OFFICE HOURS: Megan Heddinger, Wilde House Paper
Name: Megan Heddinger
City of Residence: Currently: San Diego, California
My fiancé and I (who is also my business partner), decided to transition our team to remote and live abroad for the past year. We spent time in Australia, Bali, Japan, Hong Kong and most recently New York City. We plan to go back to Bali this December (to get married!), Japan in Spring and Europe for the Summer. While we are still renting and before starting a family, we are in this sweet spot of time where we've felt inspired to experience life in other parts of the world. It teaches you how there are so many different paths to take in living life.
How do you spend your days? (aka what do you do for work?) I'm the Founder of Wilde House Paper, a journaling brand with a mission to inspire you to actually journal. Our goal is to create tools that guide you in the process of journaling and inspire you to write in them, rather than the other journals you let sit blank. I lead all of the product design + creative direction and my partner, Connor, leads our production and business operations.
What does a typical work day look like for you? Wake up, journal, have a light breakfast, walk to a coffee shop, order an oat flat white, start with creative work (I prioritize this first thing to try to get into flow) and end with emails + meetings. Post-work, I'll move my body and cook dinner. Both of those help me decompress and are creative outlets outside of work.
Creative work entails everything from designing new products, leading creative direction for shoots, social media and email marketing, writing copy, collaborating with our community on a new initiative we launched this Summer called the Cultivating Conversations Coffee Club.
Where is your office located? Since I've been living abroad, I naturally find myself gravitating towards inspiring coffee shops as my evolving office. There is something about the collective of a coffee shop that really inspires me – that you go alone, but feel together. Also, I love good coffee, thoughtful aesthetics and vibey music while I'm working. My list of beautiful coffee shops around the world to work out of is extensive.
Here are some of my favorites:
Bali: Old Friend Coffee in Ubud, Arabica in Uluwatu
Tokyo: LATEST in Omotesando
Kyoto: Unir in Higashiyama
Hong Kong: En in SOHO
Melbourne: Industry Beans in Fitzroy
New York City: LAOBRA Studio in Bushwick
How do you keep track of your to-do list? As you can imagine, I'm someone who writes it all down. The satisfaction of crossing something off hits so much harder than when it's on my phone. I try to keep my list short and just my top 3 priorities. That way I make sure I cross those off before I add any more. Also, time blocking works wonders.
Daily work uniform, head to toe? Currently it's been a white ribbed tank, black satin pants or loose jeans and ballet flats. I love the elevated pajama look.
Must-have item in your work bag?
A mouse – when doing design work on a laptop, it's a must
A journal – To house my brainstorms, sketches or as a mental break rather than going on my phone
Noise canceling headphones – a must when working out of unpredictable places
Most productive time of day for you? The morning right after I'm a few sips into my coffee. That's typically when I can find my flow. I always try to keep everything on DND during that time to keep my focus creative.
Favorite part of having your own business? Most challenging part? My favorite part is the stories that I hear from our community about the impact that our tools have in their lives.
The most challenging is boundaries. There is no start and stop of your work day. Especially when you work with your partner and you are so passionate about what you do, your life becomes your work. Boundaries are always a work in progress, but they help.
Pet peeve about Social Media? How constant it is. It's easy to feel like you are never doing enough because of how fast everything moves and how each platform is so different. It's a strange addiction as a creator and a consumer.
Favorite mid-afternoon pick me up during a day in the office? Getting outside. I'll try to have lunch outside or switch up my work scene and take the long route to get there.
Name one thing that is always on your desk: A form of paper (a journal, notepad or planner)
Top tip(s) for entrepreneurs: Be conscious of your time and how valuable it is. It's easy to get burnt out and work at a 50% pace all day, rather than rest and work at 90% pace for shorter periods. Your time spent outside of work restoring your mind, body and soul is time well spent. It makes you a better version of yourself for your brand or business.
Also, a community-driven brand will always prevail. Community always comes first.
What’s something you do outside of work just for yourself? Working out. I played soccer growing up and Division I college soccer, so I've always been very active. As an adult, I have to make time to be active in my day and I've realized how crucial movement is for my mental health beyond just the physical results. It's a moment to prioritize me and feel really proud of myself. I love going to classes – HIIT training, pilates or yoga.
Who are you sending your next card / [love] note to? I just wrote a beautiful card to my fiancé for his 32nd birthday. Each year, I write a list titled "32 things I love about you". We've been together since college and it's been a meaningful way to capture the life moments, inside jokes and little things of the past year. Written cards are my favorite type of gift – it's rare that we find the space to tell the ones that we love the most how much they mean to us.