Welcome to the world of an Impact Growth Alchemist at The Sponge – a mix of positive impact, business growth, remote work realities, and life adventures!

6.00 – A room overlooking the water on Koh Lanta, Thailand

The alarm wakes me up. It’s Monday and it’s dawn. I don’t mind Mondays. I take 5 minutes to wash my face to look awake, 5 minutes to see if any urgent work email came through overnight (I spot an email from a graphic designer interested in working for The Sponge – no kidding!), and 5 minutes (ok 15) to catch up on my personal social media. Then, I set up for my week kick-off meeting!

6.30 – Zoom meeting room

And it’s on! In less than an hour, Luke and I try to wrap up all of last week’s highlights, and this week’s priorities and to do list. We talk of new impactful connections, brand audits, an urgent proposal for renaming, ongoing website projects, a new app development…  It’s already past 10.15 AM in Brisbane by the time we finish.

9.30 – A yummy restaurant on Kantiang Beach, Koh Lanta

After making sure everyone knows what they’re doing this week (including myself!), cleaning up our online workspace and finishing/sending a new proposal to an awesome prospect client, I need some food. So, my partner, myself and our phones (because we both work remotely!) are off to breakfast!

11.00 – A cafe restaurant above Nui Beach

After catching up with marketing over breakfast, packing up my office, and encountering some minor issues with the scooter, my partner and I cross paths with a fellow digital nomad who is off to work in a beautiful spot overlooking the water. We’re sold! 5 minutes later, I’m set up at the table next to her, in my new tropical office.

I eagerly watch the latest Facebook Live video in my team’s group, providing all the info we need to get pumped for the week ahead. As social media acts as our “water cooler” or “coffee machine”, I take a couple minutes to comment on my colleagues’ updates. Then, I have just enough time for some project management before the daily huddle.

12.00 – Zoom meeting room

Daily huddle! It’s quick, but always nice to see the team’s faces. And opened, regular conversation is so important when working remotely!

We talk about our plans for the upcoming 24 hours to make sure all priorities are aligned. So, I start working on mine as soon as the meeting is over. For me today, priorities consist of tasks related to accounting, KPIs and reporting updates, as well as a new clients onboarding strategy. Talk about wearing multiple hats, eh!

14.30 – Nui Beach

I can’t think of a better way to take a break than going for a swim in turquoise waters! It’s already the end of the business day in Australia so I can safely leave my portable office behind for a while.

After my refreshing swim, I end up exploring more of the island for a few hours, only making it back to my room after sunset. I had wanted to go walk a dog at the cool shelter I discovered over breakfast, but that will have to wait until tomorrow!

20:00 – Back in my beautiful “home for the week”

I finish writing this blog post. Yes, this one – it’s a true story! Then, I set it aside for some edits in the morning, which I will share with my colleagues for feedback. I officially check out for the day.

To me, it barely feels like I had a day at work. The Sponge offers so much flexibility in the way I can structure my day, the tasks I work on, the places I set up my laptop… I’m living my dream! I can travel constantly, yet have an income and get a feeling of accomplishment as I push my career forward, grow every day, and help make the world a better place.  (: