Flex Mami goes to bed at 6am. Here's what the rest of her day looks like.

Want to know how your favourite celebs spend their days? Yep, us too. In Mamamia’s A Day in the Life series, high-profile people share everything from what they eat for breakfast to their pre-bedtime rituals. 

This week, we find out what life is like for Flex Mami during Sydney's lockdown.

How does your day begin?

Maybe you're up at 7am; a few hours before work to have breakfast, jump in the shower and get ready. Or you might rise at 5am to the noise of your children telling you it's time to get out of bed.

Flex Mami's day starts a little differently.

Lillian Ahenkan, more commonly known as Flex Mami, is what you'd call a "slashie". She's an entrepreneur, author, DJ, TV presenter, podcaster and influencer. And she spends most of her time working while you're asleep.

Watch the trailer for Overshare, Mamamia's podcast co-hosted by Flex Mami. Post continues after video.

Based in Sydney, Flex is currently in lockdown. Her typical workday at home begins at 12pm after working through the night.

"Let's be honest, I'm asleep at 6am, 7am. I'm up at midday," she told Mamamia.

She starts her day with juice.

"I'm not on the beans, I don't drink coffee. But I am starting with preservative-based juice," Flex said while reaching for her Golden Circle juice box. 

"All sugar, very minimal fruit, keeps me going."

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A post shared by ✨ Lil Ahenkan ✨ Sydney, AUS (@flex.mami)

Much like the rest of us, Flex doesn't bother dressing up while working from home.

"I'm wearing sweats every day," she said. "I've only just upgraded to putting makeup back on. But I think because I'm usually wearing matching sweats, it feels like an outfit."

"And I'm always wearing jewellery so it gives the impression that I've put in more effort than I have," she added.

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A post shared by ✨ Lil Ahenkan ✨ Sydney, AUS (@flex.mami)

After getting up and dressed, Flex begins her workday by briefing her team including her Flex Factory employees (the store where she sells her popular conversation card game, Reflex, among other things) and replying to emails.

"[I'm doing] all the admin work. Emails, emails, invoicing, blah, blah, blah," she said.

Right now, Flex can't do many aspects of her job(s) in lockdown, like DJ'ing, TV presenting or going to set and shooting. But she doesn't mind working from home.

"Not that I enjoy lockdown but the work I'm doing at home is the kind of work I prefer doing because I can be autonomous and do it at the rate I feel is required," she said.

"There's no coffee meeting, there's no 'just pop by', there's none of that. I think it's a better use of my time.

"But what I am finding difficult is I already have such a poor work-life balance - that's what happens when you commodify yourself - [so] I don't prioritise switching off," she said.

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A post shared by ✨ Lil Ahenkan ✨ Sydney, AUS (@flex.mami)

After a few hours of emails, it's time for her first meal of the day at... 6pm. Flex has found that breakfast isn't good for her gut, so she waits until then to eat.

"I've been eating chicken wraps," she said. 

"But I'm more of a liquids girl. I always have assorted beverages in my fridge. I love a cordial, love a soft drink. All that artificial sugar is just giving me energy, anyway."

By 8pm, it's time to get into her creative work.

"I like to think I do my best work at night because I'm not distracted by people, emails or other responsibilities," she said.

While speaking to Flex, she's surrounded by a brightly coloured workspace. She's got her Reflex conversation cards stacked beside her, with colourful posters and prints on the walls.

When asked whether she has productivity hacks to keep her focused during her workday, she honestly replied: "No."

"Everything is distracting, but it suits the way my brain works," she said.

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A post shared by ✨ Lil Ahenkan ✨ Sydney, AUS (@flex.mami)

During her workday (or work night), she has three always-on tasks that she cycles between to ensure all the work gets done.

These include writing to-do lists for employees, writing questions for her card game and planning content to promote the launch of her Audible Original audiobook, The Success Experiment. 

"If I do something single-mindedly, I find that before you know it, I've become quite robotic and repetitive," she said.

"It's almost like the inspiration juice has worn out. Like I've squeezed myself dry and I've not even noticed yet. So, it's almost as though when I keep refreshing and keep restarting, I'm able to apply the same amount of energy to everything, knowing that I can stop and move on."

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A post shared by ✨ Lil Ahenkan ✨ Sydney, AUS (@flex.mami)

Between 1am and 2am, Flex winds down before bed. She'll either read her book until 4am and then go on TikTok, or the other way round.

"I have to read. I really love fantasy books," she said.

When asked what's she's reading right now, Flex quickly replied: "Oh, smut. Erotica. Let's not pretend it's high-brow."

"[Then] it's a cycle of TikTok and Googling at the same time. I'll see something odd on TikTok, I'll Google it. I'll Google something and somehow it will end up on my TikTok algorithm. 

"Right now there's a lot of content about these people who call themselves 'star seeds' who believe they're descendants from an alien race, who've been brought down to earth," she shared (*frantically Googles star seeds*).

While her routine wouldn't work for most people, Flex explained that because she can choose her own hours and she's most creative at night, it's perfect for her.

"I just think it's [my day] flipped," she said. 

"If you had someone with a stereotypically 'good' sleep schedule and they were waking up at 6am and starting their day early because it's quiet and there are no distractions and then they're having their meal at 9am... it's just a flipped schedule.

"I think I'm just preparing myself for a different time zone. It's like this body clock is built for LA!"

The Success Experiment is launching as part of Audible’s new Plus Catalogue; a selection of thousands of listen-all-you-want titles now included in membership, at no additional cost.

All members will have now have access to the Plus Catalogue, as well as their monthly credit and additional membership benefits.

Feature image: Instagram/@flex.mami and Mamamia.