I am Marcus Christiansen, and This is How I Work as a Parent

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing coach Marcus Christiansen. Marcus is a coach living in Bangkok, Thailand, who helps professionals find work-life balance, inner peace and happiness by helping them grow to be their authentic self, achieve their goals and become better versions of themselves. He does this through a combination of diverse coaching skills supported by two (2) decades of management and executive experience, personal and professional experience in finding balance, inner peace and happiness and the experience of transitioning between jobs, companies, countries and continents. Marcus The Coach was founded in 2020 from the desire to coach and help people and organizations align with their purpose and achieve their goals. Expanding on what has been a significant part of his journey the past decade. His journey started in hospitality where he has done everything from making pizzas and cleaning tables to leading teams at world-class resorts and ensuring consistent improvement in the guest experience for one of the top 10 hotel companies in the world. His journey has so far taken him to live and work in more than 8 countries and he has at the same time worked closely with teams all across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Marcus is certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as a Coach, the American Board of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as an NLP Coach and NLP Practitioner and the Time Line Therapy Association as a Time Line Therapist. Marcus mentions that “my passion for coaching and helping you achieve your goals is unparallel and I look forward to sharing it with you.” You can read more about Marcus on his website or find him on LinkedIn.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?

What does your workspace setup look like? 

Home office (MacBook, wireless keyboard and mouse, large screen) 

What is your best advice for productive academic work? 

Focus on topics that aligns with your value and life purpose. Schedule your week in advance, not only appointments, but tasks needed to be done. 

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks? 

Trello, Calendar 

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life? 

 iPad Pro, screen 

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic? 

Organization skills

What do you listen to when you work? 

Podcasts, music 

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading? 

Reading The Prosperous Coach, schedule the time 

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits? 

Introvert. Prefer to work in quiet environment, but also great at team work. 

What’s your sleep routine like? Has it changed significantly since becoming a parent? 

Sleep 10/11pm – 6/7am. Since becoming a parent, go to bed earlier. 

What’s your work routine like? 

Work 6/7am – 7pm (since I have home office I take 3 breaks during the day to spend with my family) 

How is it like to be a parent where you work? Are your colleagues supportive and understanding? 

My own business work from home. 

How much maternity or paternity leave (if any) did you get and was it paid leave? 

In my previous company I got 1 week paternal leave, my wife got 5 month maternity leave from her company 

Which childcare services are you using? Does university provide support in finding and funding childcare? 

We have a live in nanny, weekly go to English class and gymnastic classes 

How is your parenting style? 

Allowing my child to express herself within set frame work. Strict when boundaries are being pushed. 

What’s the best advice you ever received? 

No matter what happens, ask yourself: “What is/could be good about this?” There is always an answer.