"Take a deep breath, count to ten, make a cuppa and re-group."

Describe your perfect day at work

A perfect day in work for me would be at an actual event such as an exhibition promoting Wales for Business Events. Being on an event floor with peers, industry greats, suppliers and buyers, in the thick of event chatter and meetings, learning making new connections, reconnecting with others and planning a follow up to entice! That to me is why I do what I do. We are a people industry. Feeding off each other’s energy and passion for events and place showcasing.

How do you respond when your day gets off to a bad start?

Take a deep breath, count to ten, make a cuppa and re-group. Look at the bad start as a hiccup or a mere little hurdle and figure out a way around it!

I’ve learnt over the years to compartmentalise where I can – store issues for when it’s appropriate to deal with them – until then, park them and carry on with the things you can influence, impact and change!

Our jobs should challenge us, not drain us.

Do you have any work rituals?

Not obsessive ones, but I do tend to check my emails every Sunday night so that I know what to expect on a Monday morning and equally when back from leave or holiday – I always like to be on top of emails and communications early doors so that there are no surprises!

I have a strong work ethic and am a stickler for courtesy in all that we do. I apply this to most if not all tasks. Is that a ritual to always do my best and strive for better? If so, that’s my daily ritual!

What’s your work Spotify playlists?

Old school shuffle of iTunes. I like quiet background noise as I work out of my garden shed with either BBC Radio 2 or BBC Radio Wales on in the background.

When travelling for events, then the tunes are more prominent and always include some Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, with a sprinkling of some country and classical! An eclectic mix! For motivation, they need to be anthemic tunes with a strong chorus and a key change is a bonus!

How do you unwind?

With a spin class or some cleaning! The satisfaction at the end of both is the best unwinding process.

How do you stay focused?

I am quite a disciplined person thankfully and have learnt how to balance life vs work.

Naturally we all get distracted from time to time – and the best re-set for me is writing lists and referring to them. The art of physically writing down tasks and scribbling them out when completed or achieved is so satisfying. (you don’t get the same impact by deleting digi notes from your phone).

At times, I also have to have ‘self-chats’ to keep myself on- track if I feel myself veering towards other things. I also think in our jobs doing destination place making, we are constantly juggling so many elements, so there is always variety that can be distracting – but keep coming back to those written list! And there’s a fresh list every day!

How many meetings do you have every day?

Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be back-to-back with meetings – could be up to six meetings a day. Balance out with a calmer Monday and Friday to concentrate on doing good things and catching up with admin and core work!

Delegator or doer?

Very much a doer to my own detriment. Need to learn the art of delegating! We are a small team at Meet In Wales so it’s all hands-on deck at all times. But the variety is rewarding as well as challenging.

WFH - triumph or disaster?

A mix of both. Good for space, quiet and focus. Bad for engagement, interactive collaboration and live interaction. The solution is a mix of both.

What song gets you motivated no matter what?

It’s the motivational training montage from Rocky IV movie (song by Vince DiCola) where Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) do their pre match training rituals! It’s anthemic and guaranteed to give a good push forward regardless.

What’s your dream job?

I think I’m doing it. Representing my country, sharing our story, products, and reasons to come to Wales – it’s in my soul. Wales is my home and I am very proud of being able to play my small part in its success. We don’t get a cap like footballers and rugby players to represent our nation, but the pride remains the same!