Nicole Walters Describes Her Daily Routine: ‘Chaos in the Morning and Pure Love in the Evening’

She is “mom” to her kids, “baby” to her husband, and “boss” to the rest of the world. Nicole Walters is in her entrepreneurial era. Just look at her resume—it’s stacked. She’s a New York Times bestselling author of Nothing Is Missing, an Emmy-nominated producer, and host of the Tell Me More with Nicole Walters. She is also a professional business consultant and the founder of Inherit Learning Company, an eight-figure business she built from her living room. It’s safe to say her hands are full. 

On a recent episode of DITL, Walters shares a day in her life—and buckle up, it’s a busy one. As a mom to four daughters—three adopted daughters, Daya, 26, Krissy, 23, and Ally, 13, plus her five-month-old, biological daughter Aria. Unlike other CEOs whose mornings consist of early morning workout, nine-step skincare routines, and matcha tea, Walters describes her life as utter chaos, but it’s her chaos and she loves it and her family.  

Morning routine with a 5-month-year-old  

On a typical day, Walters wakes up by 7 a.m., but in her perfect world, she’d catch those extra zzz’s and sleep until 11 a.m.—the perfect time for brunch. Thankfully, Walters has help with her baby; otherwise, she’d have to wake up earlier. Her mornings are quick and hurried—she prepares a quick breakfast (microwavable or toaster-oven prepped food is preferred), brushes her teeth, throws on some concealer, tells her kids to make good choices, kisses her husband, and she’s out the door.  

“The morning is wild,” she explains. “I have four kids, and my kids range from 26 years old all the way down to five months. All their various needs are insane.”  

Walters’ hack for staying on top of it all is responsive organization. She saves all her organized planning and thinking for her paid clients, and her family gets her in-the-moment responses to their problems. “Everyone in my house does the best that they can with what they’ve got,” she laughs. “At any given time, we are a team responding to the chaos within. We are truly a hot mess, but on the outside, we look good.” 

A day in the office of a professional business consultant 

Walter has a consulting office in Beverly Hills, and her clients typically fly in to see her. Although her office is in a rather lucrative part of Los Angeles, Walters considers herself to be very chill and is known to wear slippers in the office and spend time chatting with clients over a meal before getting down to business. Typically, her planning meetings with clients revolve around numbers, goals, book deals, events, and whatever media and product they are focused on.  

Each day, Walters devotes her full attention to just one client. Her clients are everyday people with big dreams—individuals looking to launch businesses, write books, or bring creative projects to life. Walters likens her role to that of a behind-the-scenes powerhouse. “If you are a Kylie Jenner with an idea, for example, but you don’t know how to bring it to fruition, those are the types of people I work with,” she says. Think of her as the Kris Jenner of the operation—the strategist, marketer, and connector who turns vision into reality. 

Unplugging after work hours  

Between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Walters is locked in with her clients, but she likes to be home between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to be with her kids. One strategy she finds helpful is to use Slack to communicate with clients instead of giving out her personal number. “It provides a distinction that lets me go on vacation and turn off after 3:00 p.m.,” she explains. “My assistant knows if it’s a 911, call me, but if it’s not, it can wait until the morning.” 

Being able to be present and spend time with her 13-year-old daughter after school is a priority for Walters. “I am able to meet her the moment when she walks off that bus,” she explains. “If she is having a sh***y day or the best of days, being able to meet her in those moments are key.” 

No outside clothes in the house  

When it comes to outside clothes and inside clothes, Walters says the debate is cultural. She was raised to take her shoes off by the door, wash her hands, and change into your inside clothes—something her 13-year-old knows to do the second she gets home. 

Germs can live on your clothes for up to two hours. Walters stands by this research, and it informs her routine with her kids. “Kids are filthy,” she says. “My daughter can smell like outside; it has a smell. If she is in her outside clothes, I don’t want her getting outside germs on everything.”  

A home cooked meal is tradition  

After her teenage daughter is home from school and changes, Walters starts cooking a fresh dinner or warming up leftovers. On Sunday nights, she usually prepares a large batch of dinner that is used for leftovers throughout the rest of the week. Walters is big on cooking. “Honestly, cooking is a budgetary move since we have a big family,” she explains. “And I’m a good cook, so it’s not hard.” 

On most nights, Walters’ family eats dinner together. “As cheesy as it sounds, whoever is home eats meals together,” she explains. “The only exception for not being there is if you’re traveling, working, or doing a sports activity.” 

A family hug before bedtime 

One nonnegotiable for Walters is the nighttime hug. The tradition started with her 13-year-old daughter, who Walters adopted when she was three. “Every night before bed, she had to walk around and hug everyone, and she still does this,” Walters says.” Because she does this, even my 23-year-old does it; everyone just gives hugs and before we go to bed and exit the room, we give a hug.” 

Nighttime skincare routine  

Every night, Walters uses her own skincare collection. She exfoliates with a rice powder blend every day, an item she thinks it’s the most underrated skincare hack. “I have been exfoliating since I was 13 years old,” she says. “I think it is the number one thing people don’t do that would completely transform their skincare routine.”  

After exfoliating, Walters uses a Vitamin C serum and a moisturizer that is not too strong or too light. Skincare routine, brushing teeth, then throwing on a silk bonnet—after that, Walter is straight to bed. She’s in bed by 11 p.m, and asleep in less than five minutes.  

Read Next

• Why Is Gen Z More Focused on Mental Health Than Older Generations?
• Nicole Walters Is the CEO of Her Life and Believes You Can Be Too
• What Happens When an Entire Generation Grows Up on AI? Ask Gen Z