You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute? Asking them. This month, CHARLI ADAMS lets us in on what she’s up to.

9:00AM → I wake up regrettably at 9am, usually with the intention of waking up before that. So after dismissing a couple snooze alarms, I head straight for the coffee maker. I grew up with an old-fashioned drip pot and started drinking coffee when I was 7, so I require at least half a pot to function. So I load in whichever discount coffee bag I have; most often, it’s Trader Joe’s brand. Before my brain starts up, I usually play a game on my phone, usually online Spades, because I love a good card game.

10:30AM → This is usually when I put my phone down and get on my rug and stretch to wake up my body. I do hip opener stretches to release whatever pent-up stress or emotions, and sometimes a little tear or two will come out. I highly recommend hip openers for that reason.

11:00AM → I cook breakfast, which usually consists of avocado toast with hot honey, and over breakfast, I try and plan out my day. As an artist with raging ADHD, every single day looks different, especially when I’m working a side job to afford to live in LA… Before I start making music, I’ll usually listen to this podcast I’m absolutely obsessed with called Bandsplain to get inspired by the stories of bands that I love. Shoutout Yasi Salek for carrying 90s music history on her back.

1:00PM → On days when I’m working in the studio with my collaborator Andy Seltzer, I’ll head to his place around 1. We’re working on a lot at the moment. We’re pretty deep into making the second album while simultaneously finishing up and releasing the first EP we made together called ‘nothing to be scared of’. I felt like we unlocked something special with this project, and I’m super excited that we’re starting to share it all. When I’m not working on my own music, I spend session days writing for other artists and friends (Valley, Abby Holliday, Chloe Moriondo, Nightly, etc.). The opportunity to be creative on another artist’s vision is really fun to me and helpful to get outside myself for a moment.

8:30PM → I’ll grab dinner with Andy, and sometimes it’s our second meal of the day, so we throw down on some sushi in Burbank and then hit the local pool hall to practice. We’re determined to become pool sharks, so we get our hours in while I take over the jukebox and cue up whatever soundtrack I find fitting for the day. Some nights it’s Shania Twain, and some nights it’s dad rock.

10:30PM → I find the softest pair of pyjamas and do my skincare routine. I spend most of the day looking forward to this part because I love to get cosy. I try to journal about the day and sage myself of any negative thought spirals that might surface later. I usually wind down by watching Criminal Minds because I’m in love with Agent Spencer Reid, and also it’s a bit of an interactive experience for me. I think if I hadn’t been a musician, I would be an FBI agent for the profiling unit, catching bad guys and reading people’s vibes.

1:00AM → This is usually when I fall into a deep slumber and probably astral project. ■

Taken from the September 2023 edition of Dork. Charli Adams’ EP ‘Nothing To Be Scared Of’ is out 30th August.