Daisy Shayler
Daisy Shayler is ¼ of the Reasons to Be Cheerful team, a platform borne out of Lockdown 1.
We love the Shaylers and we love Reasons to Be Cheerful, which spreads positivity and stories of inspiration, joy and creativity through their blog, social platforms, online sessions, books, newspapers and zines.
Fire away, Daisy.
Photo by Tom DolmanPlease tell us what your role in the business is?
I always say my role is to run our social media, but it’s actually a lot more than that. As well as running our Instagram, I commission creatives to help with our blog content and our publications, and I work really closely with the whole team on putting these publications together. I also answer a lot of emails and write our newsletter.
Where do you do most of your work?
At the moment I work mainly while my 2 year old is napping, so where I work changes daily! It can be from bed with Juni asleep next to me, from a bench in the park or occasionally in the studio with everyone else if I can find someone to babysit.
How many people do you work with closely on a day-to-day basis?
Reasons to be Cheerful is run by my parents (Nic and Mark), myself and my sister Tilly. My husband Tom also helps us shoot content. I mainly work with Tilly and Nic, but we have weekly team meetings too.
What is the biggest challenge that you face at work every day?
Finding the time to get everything done!
Talk us through lunch. A sandwich at your desk or a full hour in the park?
Lunch is usually a rushed affair, and a very early one too. I eat with Juni around 11.30am before she goes to sleep. It’s often a sandwich or tomato pasta.
What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that you wish you’d known when you started your career?
That you don’t have to be ‘qualified’ or have experience in what you’re doing, you just need to have the confidence to do it.
Email. Friend or foe?
Friend! I love emailing.
Do you use a digital or paper To Do List? And how effective are you at getting everything done?
Both, I often have 5 or 6 lists on the go and I’m usually chasing my tail to get everything ticked off.
Do you leave work at a set time each day?
I feel like I never leave work. Partly because this is a family business, so we talk about it a lot out of traditional working hours, and partly because I work from my phone so I am always trying to squeeze work in when I get a spare 5 minutes.
How do you relax? Do you look after yourself properly?
Taking a long bath, doing yoga or watching some sort of crime or police TV show in bed. My resolution this year was to not be one of those Mums that never takes time for herself. It’s surprisingly hard to take the time to look after myself as well as I look after Juni, but I’m working on it.
How confident are you about the future of your business?
Actually very confident. We managed to make a business out of a very hard year and I think we’ve all learned a lot from it. Reasons to be Cheerful started as our side project and has now become the thing that takes up most of our time, which can only be a good thing!
What is your secret time-wasting technique at your desk?
Instagram, always!
Do you listen to music as you work and if so, what has been playing today?
No, usually because I’m talking through things with Tilly or Nic or I’m having to be quiet because Juni is sleeping next to me. Juni sleeps with white noise on and I actually find it makes me get lots of work done as it blocks out any distractions!
