Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
My name is Bergrun Iris Saevarsdottir . I’m an Icelandic multi-tasker (illustrator, artist, journalist, lyricist, mother and dreamer).
Your current job :
Mostly freelance illustrating and painting. I work mainly for Icelandic publications and individuals.
In which city are you located?
Hafnafjörður, a lovely town close to Reykjavik, Iceland.
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Alert and well organized.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
My Macbook Pro, graphic tablet, paper, pens and colored pencils. Also my paint and beautiful brushes.
What does your office space look like?
It’s very personal, often quite chaotic looking allthough there’s order in the chaos. When I clean up between projects and can finally see some of my desk again.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working ?
Classical music, because it helpes me focus. These days a lot of Chopin.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
I’m addicted to to-do-lists and get a strange rush while crossing things out.
What tips would you give to improve productivity ?
Divide big projects in to smaller ones. That way you can see the small milestones on your journey to finishing a project.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
Not better… just different.
What is the best advice anyone has given you ?
You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love – Jim Carrey. Not really an advice given to me, but I stumbled upon a speech he gave at a graduation on YouTube and these wise words gave me the courage to quit my day job and take a huge but already a very rewarding risk.
What is your best tip for saving time ?
Log off! Log off Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc., at least for a few hours, and you’ll be surprised how much work you get done.
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
I get up, get dressed, get comphy in my workspace and start creating. Since my workspace is in my home, I have to be very careful not to clean my kitchen, do a load of loundry and other housework that might be waiting. At the end of the day I usually feel like I could go on working for hours but when my 4 year old comes home from kindergarten it’s time to put down the pencil. (I sometimes keep working at night once he’s gone to bed though).
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go ?
My oversized “pencilbox”; full of wonderful colors, pens, pencils and brushes.