Beatriz Lourenço is the Talent Manager at Fidel API, a global financial infrastructure platform that enables developers to build programmable experiences at the moment a transaction occurs on any payment card.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I’m Talent Manager at Fidel API and I’m responsible for all things recruitment and people for EMEA and remote.

I joined Fidel API almost 3 years ago with the goal to build the infrastructure and help us grow – we were 30 people back then and had just raised our series A. I was the first person on the people’s team. Today, I manage a team of 4. In total, we are 180 people overall.

Before that I always worked at startups with a mix of recruitment and HR. I started my career in tech recruitment and rapidly knew that I wanted to expand my role and gain more responsibilities in the field but also to manage people.

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I am an early bird – yes, that annoying person that is already super energetic when you are having your morning coffee.

I usually wake up around 6:30AM to go for a morning Crossfit session. I love to take my time and get to the laptop when it’s still quite silent in the morning. I don’t drink coffee, so I would rather go for a nutritious breakfast as I’m already hungry by that time.

I work both from home and from the office – depending on my mood, office events or really schedule. I like to enjoy my silent time to organise my day, clean my inbox and so on. And every day, me and my team have a daily check in around 10:30 AM to organise ourselves for the day, discuss any blockers and keep each other updated.

I tend to use my mornings for focus work and afternoons for interviews and meetings, when it’s possible! That way I can be the most productive.

I certainly am very privileged to have a flexible work schedule and work for a company that trusts me and allows me to manage my time. When possible I like to go snack in the afternoon, or enjoy my lunch break to go for a walk for example.

3) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Work-life balance for me has not always been the easiest thing to accomplish. I truly enjoy my job and I had to learn over time to create healthy boundaries to myself. I can say that today, I am in a much better place and that I take pride to say I have a good balance.

Work-life balance to me means doing your best at work but also allowing yourself to enjoy life outside of it – it’s about relentlessly searching for that excellence at work but also being fair with yourself and spending quality time with the people you love and developing other skills or hobbies outside of work. It’s healthy and it’s necessary to find a balance that allows you to live a sustainable and fulfilling life.

To achieve that goal I focused on creating a routine that is realistic for me and that allows me to dedicate enough time to things I wanted to. For example, Crossfit and tennis are two sports that bring me so much joy and balance – so I created a routine that incorporated those and fit well with my day to day work.

I have also established better boundaries for myself to make sure I’m not turning off too late and I go socialise after work or can also have some “me time”.

4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

A few small things, yes! One of them was setting a schedule for sleep on my phone, which warns me when it’s time to go to bed and get the hours of sleep I need to rest. Being more religious with this has been life changing!

Another one, has been organising my weekly calendar on the previous Friday – from my workouts, to my main priorities of the week, to little things I wanted to improve on. This helped me focus on the right things and be realistic with what I could deliver without exhausting myself.

And last but not least, I have forced myself to schedule more social time. With the recent pandemic, we all spent a lot more time at home and when getting back to the “normal life”, socialising felt so tiring. But after going out a couple of times, it started feeling so good to be outside again. It helped me find a new routine outside of working from home every day of the week.

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

Hell yes! I would love to recommend Atomic Habits, it’s one of my favourite books! Even if you already have a great routine established, it’s a great book to help you remind you of a few things but also to validate your current habits. If you don’t, then it’s the perfect book to get started.

I also love the book Why We Sleep and it’s perfect for those who are super interested in health in general. It explores not only the importance of sleep for a balanced and healthy life but also the mysteries behind it!

In terms of podcasts, my favourite is The Not So Fit Couple – they are a couple of certified coaches and discuss all topics of life and fitness. It’s a great educational podcast for those who are interested in those topics. I have certainly learnt a lot from them.

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Eiso Kant, CEO at Athenian.

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

My biggest piece of advice is to remember that life is to be enjoyed and that you don’t have to always be at a sprint pace. Even if you work in the most fast paced environment, it’s important to remind yourself that there will always be more work tomorrow and that there will never be that perfect time to go on holiday, so don’t keep postponing it.

If you are someone that aims to be an exceptional performer – believe me, it’s possible to establish healthy boundaries and still be phenomenal at your job. Learning how to rest will make you stronger and better at your job, not the other way around.

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