Montmartre is my favorite district in Paris. It feels like a charming small village, with everything you could ever want within walking distance: cheese shops, bakeries, butcher shops, markets filled with fresh fish and produce, cafés, bistros, restaurants, and more, many of them owned by friends and close acquaintances. Everyone knows and cares about each other—simply walk by a bistro and you’ll likely see a neighbor who will invite you to join them for a glass of wine. 

As someone who loves good food, walking, and building relationships with friends and colleagues, living in Montmartre is a dream come true, and I make the most of it every day. My friends even call me the Baron de Montmartre. But before Dropbox went Virtual First, it wasn’t as easy for me to enjoy living in this beautiful district.

I’ve worked at Dropbox for over four years, and before the pandemic, I used to take a 30 minute scooter ride every day to our Parisian office. It was difficult to have full control over my agenda. But now that I work 100% from home with the exception of occasional team meetings, Dropbox has empowered me to structure my day in a non-linear way and adapt my work time to my life—not the opposite.

Every week, I block the first hour of each workday for brain space and to prepare for my day. During this time, no one is allowed to set up meetings on my calendar. I also totally disconnect at least 1.5 hours each day for lunch, which used to be spent at a restaurant daily. But now I eat fresh food at home instead, which has been much healthier for me! 

I spend an hour of my lunch time walking around Montmartre. This is key for my well-being—I listen to books, podcasts, news or relaxing music as I’m walking. I’m able to get some distance from my work, while also getting fresh air and energy, and I often find new ideas and solutions for my challenges at work when I return. 

After I come back from lunch, three afternoons each week are blocked for focus time on individual work, and I don’t take any meetings after 6:30 PM, which is when I have family time with my daughter. I also get to walk her to and from school every day, and have lunch with her twice a week—something I only dreamed of when I had to go into an office every day.

Other priorities in my life that I couldn’t practice before have also become possible while working Virtual First. I was able to start intermittent fasting three days a week for 18 hours a day, which would not have been possible in an office environment. I plan to go to the gym three to four days a week which was not possible before. I can go to the local farmers market on Wednesday morning to pick up fresh food for the week. I even sold my scooter, and am able to get everywhere I need to go in my district with less impact on the environment.

Traveling has also become much easier working for Dropbox. I’m from Montreal, Canada, and when the pandemic slowed down, Virtual First allowed me to go back to Montreal and work three weeks from my parents’ place, spending time with them without having to use three weeks of vacation time. I could work part of the day and enjoy my family every day after not seeing them for two years. And this summer, I took two weeks off in July to relax in the sun by the pool in Southern France with my partner and my daughter, and in August, we took another two weeks to go to Canada to spend time with family. I took these four weeks off totally unplugged without my laptop, and Dropbox even disconnected me from all my work mobile apps (calendar, Zoom, Slack, and emails), which is an option we can request when we book vacations in our HR system.  

Of course, working at Dropbox has many more benefits to me outside of just Virtual First. We have a company-wide PTO day every month, and I’ve used these long weekends to go to Mont-Blanc for a three-day ski session with my best friends, or to visit and work from friends’ houses in the countryside in Southern France. In August and September, I used these days to prepare my daughter to go back to school

We also have access to a yearly Perks Allowance that we can spend on what matters most to us - whether that’s wellness, childcare support, productivity, ergonomics or learning for example. I used mine toward our nanny costs so that I could have more time with my partner. This has allowed us to have time together on Wednesdays nights to have a glass of wine and relax in order to finish the week strong. We also go out in our favorite restaurants in Montmartre every Friday night, either just the two of us or with friends. It’s very important to us to have these moments together, and we have them thanks to Dropbox!

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