Joy Valerie Carrera is a digital operation and automation expert and proud Guatemalan-American Entrepreneur. She is the creator & host of Basic Brown Nerds podcast. She’s traveled to over 26 countries on her own, worked in social enterprise and advertising, and graduate of RIT. She is also the owner of CarreraDigital.io – a full-service digital marketing & advertising agency focused on ethical, sustainable, and local businesses and brands.
Location
Airmont, NY (suburbs of NYC).
What’s your favorite vegetable?
Pizza (as declared by NY).
What’s your motto?
Just make it work.
What’s your favorite book?
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
What’s your favorite exercise?
Running.
What’s your favorite Youtube Video?
Anna Akana’s Productivity Hack- How to Level Up Productivity.
What’s your favorite way to center?
Meditating.
Joy’s Daily Routine:
- 6 AM- Wake up, meditate/brush teeth
- 6:30 AM- Run
- 7:30 AM- Breakfast
- 8 AM- Break down the day
- 8:30 AM- Check phone and messages
- 9-12 PM- Work
- 12 – 1 PM- Break and eat
- 12-4 PM- Work
- 4-6 PM- Relax, leisure time
- 6-7 PM- Eat dinner
- 7-8 PM- Rock climb
- 8-10 PM- Relax
- 10:00 PM- Wind down for bed meditate turn off all tools
- 10:25 PM- Go to bed
What gets Joy Valerie Carrera out of bed every morning?
My Fitbit alarm & then the multiple alarms that ring. But also I work for myself , as an entrepreneur you need to be actively working on your business to ensure you can provide for yourself. Even more so when you have other’s working for you- their livelihood depends on you. My motivation through is knowing that what I do helps small business and in a small way is making the world a little better through more ethical, sustainable, and locally sourced consumerism – helping to literally put our money where our mouths are.
What is the most important part of your daily routine?
Planning out my day – with out my planner I fall apart. I need to think of my goal for the day and break down the steps to get there. Every goal even the smallest ones can be made simpler by just thinking out the road map to get there. This for me is important on the day to day to make sure that I am hitting my targets and stay on track. Even if it’s a simple to do list – but checking my planner is the easiest way to get there.
What is the best piece of health advice you’ve ever received?
even when you fall out of your habits and slack off, be kind to yourself and start again. You’re the only one responsible for you and it’s okay not to be perfect.
Describe your sleep ritual. What time do you go to bed?
I have trouble sleeping so have gotten myself into a routine to let my brain know it’s time for bed. I don’t have my phone or laptop in my bedroom – which is hard to disconnect from but let’s me unwind easier. I set my alarms for the morning, I spray lavender oil by my bed and pillow. I have a weighted blanket and crawl into bed. Then I play a 10-20 minute meditation to help me fall asleep. If I have traveled a lot and jet-lagged I do “cheat” a bit and take a melatonin about an hour before I need to be in bed.
Tell us about a time you were stuck in an unhealthy cycle and how you got out of it. What was the main inspiration for positive change?
I struggle with ADHD, so I need lots of structure when I fall out of my cycles I go off the deep end. What I’ve found helps is to write to keep track of my habits but also check in with my friends force myself to socialize, check back in with my planner, and check back in with my doctors and therapists to get back into the good habits. Also recognizing to pick yourself up again is OKAY.
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Joy Valerie Carrera is a creative podcaster and entrepreneur.