17 questions for... Magdalena Burnat-Mikosz, Senior executive and Member of the Board of Advisors, SingularityU Kenya Summit

For me, work life balance is... one of the elements of the golden rule of moderation. In life, we are often carried away by passions for something that is happening at a given moment. This wind often turns into a whirlwind that tends to completely sweep us away. As long as we are able to stand steadily on the surfboard of life, being carried away by the whirlpool is not a bad thing. It is worth looking at work life balance from the perspective of constant boundary values ​​that will allow us to maintain balance.

My daily health habits… fall into three categories: reflection, reset and activity – I try to find time for each of them every day. The most important habit for me happens in the morning, because the first thing I consciously do for myself is a good breakfast. Whenever possible, I try to eat them with my family. This moment gives me completely different energy for the whole day.

The sport I practice regularly is... a mix of cardio, stretching and yoga. This is how I have been organizing my activities since I left for Africa 5 years ago, where I lived for 3 years. That's when I started using training available on YouTube, which turned out to be a fantastic source of inspiration. Thanks to this, I have "made friends" with several different instructors: I practice yoga with Adriene Mishler, I do stretching with Maddy Morrison, and I do cardio and strength exercises with Heather Robertson. I laughed that this trip was preparation for Covid, because I already had a ready set of exercises that I could do at home and since then it has been an everyday routine for me that improves my well-being. There are also walks with my beloved dog, who needs long walks, otherwise our house wouldn't stand it.

I spend at least 7 hours a week on physical activity .

My motivation for sports… is greater clarity of thinking. Sport causes our body to produce endorphins, which improve our well-being and, of course, this also translates into physical activity. It should be remembered that everything starts in the human brain, and sport allows it to be properly ventilated.

I meditate because... it gives me great strength to face everyday life, which is very fast. It helps me stop and through meditation I am able to find much more of myself. I do not hide the fact that I am addicted to small technologies - I have my favorite application, Calm, which allows me to move to another place and gain distance from what is happening at a given moment. Recently, I have been testing meditation with Oculus, which allows me to move to another world and achieve perfect concentration much faster than traditionally. I like the fact that you can meditate anywhere and at any time, and I guarantee it is a nice experience.

My diet is based on... eating everything, but using the golden moderation rule. When I started listening to my body's needs, I knew what was harmful to me and what products to avoid.

I end the day with... make-up removal - both in the context of the technical activity of removing make-up, but also in the context of removing the worries and everyday problems that we face. I pay attention to calm down - I use cool techniques that allow me to free my head from the flow of thoughts, e.g. positive intelligence by Shirzad Chamine. When we go to sleep, our thoughts are often racing and we are unable to break away from them. In this way, we shorten our time for sleep, and thanks to his techniques we can drift off immediately. These are very simple things that can be tested at any time, e.g. squeezing your fingertips and concentrating on this activity resets your mind.

I spend… 8 hours sleeping because then I feel good.

The thing I do just for myself is… once a year I go to VIVAMAYR in Austria for some kind of reset and digestive detox. I recommend it to everyone, because in stressful and noisy everyday life we ​​are very busy, and this experience gives us the strength to listen better to our body's needs. This trip is one of my annual rituals, while the other one, which is easier and much more frequent, is a weekly facial massage using the kobido technique. It works better for me than a classic full body massage.

My little sins are… good wine.

Happiness for me is... closeness to my family, animals and friendship, especially with women. I worked for many years in financial corporations where most of my co-workers were men. My trip to Africa showed me what friendship with women is, and it became an element of my great happiness.

Luxury for me is... freedom of thoughts, choices and words. Our possibilities are limited only by the strength of our desires and determination. Since I live outside Poland, I see and feel it much more. However, from the perspective of living in Africa for several years, I think it can be described as a luxury.

My small daily steps in taking care of the planet are… in Geneva, recycling and caring for the environment are part of everyday life. It can even be considered a custom that no one disputes. The city consciously limits urban traffic in favor of bicycles or other means of transport that do not emit toxins into the environment. However, there are many small things in our everyday life:

• We use reusable containers to store food.
• We use home filters and drink tap water.
• Each member of our family has their own water bottle.
• We try to repair things instead of buying new ones. From a women's perspective, this is extremely interesting because a kind of service has appeared to renovate luxury items so that there is no need to buy a new one.

Since leaving Warsaw, my perception of needs in this aspect has changed. I consciously decide to renovate my handbags and shoes and I don't have the same pressure on shopping that I used to have.

The advice I would give myself if I were 20 again is... cultivate youthful courage in making unconventional decisions and don't let yourself be dominated by the fear of failure.

The book I recently read and recommend is... Susan Cain's "Quiet Please...". This is a book about the power of introverts in a world full of noise. The author was a lawyer who, at some point in her life, abandoned her career in a law corporation to write. Her passion, resulting from her own needs, became introversion. The book analyzes the way in which introverted people have to find their way in a world that requires constant presentation: on social media, during online business conversations, or performing live in front of large gatherings of people. This is a difficult task for introverts. The author suggests how to position yourself as an introvert at meetings that gather many people, and at the same time achieve your goals.