Behind the desks of successful women: Eleanor Pendleton

In the lead up to our biggest event of the year, we’re taking a peek behind the desks of the influential women speaking at 9 to Thrive (in just two weeks time! Have you got your ticket yet?). We’ll ask them everything from how much coffee they drink to their best productivity hacks to how many tabs they have open on their computers right now. To kick things off, we get the nitty gritty with beauty entrepreneur and founder of Gritty Pretty, Eleanor Pendleton.

What time of day do you do your best work?

Early morning – around 6-7AM (before everyone else jumps online). I will often work from home in the mornings then drive to the office after 9AM so I miss peak hour traffic. It’s not just one of the perks of being my own boss – flexible working hours is something I encourage for my team. Whether they start at 7AM or 10AM, so long as they’re doing their 8-hours of work each day, I think it’s important to be flexible as an employer.

What’s the first thing you do when you sit at your desk in the morning?

The first thing I do when I wake up is check my emails in bed. I filter anything urgent that has come in overnight from overseas. Once I’m sitting at my desk, I write a fresh to-do list – I write a new one every single day. I’ll check my personal calendar (for my morning meetings) and Gritty Pretty’s content calendar before diving straight into more emails or a team WIP.

9 to Thrive

How do you structure your day?

No two days are ever the same for me. Yesterday, I was shooting in Manly and spent the rest of the afternoon working from home. This morning, I was up at 5AM and was on set of a Gritty Pretty shoot in Surry Hills. Now, I’m in the office powering through the rest of my day. Whenever I can, I try to plan my meetings for the start of the day when I’m more alert.

What’s one thing that’s always on your desk/in your office?

Beauty products – it’s usually overflowing with them! I also have my hard diary from An Organised Life, my hard drive and my dictaphone.

How many tabs do you have open on your computer?

Seven on my computer and 763 in my brain.

What’s the weirdest thing on your desk right now?

They aren’t weird but perhaps they’re unusual – I keep crystals on my desk. I keep rose quartz for calm, positive energy and calcite to amplify learning and encourage prosperity. Yellow calcite is said to help you achieve your goals and help build a financially secure future. As a business owner, it’s said it can bring you good luck, especially if your business is one that makes use of your natural talents.

How do you make sure you drink enough water throughout the day?

I keep a water jug on my desk and re-fill it regularly. I also keep a bottle of The Beauty Chef Collagen Inner Beauty Boost on my desk and mix 15mls of that into a glass of water every morning.

How many cups of coffee do you drink?

Two – any more and I’d have heart palpitations.

What apps and tech can’t you live without:

Apps: Instagram, Facebook, UNUM, Lightroom, Snapseed, Qantas, CommBank, Dropbox, Google Drive, Vive Active, Skyscanner, 8mm, Flo.

Tech: My laptop and phone.

Where’s the weirdest place your work has taken you?

Does visiting a greenhouse in the middle of Iceland count? I just returned from a press trip to Iceland with Icelandic skin care company, BIOEFFECT. Throughout my career, I’ve also swum with dolphins, gone on safari with elephants and skiing at Club Med Peisey-Vallandry in the French Alps.

How do you keep your day on track?

To do lists – they keep me sane. I also send a lot of emails to myself.

How much time do you spend on social media every week?

I don’t want to know…

What do you do to forget about work? How do you recharge?

I love doing Reformer Pilates classes at my local Pilates studio, Vive Active. I try to do 3 classes a week. On Saturdays, I start my day with 7AM pilates or yoga followed by breakfast and coffee with my husband. We will usually spend our day off at the beach swimming, snorkelling or surfing. The ocean is the one place I can switch off and recalibrate.