February 17, 2022

hey there :) i'm olivia

an intro to my newsletter on career and productivity advice through the lens of sports social

I have to level with you.

I was scared to put my words out here. If you know me, that claim may seem untrue. I'm pretty quick to offer an opinion on why a company’s social strategy should head in direction X, why that restaurant is overrated and why Derek Jeter was a bad fielder.

But, even though I had the itch to start writing in this format, I felt that I didn’t have much expertise to offer people beyond those first breaking into the industry. Classic imposter syndrome.

I’ve been grinding in sports social for the past 10+ years. I’ve worked hard and intentionally to grow as a leader and productive employee in the sports social space. I’ve climbed my way up the chain and have studied both in and out of the classroom to make myself a better employee and manager.

Currently, I’m a VP at a sports startup called The Game Day and an MBA candidate at Johns Hopkins University. I've also been working 15+ hours/week as a TA. Combining work and school has made me very busy. (I am also well-aware that I have the experience of generally being able to prioritize myself over children, parents etc.)

While I have gathered so much from books, the classroom and the meeting room, a lot of what I’ll be sharing here is from what I've learned when my back was against the wall. At times, I’ve found myself wildly overwhelmed with the amount of work piled on my plate. I’ve dialed into class meetings double-booked while covering a sporting event. I’ve looked at to-do lists with paralysis.

But sometimes you just have to start.

In addition to learning hard marketing and social skills over the years, I’ve worked to hone in on my soft skills, particularly how to maximize my time and become a more productive leader. And now I want to pay it forward.

This newsletter/blog is just the start and an outlet for me to put tactical tips I’ve implemented into your inbox. Since I've spent my entire career in sports and sports media, there will also be a lot of sports stories mixed in.

Along the way, I'll address top questions I've tackled over the years: How can I stop wasting time? Why am I so reluctant to just start a project? How can I minimize distractions? These are all things I've asked myself (to be honest, they're probably questions I've screamed out loud in frustration,) and now I have answers that I am excited to pass along.

Here’s what I can promise you:

• These newsletters will contain practical help: I’m not a professional educator. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but over the years, I’ve worked to find tactical ways to maximize my time and work smarter, not harder.

• Brevity: When it comes to meetings, I’m always the one with the briefest updates. I come prepared and rarely ramble. I know you’re busy. This is a newsletter mainly about productivity, so I’ll get to the point.

• I will continue to learn every day to pay it forward: I pride myself on being a lifelong learner. Writing this newsletter will keep me accountable to stay curious and keep moving forward.

Part of being a productive leader is having a roadmap in place, so I plan to start next week’s newsletter with a practical note on how to write better to-do lists. But, like everything we’ve learned so far, the direction is subject to change. :)

Thank you, and let’s get to it.

Olivia

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