When moving to Norway half a year ago I wasn’t so sure if it would be the right move career wise. Ever since starting Alta back in 2021, I’ve been searching for a work/life balance in which my personal aspirations and work ambitions can feed each other. And not suck each other dry. Moving to the countryside therefore made a lot of sense to me, since it would better fit my way of working and love for the outdoors.
But, in my mind a starting entrepreneur was supposed to network her way forward in a buzzing city and really had no business working from the countryside. A work/life balance is an oxymoron for many entrepreneurs and building a business takes a lot of time.
Don’t get me wrong, while I think it's always a good idea to hone your networking and public speaking skills, I believe it is just as important to become highly skilled at observing, developing ideas and executing great things. But in order to do these things you need quiet time, by yourself. But how to marry the two when you’re living in a cottage in the Norwegian countryside? Well, right now I feel country life enables me to find time to quiet my mind and gives me the focus I need in order to create.
When I now venture out to the city I make sure my time is centered around connection, promotion and execution of what I have been working on by myself. This allows me to channel my energy towards the other aspects of entrepreneurship that are missing when I’m away from the city.
Now, in case you’re curious to see what this cottage/city work life has looked like this past month I’ve created a short video to give you a glimpse into it all! It also includes my visit to the Dutch Design Week in the Netherlands, where I facilitated a series of workshops. I really hope you enjoy it!
Iris