Five Minutes With Florence Burns
Florence Burns is one of a number of exceptional women involved in our paid hospitality training program, Many Hands. The program supports young women from refugee backgrounds who are facing barriers to employment, and is run in partnership with local creatives and industry professionals who share their skills and experience with participants.
In a very short time, Florence has managed to carve out an impressive career in the hospitality industry, most recently, working in management positions at both Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc. Florence supports Many Hands through workshops, in which she shares her wine knowledge with our program participants, and also as a front-of-house coordinator at our public events.
Last week, we checked in with Florence to see what life changes she has experienced under social isolation, and how her recent sea change is going. With her customary candour and thoughtfulness, Florence shared her tips for staying sane and inspired during lock down, and her hopes for a brighter future.
What has been the most significant change you’ve experienced since isolation? How are you feeling about it all?
The pandemic has been a catalyst of change in my life I never would have anticipated, not that any of us were exactly expecting it. From being stood down in my job (working in restaurant management) to moving out of Melbourne, and for the first time in a long time, having time to step back and reflect - without the stress of emails, a running to-do list, and the pressure to always being going.
At the beginning of this time I was grappling with what a lot of people were (still are) - the surreal anxiety towards the unknown. That feeling of “will my industry survive/ friends and I get our jobs back/ loved ones get sick”. Although this feeling is still omnipresent throughout a lot of my decision-making and goal planning, I have found an immense amount of solace in accepting that going slow, not doing things, not getting that to-do list finished, and picking up new hobbies is okay. The construction of a new reality is now, to be honest, pretty damn exciting!!
What do your days look like?
Most days are different, routine has never been my strong suit, especially in work when my start time could range from 6:30am to 5pm, and finish anytime up to 2am. I have little goals as to what I want to be grateful for at the end of each day, so I can be as flexible as possible. Being down by the beach means I am normally up getting a coffee and then running, then coming back to listen to a podcast, cooking breakfast and checking in on bits and pieces of life admin.
I am in the process of launching a new start-up which has been in the pipeline for over a year, and the shutdown of my venue meant I finally have time to have fun with it. In the afternoons I tend to get a call from family with a meeting point and time where we can run the dogs on the beach. This has been my favourite thing, I am living by myself so it would be pretty damn lonely otherwise.
The day wraps up generally with some more admin, a whole lot of cooking, watching the news, and curling up on the couch with a glass of wine.
We’re obsessed with good morning and night routines at the moment! Any advice to share?
AM= coffee!!! 8am meditation with Aspace (the studio is running online sessions every morning during the pandemic, ranging from “Classic Mediations” to groove therapy, then as much nourishing food as possible.
PM= screens off, face and body hydrated, lavender oil in a diffuser by my bed and a good book (absolutely obsessing over the villanelle series, which is what the equally amazing Killing Eve TV series is based on).
What’s helping you to stay inspired?
My family, especially my grandparents! They are in their 90s, and still sharp as lightning, so whenever I am feeling lonely, anxious or scattered, they always have some amazing wisdom to share. Also getting out in nature, I found myself becoming obsessed with news, Instagram, anything with a screen, which was causing everything to become more scattered. Dedicated time where I can step out of the “tech world” to go foraging for mushrooms, hiking, or just get some dirt on me has kept me sane(ish). My time spent going on little adventures has provoked ideas about future goals I never would have thought of.
What do you feel hopeful about?
That we will learn through this isolation the beauty of human interaction, empathy and compassion, far beyond what we ever appreciated before this! I hope we come together as we have in this crisis, to address a lot of other issues in our global, national and regional communities. So many beautiful things transform through crisis, which to me brings a lot of excitement, but I am optimistic we can stick on a positive pathway forward.