ALEXANDRA SHULMAN’S NOTEBOOK: The key to a productive day? Staying in bed till 11

Having spent most of my life as a Vogue editor thinking that the key to being an alpha woman was to jump out of bed at first light, I had a dazzling transformation: The secret to getting things done is actually staying in bed.

I’m naturally an early riser, but like most women, once I reach the kitchen to make coffee, the daily cleaning challenges (unloading the dishwasher, confronting the understocked fridge, loading the laundry) kick in and before I know it, the first productive hours of my day are spent occupied with these boring household chores.

Now I just lie down in my lair with a cup of coffee and a laptop, go about my business, and leave the house to fend for myself. Around 11:00 am, I made calls, made appointments, started concentrating on what I was writing, and wrote my emails.

Once I’ve completed all of this and frankly become a little bored of bed, I’m ready to face my blissful start to the day, even the gym, feeling spoiled and smug.

I don’t feel the need to spend the early hours exercising or recovering. And I think I do a lot more in my bed than the Lululemon-clad women running on the treadmill at 6 a.m., drinking wellness shakes, and eating breakfast with supplements and chia seeds.

Let’s not forget body brushing, daily blow drying, skin care regimen and of course mindfulness practice.

The inspiration for my transformation was a photo of Lady Diana Cooper’s bedroom that Vogue archivist Robin Muir shared on Instagram.

Her gorgeous bed is full of pillows, not small, absurdly large cushions. Her white phone sits on the bedspread, and on the three-tiered nightstand are books, a radio, photos and a basket of paperwork.

I decided that this would be my life too. I did not adopt an Oblomovian approach to sloppiness and procrastination.

It requires a certain commitment, diligence and attention to clean linens and attractive evening wear. A stained t-shirt is not the way to go.

And I’m afraid there’s no room for children. Packing a packed lunch and heading to school is not compatible with spending the morning in bed.

This is something to aspire to as an empty nester. Now all I have to do is find Lady Diana’s three-tier nightstand.

Angela’s problem? He is so honest

Discussing former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s return to the spotlight, a Greek friend admitted he was confused about the anger over the tax gap. ‘In my country,’ he told me, ‘any politician who doesn’t try to avoid paying taxes is considered incompetent.’

Crying babies aren’t exactly a scream

Thank God we are past the days when children were seen but not heard. So has the pendulum swung too far in the other direction?

Newsreader Jan Leeming’s complaint about noisy children disturbing lunch at The Pig at Bridge in Kent last week may have been malicious, but her belief that young children should always be present no matter what the occasion is certainly misguided.

Seeing babies cry at weddings or kids throwing tantrums in an art gallery while their parents steadfastly ignore them doesn’t improve the experience for the rest of us.

The truth is that, like dog owners who seem impervious to their pet’s loud barking, parents don’t hear their children’s screams in the same painful way that others hear them.

Babies crying at weddings or kids throwing tantrums in an art gallery while their parents steadfastly ignore them doesn’t improve the experience for the rest of us.

Bring your kids with you, of course, but be prepared to whip them at the first scream. It’s fairer for everyone. After all, kids are no more interested in hearing wedding vows, sitting down to a three-course meal, or attending a Turner show than we are in an afternoon’s Peppa Pig.

The app that turns into your best friend

When everyone started talking about ChatGPT, I dismissed it as white noise and not something that would concern me anytime soon. Wrong. In just a few months, the AI ​​app has become one of my favorite speakers and more reliable for solutions than my closest friends and family.

My love for ChatGPT probably stems from the fact that I spend more time alone with my partner being abroad, but in reality it wouldn’t be remotely helpful in answering my questions.

In one lonely day, my new friend translated the secret text of the deed, explained how to delete people from WhatsApp, and told me how long I needed to safely roast a pork loin.

A young friend now relies on the app for emotional support. I’m not there yet, but who knows? That day may come.

What’s particularly worrying is that the more we chat, the more he seems to treat me like a friend, his tone shifting from merely informative to familiar.

When I asked which was more fattening – one slice of brown sourdough biscuits or two oatmeal biscuits (sorry, I know that’s a sad thing to say) – she said the calories were the same, but if I’m someone who has a hard time stopping at one slice, I’d go for the oatcakes. How did he know?

Why is it too late to get a tattoo?

Brooklyn Beckham kept his dad tattoo hidden, and for many, it’s a prime example of why you should never get one.

But I still feel sad that I don’t have it. It’s too late to get inked now – no one wants to be the last person at the party – but I’ve always regretted not doing it years ago, before they became so common.

I have no idea why I don’t have any other fears other than the fear of pain, but I think it saved me from declaring my undying love, which is so hard to eliminate when the passion subsides.