Conversation with Vestalia Chilton
Founding Director of Kensington + Chelsea Art Week
Do you have any advice for our members regarding maintaining work and productivity when working from home?
I read somewhere, that after analysing a huge amount of twitter data it was established that our minds work best after 10am and the afternoons are more effectively spent on more interactive, social commitments. I find that this is very much in line with my own clock, starting my days at 7am I really get going at 9am with full-throttle around 10am. I set a structure to my day (especially so during lockdown) where the mornings are dedicated to planning, taking in and processing information, quiet work (if permitted by circumstances), and afternoons are left to zoom calls and telephone calls. I fit in 1 hour of walking or running at the end of each working day and usually squeeze in some learning by whichever means available, usually via audio books, radio, podcasts. Because I have a young family I try not to work after 6pm and in return, this allows for better sleep. Through many years of experience, I found that working late into the evenings tends to raise anxiety and results in sleepless nights. No one wants that!
Are there any inspiring quotes that have resonated with you this past year?
"Places without people are just places"
This was said during our project with the Great Exhibition Road Festival 'Fantasies of Exhibition Road' at our talk with Imperial College by artist Remi Rough.
Have there been any books that you have read that you would recommend to the rest of our membership base?
Apologies - I have more than one to recommend ... I've just finished 'Reboot' by Jerry Colona which was recommended by one of your participating speakers during an AWITA talk. I wanted to flag this up to thank you! It was a very good suggestion. I absolutely loved reading 'Letter to My Daughter' by: Maya Angelou, and I never get tired of Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.