Balancing the Grind with Sophia Lang, Supply Chain Coordinator at Showpo

Sophia Lang is the Supply Chain Coordinator at Australian online fashion clothing store Showpo, where she is responsible for deliveries, freight and supplier relationships.

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

I graduated this time last year with a Bachelor of Commerce. I did a lot of the usual jobs while at uni, working casually in retail, reception and then landed my first internship in human resources which later turned into a full time HR admin role.

This threw me into a professional setting when I was 19 and exposed me to multiple departments within a business and how they worked with one another. I then saw an internship in operations pop up at Showpo and I couldn’t resist from applying.

I’ve now been at Showpo two years working in customer service, garment production and now supply chain. There’s never a quiet day in my current role from managing local deliveries into our warehouse, inbound freight & supplier relationships. I’m always being challenged and learning something new each day which is why I love what I do!

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

I start my day with an iced coffee (or two) and catch up on my socials, personal email and personal calendar before 9am in an attempt to stay on top of things that are non-work related.

Once in the office (which currently resides in my bedroom) I jump onto emails, slacks and my Asana board to see my workload for the day and re-prioritise projects to accommodate any urgent tasks I need to attend to. I then block out designated times in my google calendar to work on Asana projects, emails and catch ups with the team etc.

Organisation is a must for me so I can efficiently tick things off and manage my workload. I find by doing this I clearly guide my work day, see what I can actually get done and what will need to be moved based on priority level.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Yes, at the moment we are working from home and hot desking at our warehouse.

This has been something I’ve had to adjust to but it’s given me an extra 2+ hours a day to focus on life admin tasks and socialising which I used to spend commuting. Although without commuting I have lost my podcast time, so am now forever catching up on them.

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

Work-life balance was emphasised in my degree and I found it hard to maintain when first jumping into a full time role. However I now do a few simple things to achieve this:

• No work emails, Slack or Asana on my phone (not notifications turned off but these apps aren’t actually downloaded).
• No checking anything work related after I’ve finished for the day.

Work-life balance is very subjective to a person and/or role, the steps above I can easily do however in different roles it can be an expectation to still be working after hours.

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to manage both life and work but it has to suit you while enabling you to work smarter at work and manage all the things life throws at you.

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

One big habit I’ve stopped recently is grabbing a takeaway coffee each morning. My flatmate will tell you she never thought she would see this day come but I found that this was becoming an unnecessary expense and was no longer a treat.

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

Podcasts I can’t live without:

• Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki
• Life Uncut

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

• My phone & laptop (generic I know), and
• My calendar apps

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

Jacinda Ardern – would love to read how she fits everything in while also leading New Zealand.

Mia Plecic – she is always running new start ups, would love to see how she manages it all.

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

Remember work-life balance is subjective, as long as you feel empowered each day then you’re doing something right!

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