Work Life Balance: Working From Home

• Who are you?

Hi – I am Maia, trying to find work life balance working from home and at the same time exploring Austria as my new home.  I am also a mother to a beautiful daughter!  Skiing, hiking, biking, yoga, running, swimming, tennis, and ascending mountains are among many of the activities that I enjoy. I love sophisticated food, wine, vegetarian or vegan cuisine. Travel is my passion – so many places to see, so little time!

• Where are you from? What is your journey?

I was born in Russia, then moved to the United States and spent there all of my adult life. A couple years ago an opportunity presented itself for our family to live in Europe. We have chosen Tyrol, Austria because it’s very beautiful and it is literally is the center of Europe geographically. It’s a perfect starting point to explore Europe.

• What do you want to share with the world about your family?

I love my family and I think it’s the best. I love the fact that we are so international and diverse.  Our passports are American; we speak English, Russian, German, and some Tyrolean dialect (our 5-year old daughter).  By her fifth year of age, our daughter already visited 10 countries and flew over the Atlantic 6 times. If we are not skiing, you can probably find us somewhere on a mountain.

• What is your professional role? What propels your desire to succeed professionally?

I am an economic forecaster and a strategy consultant. I have an undergraduate degree in economics, an MBA in Finance, and a Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation Management. I work from home on many exciting projects and also co-author a bi-monthly economic publication. This blog is my attempt to write about things that are a bit more different than economics.

I love seeing my econometric models come together and producing an accurate result. I take pride in being able to validate things through data. I think all important decisions should be supported by numbers and data and I enjoying bending that data to find the right solution. I also think working with numbers helps my brain stay young and sharp.

• What are the 3 hardest things, when you are switching between the 2 roles: being mommy and being a professional?

1. I find it hard to concentrate when my daughter is at home. I can only work when she is in Kindergarten or when she is asleep late at night.
2. When I work from home, I always have to suppress the desire to start cleaning or cooking something. I think it’s just procrastination….
3. I work for an American company but after living in Austria for 2 years, I acquired a little bit of a relaxed attitude that is not so acceptable in the U.S. To be exact, I don’t try to answer all work e-mails within two hours of their arrival. And my excuse to that – time difference!

• What are the 3 things that keep you going?

1. My family and my daughter. I want us to be the best and the happiest family out there.
2. I have a chance to experience so to say “retirement” not even being 40 years old yet. Most people work all their life to be able to travel the world when they are older. I am living the dream now.
3. So much to do, so many places to see!

• What is close to your heart?

My family and all the wonderful friends that I met living in different parts of the world. Chicago has also a special place in my heart. I think it’s one of the best cities in the world!