Ali Angco, tech product designer & homebody

An interview with Ali Angco about her life as a tech product designer in Canada.

Watch or listen to the full Homelife for Extraordinary Impact interview on all major podcast platforms and YouTube.

You can also read her written responses below but first…

Connect with Ali Angco on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and her website.

What are some of the places that have most felt like home for you?

Milton, Canada - My tiny suburb near Toronto where I live with my parents

Vancouver, Canada - My outdoorsy second home since my boyfriend lives there

Montreal, Canada - My muse! I try to visit Montreal during the fall to get creative inspiration and to practice my French.

Paint a picture of a home walkthrough for us. You arrive home and what…

I live in my childhood home still (but I'm prepping a move in the coming year). Every time you walk into our home, you'll notice that it has a few custom details - all thanks to my mum and dad's summer projects. You'll see cedar ceilings in the kitchen, plants, and there's always food on the kitchen island.

On weekdays, I'm alone at home since I work from home. But on weekends, everyone is home. My mom and I love to cook so we're usually cooking something in the kitchen.

What do you see as the link between your professional expertise and home?

My home is where I can relax and be myself. This is where I work, nourish my body and soul, and it's where I can explore creative hobbies. This is where I read, study french, try recipes, and have deep conversations with my family. This is also where I can take care of myself through self-care rituals and prayer.

When home is going really great, what does it look like and feel like? How do you feel?

It looks clean, organized, and open.

What are the things that throw your homelife sideways? How do you feel when that happens?

Homelife feels a bit sideways when I come back from a trip. This means having to unpack and restarting my daily habits. I'm a very habitual person, and I try to keep that up regardless of which city I'm in. But there's always a "restart" process I have to take. This includes getting used to the timezone, unpacking, laundry, a grocery run, and finally sleeping on time.

It can feel uncomfortable and not like a place of rest, but I know I gotta stick to it to continue.

What are important daily, weekly, or otherwise regular rhythms important for you to keep a great homelife?

Daily - 6AM Gym session where I lift weights and daily prayer (reading the Bible or going to church)

Weekly - Go to church with my family

Every weekend - Facetime date with my boyfriend

What’s a prized possession of yours or one of your favorite home purchases?

My Sony Headphones - I live with 3 other people in my house and I need my noise-cancelling headphones to focus on things that I'm doing. I actually love to wear them while I read. I play some ambient reading music in the background and read on my Kobo e-reader.

What's one thing you do or unique hack that helps you in homelife?

I fully rest on Sundays. I'm not allowed to open my macbook unless it's to stream a movie. I start this routine on Saturday evening actually. I go to church on Saturday evenings for mass (I guess this is hard to explain but some Catholics know that you can go to mass on Saturday evening and that counts as Sunday mass.)

After mass, I consider that the start of my rest day. I can only spend time with loved ones, read, watch a movie, journal, or go for a walk. This helps me feel like I actually rested on during the weekends rather than feeling depleted on Monday morning."

We had a ton of fun talking! Thanks again to Ali for the interview!

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