The TL;DR: C.P.O. Kristine Ai-yana shares her experience juggling high-pressure roles in events and sales and how sacred morning routines became her form of resilience. She invites readers to shift their mental model from seeing time as scarce to protecting it with purpose and intentionality. The future version of you, the one you’re becoming, will thank you for the smallest shift in your self-care rhythm.

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Hey Pretty Reader
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The C.P.O. Chief Pretty Officer is back! I’m a massive fan of 80s music, and Boy George’s “Time Won’t Give Me Time” feels like the perfect anthem for this issue. Because let’s be honest, when you’re always “on,” time doesn’t wait for you. So you have to make it.

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When I worked in the events industry for luxury brands, I averaged 425–500 events a year. Some weeks, I juggled 17 to 25 events, walking through venues, on-site with clients, attending meetings, and showing up fully present for my team. My attendance rate. 90%.

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That kind of pace meant I was constantly customer-facing. I was my brand and showed up polished, professional, and you guessed it, pretty.
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What saved me? My mornings. That quiet window of time before the world needed me. I guarded that space with everything I had. Did this mean waking up earlier sometimes. Yup. I still follow this mantra do not care, if I need to wake up earlier to get what I need it has to be done.
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The hospitality industry taught me how to lead with service. It also taught me that once I stepped out the door, my energy belonged to others, and I accepted that. But it made my alone time sacred.

Ritual wasn’t a luxury; it was survival.

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I wasn’t at my best unless I carved out time to care for myself: sleep, gym. (yes, gym seven days a week, was doing it at 30, still doing it at 45, going to be 46, keep active, the body needs to move), skincare, a steady, healthy diet, hydration, a body routine, and clarity.

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When I transitioned into tech during the pandemic, I faced it all in SaaS sales cold calls, demos, slick remarks, getting hung up on, and boiler room sales meetings. But I showed up ready every time. Those rituals didn’t go anywhere. If I faced rejection or backhanded comments, I would look good doing it. That's not being extra; that was my armor, mindset, and morning mirror.

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By the way there’s nothing “extra” about being extra.​
Real talk: you have to be your own cheerleader and advocate.
I don’t wait for applause. I’ve had more setbacks than standing ovations. So what’s next? We move. We lead.​
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Women carry different rhythms. Some are full-time mothers, career builders, partners, caregivers, social anchors. Others are navigating demanding careers solo, still finding ways to stay connected and present. No matter the path, one truth remains: time often feels like the one thing we don’t have enough of.

But here's your invitation to shift the model. Instead of waiting for time to appear, what if you reimagined it as something you protect. A mirror you visit before the world see you?

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​Maturing can feel like a loss if we don’t prepare. It can be uncomfortable, even shameful. Sometimes, others can make us feel like we are shrinking. Shrinking is self-inflicted, But it doesn’t have to be.
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That’s all for this track, but the conversation continues.

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Next up at the C.P.O. Chief Pretty Officer Counter: a new resource to help you rethink time and how you move through it.
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Keep Leading!
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K.A.

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