A Day With Designer Nisha Prasad

6:00am: On days that I'm working, I wake up at on my own at 6 am. There's something really nice about your body waking up on its own and not a blasting alarm. First thing I do is brush my teeth, shower, and then sit myself on the floor and meditate. Some days its for 40 minutes, others it's as little as 10, depending on if I'll leave my hair natural, hah! It's hard to predict what the day will be like, but it's important for me to try and get centered before it all begins.

7:00am: Getting ready for work involves music that stirs the soul. Whether its Billie Holiday or Lana Del Rey or Late Mangeshkar, I start the day with a soulful woman in my ears. My drive to work usually involves listening to podcasts, specifically entrepreneurial podcasts. Right now I've been going through the "How I Built This" series with Guy Raz on NPR. So inspiring.

9:00am: First thing I do at work is I print out my one page productivity planner for the day. It helps me organize priorities for each project as well as people I need to reach out, people I'm waiting on, and things I have to complete no matter what. I'm a lists kind of girl, and I need to check things off. I usually start with what I hate the most, which is e-mails and phone calls. After that, I put on one of my playlists on Spotify and dive right into design & production.

1:00pm: I have been bad working through lunch and eating at my desk, but have really made a point to take a break. The hour is really important to re-charge for the next portion of the day.

2:00pm: If I can, I try to schedule meetings whether internally or with clients/consultants for right after lunch. I always feel like folks are in a better mood to meet after they had some time out of the office.

7:00pm: Last thing I do is go through my productivity sheet, see what I didn't get to, and it helps me gauge what I need to start with tomorrow. I take things one day at a time, and I know I'm only one person. I've been pretty good about trying to stop work by 7 pm. I'll turn my work emails off and won't engage until the next day - but it's something I have to force myself to do.

8:00pm: Instantpot! Everyone who works should have one, it’s a time saver. I'll typically throw in some chicken into the instant pot, set it, and go for a bike ride and do some yoga. When I get back, I'll steam or roast some veggies, and eat dinner.

9:00pm: To wind down, I shower the stress of the day off of me, and then I FaceTime family and friends. I grab a book to read for a little.

10:00pm: I try really hard to get in bed by 10 and keep a consistent sleep cycle.

Nisha in the James Turrell art volume with colleagues.