At the beginning of this year, I was thinking about how my social media profiles should grow and expand to include more video content. Reels are currently the best way to reach new people and grow your Instagram account but I didn’t love dancing in front of the camera and to be completely honest, I just didn’t want to have my face in every single Reel I created. 

That’s why I went the route of creating these little day-in-the-life snapshots. You can see what I am talking about here. These types of videos were a consistent way I knew I could show up on Instagram without needing a tripod, a full face of makeup, or learning a new dance. 

Recently I posted a new day in my life, and I received a lot of messages about how I create them, and that these types of posts feel like a creative fun way to utilize Reels without all the pressure. Someone compared these types of posts to a digital scrapbook and I LOVED that. The idea of being able to go back and watch these short 15-30 second clips is really fun to me.

With that, I thought it was time that I broke down just how to make these reels, and trust me … if I can do it, you can do it. 

Step 1: Start filming short video clips throughout your day. Once you get in the habit of doing this, you have done the hardest part. I always have the best intentions but forget pretty often. Here are some clips ideas to make it easier. 

Film your:

• Morning coffee.
• Your outfit of the day.
• Your skincare routine.
• What you made for lunch.
• An afternoon walk.
• Your workspace or planner.
• A book you pick up to read.
• An area of your house that you cleaned (before and after videos are great).
• A local restaurant or park.
• Flowers in your home.
• The sunset.
• Making your bed.
• Your pets.
• A workout. 

Step 2: Upload all the videos you take to a video editing app that can easily brighten videos. I use the Tezza App and highly recommend it. I can brighten a video or add a filter with one click giving everything a uniform look. After you have edited your clips to look and feel similar, download all of them. 

Step 3: Open up Instagram Reels and select a song you like from the music button. I have an ongoing list of artists and songs I like and I save songs from other people’s videos too. Have fun with this and don’t overthink it. The goal is to consistently start posting, not to line up the perfect music each day.

Step 4: Once you have selected a song, start uploading clips. You do this by swiping up and selecting one clip at a time to upload. I like to go in chronological order as much as possible. While I upload, I cut each clip to be only a few seconds long. You can cut a clip on the bottom of the screen. Just drag the slider where you want it to cut the clip. You can go back and adjust this at the end too. Then just repeat this process until your reel is as long as you would like. 

Step 5: Add a date by clicking the text icon. You can either have the text on the entire video or cut the text to disappear after any amount of time. 

Step 6: Publish! I like to add a caption and select a photo from my camera roll as the cover image. You just click “select cover image” and then upload from your phone to do this. 

If you are more of a visual learner, watch this video to see a screen recording of how I make these. 

I hope this step-by-step tutorial helps you create your own day-in-the-life videos, and if you do make one, tag me in your video so I can check it out!

For more tips when it comes to creating your formula, editing, and storage click here.