Hello! I am Shamina Peerboccus, Associate Director at Tyto, and this is my location-agnostic life. In this series, we want to highlight the freedom our model enables and how we navigate any challenges it presents.
What’s your morning routine?
I usually wake-up around 6 in the morning as I like to have some quiet time before starting my day. Being a mother of 3 children, I start answering questions and solving issues as soon as they are awake! Depending on my flow and energy, I can start my day by journaling, drawing, doing a 15 minute yoga session or just brewing some tea and enjoying the calmness of my home in that moment.
How do you organise your day?
I usually prepare my to-do list the day before just before I log-off. When I open my laptop in the morning, I have a good sense of what my focus is for the day. After that, I scan my emails quickly and check my Slack to see if there are any other priorities I should add to my list. As our team is located all over in Europe, we work with different time zones.
I like to ‘eat my frog’ – for those who are not familiar with this concept it’s all about fighting against procrastination! Acting on the most important or pressing item in my to-do list first makes my day easier.
When are you the most productive?
I am a morning person. I tend to do all the most critical tasks and the ones that require the most of my attention by midday. This is also the time when I have the most energy and I feel the most creative. And it works out well as I have my US-based client calls in the afternoon.
What is your favourite workplace?
I don’t specifically have one set-up that I like the most and that’s what I love about our remote model. I like to work from home, especially when I need a quiet environment, or go to a local coffee shop if I feel a bit more social and can do with external energy to boost my creativity at work. I also work with my colleagues from a co-working space about twice a month.
What’s your favourite thing about working remotely?
The list is long! The most practical thing for me is that I can do the school-run without any stress or worries. The fact that I don’t have a commute is such a game changer and I cannot imagine ever going back. I also enjoy homemade lunches and trips to local coffee shops with my partner – as he works from home as well.
Since the lifting of travel restrictions a few months ago, I took advantage and organised some long weekends abroad and enjoyed a totally different environment for work.
Ultimately, the fact that I have the power to balance between my work-life and home-life to my convenience without feeling totally drained at the end of the day, is the best thing I could have asked for.
What do you miss about working in an office?
I miss seeing my colleagues in real life more often. We are such an eclectic team, with different backgrounds and cultures and it is always so interesting meeting with each other. But at Tyto, we have several initiatives that allow us to meet and work in person with a purpose. The Tyto passport gives us the opportunity twice a year to travel and meet with colleagues and work together whenever we feel like it. We also have the option to meet in co-working spaces for those who are in the same location. And finally, we do have big team gatherings twice a year, our famous Hackweeks: these are phenomenal.
What’s your secret weapon?
Deep breathing!