wind down with. We have a little secret TV at the foot of the bath (it’s less vulgar-looking than it sounds) so I’ll either watch Gardeners’s World, read a book or listen to Classic FM. Bliss.

10 PM

I always try to be in bed with lights off by 10. Sleep is so important to me and I’m usually out like a light within a few minutes.

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