Nathaniel Amranian is the Senior Partnerships Manager at Anyplace, a marketplace that allows people to secure flexible-term furnished housing rentals.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I’m in the travel industry, and I’ve always been passionate about it. My first stint in the industry was at Carnival Cruise as a professional mascot. Then in 2011, I started working at Booking.com. I honestly had no idea what they did when I first heard about it.
I was really lucky, I came into the online travel industry at a unique moment. My first few years consisted of bi-weekly road trips across Central and Eastern Canada. It was intense but a lot of fun, I must have visited thousands of B&B’s, motels, hotels and yurts.
It was a blast, what other job lets you go whale watching on your lunch break! I joined Anyplace almost three years ago, a housing marketplace dedicated to traveling digital nomads. I lead the Partnerships Team at Anyplace, which means finding and onboarding new lodging partners around the World.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
The pandemic has definitely solidified new routines. I definitely love to have my early morning to myself. I usually try to wake up around 6am, I have a tall glass of water with lemon and a double espresso.
Then I catch up on some news before starting my day and jump in the shower. I like to clean my inbox before I tackle all the other stuff I do in my day. I take a look at my calendar, if I have meetings, I like to review the agendas, add my notes and come prepared.
That usually takes me to about 10am, at that time I like to check in with my teammates and see what kind of support they need. Around 11, I take 15 minutes to do some breathing exercises (Wim Hof has been amazing for me), once that is done I am energized to tackle my day.
I’ll be following up with clients, focusing on our OKRs . Around 6:00pm-6:30pm, I’ll stop my day, and do a quick 30 minute workout (perfect for people with a short attention span), and I’ll prepare dinner while watching Jeopardy, and voilà!
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
It does, however it may be different than the flexibility some of my other colleagues have.
For a software engineer that flexibility may be focusing late at night, working in business development, that is a bit trickier, I definitely need to be available during standard business hours.
I definitely do have flexibility to do work where I want and shift my schedule depending on my focus that week. I have also become a big fan of workcations, spending time in a chalet and mixing vacation days and works days. It’s definitely exciting to work in a new environment when possible.
4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
I definitely think adding Wim Hof breathing and meditation has had a major impact on my life. I also take an ice cold shower every morning, this was also something I learned from doing Wim Hof. As much as I still find the cold showers terrifying, it never gets easier but I can’t start my day without it, it’s as important as my double espresso.
5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
I do, I definitely like to listen to podcasts or audiobooks if I am not having any meetings or calls at work. The DarkHorse podcast is great, and The Power of Habit is definitely a book that I recommend.
6) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I think it’s my extended desktop, I use two monitors and my laptop, I don’t think I could function without it.
7) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Tough question, right now I would probably say Fran Leibowitz. Pretend It’s a City is a recent documentary directed by Martin Scorsese so there might already be an interview with her.
8) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
It’s definitely tough. I generally try to avoid the term work life balance, I feel that it creates expectations and preconceived ideas of what that should look like.
I think everyone’s journey is different, and it takes a lot of exploration to figure out what works for you. I’ve been working from home for almost three years, and it has not been an easy road. What has worked best for me is making sure that I am fully engaged, creative and happy with the work I am doing.
Once I let that be my priority, I find the rest begins to fall into place. It’s totally okay to have a brilliant idea at 11pm and work on it for two hours, I just remember to give myself a chocolate the next day. I hope that makes sense.
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