Hello, friends! I’m so glad that you’re here because I have something really exciting today. I am starting a monthly series where I will be interviewing other remote/digital nomad/work from home workers. Whether you already work remotely or are hoping to in the future, it’s great to learn from people who are doing it well.
Today I have my very first guest, Ivy Cruz. As you’ll learn in the interview, Ivy not only works remotely but also has a husband and young children which keeps her busy! Without further ado…meet Ivy!
First + Last Name
Ivy Cruz
Hometown + Current Location
Manila, Philippines
How long have you worked remotely?
I have been working for about 10 years now.
What did your life look like before you worked remotely?
Fun but struggling. I had a few jobs before I decided to go remotely. I worked at a BPO company, an English school and a music school. It was so fun being a Vocal Coach at the Center for Pop Music Philippines. It was one of the best jobs I’ve had. But, it was not enough with a growing family.
How did you learn about or decide to work remotely?
It was actually unplanned. When I got pregnant with my second baby. That was the time I decided I needed to work at home. Unlike my first born, It was a sensitive pregnancy. I couldn’t go to work and commute on a daily basis. So, my doctor advised that I could work only at home and with just few hours a day.
Describe your current work/side projects?
I am a full-time blogger and an online ESL ( English as a Second Language) teacher. I no longer teach with English companies because I went freelance two years ago. At the same time I started my blog The Wise Half.The percentage of my work as a blogger and a teacher now would be 90/10. 90%blogging and 10%teaching. It’s not that I don’t like teaching now. It’s just that with blogging I get to tell my readers more about my teaching experience for the past 10 years.
How many hours do you work in a typical day/week?
4
Do you have a set work schedule or does it change daily or weekly?
I do follow a schedule, but because I have 3 kids to juggle plus 1 big kid (My husband) there are times that I need to change my schedule and put my family first.
Do you have any favorite apps, tools, etc. to stay organized?
I’m very old fashioned. I’m more like a pen and paper kind of girl. But one of my most useful apps is Evernote. It’s like my go to app whenever I forget my schedule for the day, my to do list.
What do you like most about working remotely?
So many things. First of course is being with family. Now that we have the newest addition to our bunch, I just need to put my baby to sleep and I’m back to work. Working with PJ’s and having a coffee without a boss is such a breeze. NO traffic!!! And I couldn’t earn the money I’m earning now working a dead-end 9-5 job.
What do you wish you had known before you started out?
Hmmm. When it comes to teaching, I wish someone would’ve told me the do’s and don’ts about teaching online. Like what and what not to share with your students. That’s why I made sure I share those experiences with my readers. When It comes to blogging, I wish I would have started a lot earlier.
How do you build community or avoid loneliness while working remotely?
Teaching students of different cultures is really crazy fun. I’ve built good friendship with them. We communicate every now and then. We even send gifts on different occasions. I’m still in the process of building a community with my blog readers as I focus mainly on building traffic. One of the ways that helps me avoid loneliness while working remotely is having “me time” at least once a week. Working remotely doesn’t mean not having a day off. You need to go out too. So I either go out by myself or spend time with my family outdoors.
Favorite hobbies or ways to relax?
I love singing. There are days when everyone leaves the house. I sing to my baby to relieve stress and sing my heart out (just imagine my baby’s face, not sure if he’s happy about it not). I have one of those Bluetooth microphones you get from Ali express. The sound is not the best but it’s nice to have one at home. But one of my favorite ways to relax is starting the day right with making a cup of coffee of my choice.
When you start your day right everything will follow. Or if something unexpected happened, you don’t go crazy. How do I do it? begin my day with a prayer, thanking God for
all he has done to me, setting the mood right. Then, I follow it by I making sure I make my own coffee depending on how I feel. If I feel like today has so much writing to do and chores, I choose to have a cup of Americano. Or, if it’s raining and I feel a bit gloomy, a hot white chocolate mocha would be perfect. The aroma of coffee definitely switches my energy on every single day. So yes, don’t think twice on investing in your coffee machines and coffee beans.
Biggest struggle of working remotely?
For me it’s being overwhelmed. When I just started working, one of the biggest problems I had was being overwhelmed. You’ve got to learn to master dividing your work time with your household chores. As a mom this could be hard. Another thing would be having information overload, especially with blogging. It could be very hard to overcome when you have no schedule or to do list to follow. That’s why breaks are important. Yep, don’t sit 4 to 6 hours straight, you’re killing yourself.
Another problem, internet connection. My country may have the best beaches on the planet (having 7,500 islands so many to choose from) but the internet connection? Oh dear, especially 10 years ago. Living in a tropical country with hundreds of typhoon visits yearly. Urgh! Now, the Internet is getting better (I think). But, many years ago I got fined for having a bad connection. Oh talk about struggles.
Favorite books or podcasts?
The double hustle that erased Making Sense of Cent’s Michelle Schroeder-Gardner’s debt Podcast episode.
Ivy has also kindly included two of her most popular posts, so make sure to check these out!
Connect with Ivy on her blog!
Follow Ivy on Social Media!
