I first got introduced to Emilia by my friend Kas Szatylowicz (thanks Kas 👋).
Emilia Korczynska is brilliant. She’s the Head of Marketing at Userpilot and a product marketing enthusiast. She has experience working with several SaaS companies both as a marketer and a co-founder. Her passion for content marketing, SEO and SaaS products led her to build Userpilot’s entire content operations, hiring system, and documentation from the ground up.
Being the Head of anything is no joke. You are accountable for all the results while constantly being pulled in different directions. I asked Emilia to share some of the strategies she uses to stay on top of her work and her team.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
- Why the “1% better every day” rhetoric can be damaging
- A simple tool for helping you time block your calendar
- How to stay focused with ‘deep focus’ days
Here’s my (short) interview with Emilia:
What does your work routine look like? Describe your typical day.
It’s probably quite untypical. I’m not a morning person at all and after trying for years I just gave up and adjusted my day (and expectations!) to my chronotype.
I wake up around 9:30am, make coffee, and start work around 10am. I work from home till about lunchtime, and try to accomplish a specific task by then. After that I might go for a quick run, shower, and walk to a co-working space for the rest of the day. I usually have meetings until late afternoon.
I eat dinner with my partner after that, and then try to pack in some more focused work, reading, or I may go to meet some friends before calling it a day.
Editor’s note: I’ve written about the importance of understanding your own energy levels and how to create a schedule that works to maximize your peak energy periods. Like Emilia said, you must adjust your day to your chronotype.
What’s your secret to an effective remote work setup?
I’m not a big fan of working from home all the time to be honest. I need a separate space to work, ideally away from home so I can have some routine and I’m prompted to leave the house. At the same time, it should ideally be a walking distance, to avoid wasting time on commuting. My ideal remote work setup is mixing up working from home and a co-working space.
What helps you stay focused?
Blocking my calendar 100%. I have 2 ‘deep focus’ days per week when I don’t take any meetings.
What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed?
I go for a run, reduce my expectations, and try to be kind to myself.
We tend to be obsessed with constant growth and the “1% better every day” rhetoric is, in my opinion, damaging. Better at what? Even in the professional context, in a field as broad as marketing, you can’t constantly improve. It’s not linear. You will be improving at what you focus on, but at the same time – you will inevitably be falling behind with something you don’t focus on. And that’s fine.
You need to just accept it, document, and delegate what you’ve already mastered and created a process for.
How do you help your team prioritize effectively?
The Pareto rule – focusing 80% of our efforts on the 20% of activities that bring the largest results. Of course – one needs to know what that is. So measuring the effectiveness of different marketing initiatives and keeping tabs on which channels convert the most is critical.
How do you strike the right balance between remote work and life?
Haha I’m still trying to learn. Scheduling time for different activities helps keep one accountable. I need to make sure I make a habit of running regularly, eating healthy, etc.
What book or podcast has helped you the most?
I would definitely recommend everyone reads ‘Atomic Habits’.
We tend to focus too much on the goals in sight, not on the small everyday habits that would take us there. – Emilia
Editor’s note: Atomic Habits is one of my all-time favorite books as well. See it on my list of 50+ books all marketers and leaders should read.
Share one favorite productivity tool or tip.
Blocking your calendar – there’s even a tool for that, called Reclaim that will do it for you.
Editor’s note: you can try Reclaim for free until March 2022!
Any parting advice for remote workers?
Try to switch up your workplace every now and then 🙂
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Thank you Emilia!
You can find Emilia on LinkedIn.
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