We had the good fortune of connecting with Milka Amanda P. W and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Milka Amanda, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work / Life balance is a very important topic to discuss because of its impact on productivity, health, and quality of life.

Right after I graduated college, I was working a 9-5 job in an office in Woodland Hills. As a free-spirited soul, I balanced that life by going on a car road trip mostly up north from LA or even exploring most LA areas.

3 years ago I decided to fly back to Indonesia and chose to stay in Bali as a digital nomad. I was very new to it and one of the biggest advantages to me as a digital nomad is the freedom that comes with it. But balancing as a freelancer sometimes isn’t always an easy task, sometimes you can get lost, and harder to stay disciplined.

Even though I’m being location independent, I still set up a realistic work schedule just like if I would be working in the office. Wake up early, get some work out in, eat healthily, have my work organized, set small goals every day then finally set a time for a proper break.

On this day I’m very happy to be where I am at. I managed to balance work and leisure at the same time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m very proud of what I do as a naturally talented or creative person. It leads me to so many opportunities in life. For example, I’m balancing life as a travel content creator but also doing brand design and lead designer for a tech startup, sometimes I get the opportunity for modeling for brands as well.

It wasn’t started that way, there were so many sacrifices and rejections especially in the beginning when building your brand or portfolio. Many trials and errors.

Also, I think the challenges are balancing between those three because even though I love my work, I can still feel burnout from time to time. I think my story is about how to have faith and achieve your dreams or bucket list life that you always wanted.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have so many favorite places to share but I would like to show them my best glimpse or highlight of LA.

Grand Central Market to grab some lunch. Visiting the Broad Museum. Get ready to watch 360 degrees view of LA at the Open Air Observation Deck at OUE SkySpace (mostly breathtaking during sunset). We will end the night with a speakeasy at Varnish or The Normandie Club.

From the West Hollywood area, we will visit my favorite place to get some iced matcha latte at Alfred’s. Then we would go for a sunset hike at Runyon Canyon. Then watch the LA night skyline from Griffth Observatory. Perhaps some In-n-Out for late-night cravings.

Santa Monica, we could eat sushi for lunch at Sugarfish or check out the Farmers Market (held on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday), walk on the Third St Promenade and then stroll on the Santa Monica pier and beach. In the late afternoon, we drive along the coast to Malibu, we grab a smoothie bowl to go from SunLife to watch the breathtaking sunset along Pacific Coast Highway.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am thankful for everyone I have ever come across on the road that taught me life lessons and great opportunities that somehow took me to the path of achieving my dream.

I would give my biggest shout-out to my parents, especially my mother whom has always been my biggest supporter as she knows that I’m a dreamer and always work hard to make it happen.

I read lots of books and one of my favorites is called “Eat, Pray, Love”–you can already tell from the title that it’s about one woman’s search for everything. Also ‘The Alchemist’–it’s a fable about following your dream.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/milkaapw

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/milkaamanda

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@milkaapw

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