Anna is a Nursery Practitioner/ Artist/ Hospitality worker. She grew up in Lisbon, before moving to Bristol to start a new adventure. We had the pleasure of chatting to Anna about the importance of making time for self-care, her passion for sustainable art, and why she’s glad she ditched the 9-5.
So Anna, tell us a bit about your background, and what you do?
I grew up back in Lisbon and have lived all around Portugal, I worked in hospitality and tourism which gave me the confidence to move to Bristol and start a new journey. When I first moved here I became a barista and started to get involved in the arts and culture of Bristol.
I’ve had a lot of experience in customer experience, but I’m currently working as a nursery practitioner, as bank staff and in hospitality. I’m also an artist and work in local shops and jewellery stands. I work in the mornings as a nursery practitioner and spend the afternoons trying to develop my skills in other areas.
It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on, what’s a typical week like for you?
Busy. I like to feel that my day is full of stuff. I prefer to fill my day with lots of different things because I know I have the skills to be useful in more than one role. Right now my priority is to grow professionally, so I don’t mind having a busy day as long as I feel it was productive.
And what about time outside of work?
Trying to get a day off just for myself between everything is also important, and my spare time is usually taken up by working on my personal projects. I’m currently recycling and using old cardboard or any recyclable resources to create art. I also relax by indoor gardening or meditation. I like to take time to look after my mindset to prepare myself for a busy week. As long as I’m feeling relaxed and taking care of my well being, I enjoy a busy lifestyle.
So are you working on any side projects?
I studied ceramics at university so I always try to be working on my art and in the next five years I’m hoping to set up my own project that combines the community, the environment and arts – I want to create something that can be positive for everyone. In the meantime, I’m just working on developing my skills as much as possible.
How do you manage your schedule and make time for everything?
I definitely have to have an agenda to get everything done. If I’m not too tired I like to get as much done as I can within a day, it’s important to me that my day is fulfilling and productive and that I’m always helping someone. I like that I’m always trying to give back and put a smile on someone’s face.
So how did you manage have multiple income streams?
I used to find payment very stressful if I didn’t have it written down, sometimes I would even make a daily note of what I’d earned. I had to write down absolutely everything to know exactly where and when my income was coming from and to keep track of my savings.
It’s really great that instead of having multiple streams of income, limber can combine them all together. All of those worries aren’t going to happen any more because everything is accounted for in one payslip.
Did that stress ever make you wish that you had traditional 9-5?
I had one at my previous employer and I honestly hated it. I had a Monday – Friday and worked forty hours per week, but at a certain point, it was just too much. The monotony, the routine, it just wasn’t good for me. It was working on the same thing every day and I just didn’t feel I was being productive. I was kind of bored too, so for me, it works really well to do lots of stuff.
When something’s new it makes me feel as if I’m always improving, so I definitely don’t miss anything about a more traditional way of working. Nowadays there’s so much happening, I don’t think being stuck in one single job when you have so many different skills makes sense.
That’s a great point. So what are your hopes for the future?
Now I can bring everything to limber I’m just looking forward to experimenting. My goal is always just to progress and learn. I’m really interested in the relationship between art and psychology, so hopefully, that’s something I can explore in the future, too.
