What time do you rise and shine?
I work across several time zones, so I am an early riser, I am up at 3:30 am to ensure I can respond to emails and messages. It is also my favourite time of day as I can set myself up for the day in peace and quiet.
What is your morning routine?
I am very much a creature of habit. I normally rise ten minutes before my alarm, make coffee with beans from a roastery down the road (I also own a cafe so I am passionate about coffee), and I then deliberately leave my phone in the kitchen. I take ten minutes out to meditate on the day. Then I a grab my phone and begin to review messages that have come in overnight. I take around an hour to do this, and get ready, and I am in the office by 4:45am. Oh yes, feed the dogs as well!
Do you have any non-negotiables that must get done in the morning?
My coffee routine and meditation are essential to me as they help set me up for the day and help ground me. Getting ahead of the curve with messages also allows me to respond to key people before their day ends, as mine begins.
How do you prioritise your day?
I make a mental list of things I need to do. I gave up on notepads a long time ago because I never used them properly. I will normally have three primary priorities for the day, although this can of course change. I strongly believe in agile management, but in healthcare, we do have a lot of tasks that are essential and need to be completed in a timely way.
Do you have a Task List? How do you use it, or what do you use instead?
If I am under significant pressure I will create a list of things I need to do, but that is a rarity. I am a very visual person so I often sketch things out that need to be prioritised.
Do you schedule breaks during the day?
Lunch is at 12 sharp here in South East Asia, so that is locked in! I normally take a coffee break around 7am and then around 10am for 10 minutes or so. We have a yoga studio at work so I also do Pilates with an instructor for 45 minutes in the morning when there is a slot.
What does the end of your day look like?
I try and leave the office by 3:30pm and finish work at home. Due to the nature of the sector I am in it really is not unusual for calls to keep coming in until 8 or 9pm. I take half an hour out of the late afternoon for another longer meditation, and then it’s a matter of walking the dogs and decompressing. I go to bed early as I wake so early.
How do you plan tomorrow and beyond?
We have a fairly structured management team for running operations in healthcare, so the teams that require more planning and attention are marketing and sales. I spend a lot of time with them planning, we take a agile approach so we can be responsive to emerging trends and issues we are seeing. We do also have a fairly long term marketing strategy around how we position ourselves and define our comparative advantage.
What is your favourite break from work?
A beach holiday, the sea brings me a lot of calm as I grew up on an island.
In terms of your productivity, what do you wish you had known earlier?
Being such an early riser has brought me a great deal of additional productive time to the day. It can be a pain at times, but the benefits outweigh the cons. I was at work early, say around 7:30 am, but the super early starts have supercharged my productivity.
Are you happy with your routine? What do you feel you should change?
I am quite mindful that my routine can be restrictive socially, as I need to be in bed so early. Sometimes, it is advisable to be a little more flexible and allow myself to stay out late with family and friends. Social connection is essential in life.
What are your top 3 digital tools / apps you use most throughout the day?
I use a Buddhist App called Insight Timer, it prompts me everyday for a meditation and to set an intention for day, which I find helpful. We use a specialist system called Opus, which is a digital health management tool. As communication is key in healthcare, we use a specialist app for communications between teams.
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How can people connect with you?
Social Media Links?
https://www.instagram.com/thebeekeeperhouse/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/89942751/