Krishna Montgomery On Striking The Work-Life Balance
Have A To-Do List
I am very much a play-it-by-ear person (much to the frustration of my team) and don’t have a set structure to my day. Due to the nature of my job, I’m a slave to incoming requests on email and via DMs, which can often throw my day completely. However, I have a to-do list of the five things I must get done that day and will always start with the task I least want to do. I always feel a sense of achievement when I cross off the fifth task.
Be Flexible
If you would had told me in January that I’d spend most of the year working from a home office at the end of my garden, I wouldn’t have believed you. We have changed our ways of working at Monty to a more agile setup. Depending on guidelines, we work three days a week together at Soho Works in West London and then from home on the other days. We don’t have a traditional office anymore, which has been incredibly liberating. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt this year is that being flexible and going with the flow (to a certain degree) stops you from sweating the small stuff.
Keep Your Desk Organised
A tidy desk is a tidy mind and working between two desks this year has confirmed the importance of being organised. On my home office desk, I always have a jar for of black Bic biros and Palomino Blackwing pencils, my phone (of course) and a candle. I’m also incredibly lucky to have access to some of the up-and-coming beauty product launches - I currently have something incredibly exciting from Hourglass on my desk which is launching in 2021.
In comparison, my ‘remote’ office desk is a bag filled with chargers, power bands, hair bands and , plus a tinted lip balm. Regardless of which desk I’m at I always have a small make up bag on hand for any impromptu Zoom or FaceTime appointments. Vital components include Sarah Chapman Skin Insurance SPF30, £74.00, Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer, £36.00 and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, £52.00.
Take Time Out
It sounds terrible but it’s rare I take a lunch hour. I’m not a morning person and find that I am at my most productive between 1pm and 5pm. That said, if things are getting stressful at my desk, a bit of gardening or a Zoom call with the team always lifts my spirits and gives me some perspective. I also keep a Sarah Chapman Facialift, £38.00 on my desk, which is great if you need a pick-me-up and want to release any tension in your jaws.
Be Mindful Of The Bigger Picture
It’s easy to get bogged down with worry about not successfully juggling the work-life balance and in all honesty, I don’t feel like I’ve achieved it on a daily basis. However, family always comes first, and I hope I’m showing my kids that by doing a job you love you get a lot back. This new way of working from home has allowed me to be around more with them which is wonderful (although helping a 12 and 14-year-old with their homework is not my strong point). While we don’t know what 2021 has in store for us, I’d be willing to put a sizable bet on that it’ll involve more juggling.
