How I Thrive takes an inside look at founders, entrepreneurs and leaders and the behind-the-scenes self-care work they do to in order to live balanced, happy lives. Today's edition is with Bastet Noir founder Daniela Milosheska, who loves a good jigsaw puzzle and cuddles with her cat.
Age: 33
City: Skopje, Macedonia
Company: Bastet Noir, a sustainable, zero waste clothing label whose designs are made to order specifically to clients' measurements. Every piece is made out of discarded materials and produced locally by a community of single parents in North Macedonia. The entire profit we make is reinvested to fund the growth of these women-owned businesses and support them with the education of their children in a country where their monthly income is less than $300.
Morning routine:
Usually my day starts at 7:20am when I open my eyes and head over to Instagram to catch up. Bad habit, I know, but it works for me because it wakes me up. After 10 minutes of Instagramming, I get up franticly from bed, because my sister calls me and scolds me for not being up yet. At around 7:35 we start practicing yoga together for half an hour, followed by a mandatory two minutes of cuddles with my cat, cause that's his threshold for putting up with me.
I put Spotify on and take a shower, after which I do my skin care morning routine, which includes exfoliating, applying serums and eye creams to make sure my skin is hydrated and ready to take on the day. I do my make-up after that and head over to the kitchen to make my coffee, drink a glass of cold water or freshly squeezed juice and if I'm hungry I prepare some breakfast. I usually start work at around 9:00 or 9:30.
The first thing I do after work:
It depends, really. Running your own business is challenging and oftentimes unpredictable. If I'm in my hometown during summer, I might go for a swim. If I'm in Skopje dinner and drinks with friends is usually how I'll spend my evenings when I'm not working, but there are days when I work up until 10 p.m. and go straight to bed afterward. That's the beauty of owning your own business — you never know where the day will take you.
Dinner ritual:
I wish I had one, but unfortunately I don't! I used to eat out all the time, but this year I started preparing food for myself at home. There's something about cooking that relaxes me, even though when I think of doing the dishes afterward it's agony.
Normally I'll make something that's easy and fast to prepare like salad or two pieces of bread with mayo and cheese. Even though I try to stay healthy, I have to admit that mayo is my kryptonite.
Nighttime routine:
Netflix and chill with a glass of wine, sometimes some Instagramming, and sometimes just chatting with my parents or my sister. We're really close as a family, so we talk on the phone every single day. Then I do my nighttime skincare ritual, which includes washing my face, putting on a face mask, a serum, and an eye cream. I get into bed at around 11 p.m. and read for half an hour before falling asleep.
Self-care guilty pleasure:
Puzzles. I love piecing together a puzzle; it relaxes me quite a bit.
Workday self-care hack:
Taking an hour to catch up with a friend over lunch, which I usually do when I can't focus. It's a good stress reliever for me.
How do you define self-care?
Favorite childhood toy or hobby:
Probably drawing. I loved drawing cartoon characters like Tom and Jerry. I still keep one watercolor painting I did of Tom. But my first ever serious drawing was of a black lace dress with a huge matching hat, so maybe that played a big part in what I would do later on in life.
State of your (email) inbox:
I do mark things as unread so I don't miss out on anything, which can be annoying because I can't get my inbox to zero unread messages. Sometimes it's really overwhelming having to respond to so many emails, but hey, it's part of the job!
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