Olga Shirokova, founder and CEO at AURA.
Olga Shirokova, Russia, entrepreneur, business and web developer and startup advisor. Founder and CEO at AURA.
I love creating things from the ground up to make people’s lives a little better. Putting together my experience in business and programming I have now created AURA to transform the period into a personal ritual of every woman.
I hate Mondays. My creativity, productivity and motivation change from Tuesday to Thursday. I am also a solo-preneur, which means I have to do all kinds of work. For this reason I organize all the days of the week differently: strategic Mondays, bizdev Tuesdays, marketing Wednesdays, operational Thursdays and developer Fridays. This is an example of one of my calm days. I wish all my days were more “typical,” but most days involve a dose of chaos and unpredictability.
Let’s say it’s Tuesday...
6:30 Wake up. This had always been a challenge, until I decided to understand sleep, learned about sleep cycles and found my time—6:30 it is.
7:00-8:00 I do Iyengar Yoga before work, it makes me more productive, confident and helps think clearer. “When you doubt, do a headstand,” my teacher says. Incorporating meditation is my next challenge.
8:00-8:30 Russian power breakfast on the terrace: grechka in Russian (buckwheat) is the best breakfast ever. Toasted buckwheat (found in any Russian store) is cooked like rice with some yogurt and salt on top (olive oil or butter with salt is also great) and you have a healthy, energy-bomb breakfast.
8:30-9:00 My turn to walk the star of the house Rocky. He makes my mornings when the walk becomes a ball-throwing infinite loop.
9:00-10:00 Home matters and calm time. I do all the pending things at home—dishwasher and cleaning up—and self-care while thinking about the coming day.
10:00 Work day starts. My brain is absolutely unproductive before that time, so I prefer to have calm morning for myself and start strong a little later.
10:00-11:00 Probably meeting someone—a colleague, a potential partner, a collaborator, a stranger—but always offering help before asking for something. My last meeting was with Mia Sabat, an amazing sexologist and menstrual expert.
11:00-12:30 First work block: here I handle urgent ongoing tasks like a quick call with my marketing team for an update and questions. Then I prepare the upcoming boxes with handwritten letters inside—Aura is still small and I enjoy doing it myself by hand for every client.
12:30-14:00 Second work block: this is my time for things that are a priority to solve that day, not necessarily related to the business development. This includes responding to relevant emails, scheduling meetings and adding a new video to our YouTube channel, like our last video: a routine for menstrual cramps.
14:00-15:00 Lunch, hopefully with someone. I love having lunch with other people, it’s a great way to build relationships in a relaxed setting.
15:00-17:00 Third work block: I focus on the people side of business development. I talk to many people relevant to moving the project forward. I email potential collaborators, talk to potential partners to sell in modern stores in Gràcia, contact experts like gynecologists and yoga instructors to join us in our mission, contact trendsetters like a feminist poet to explore opportunities and I talk to my mentors asking for specific advice.
17:00-19:00 Fourth work block: I shift to pure business development. I focus on new growth strategies, objectives and approaches for the project. I have quite a creative selection; I review all the possible strategies and start developing the ones with the highest potential—like working on a proposal for fertility professionals to collaborate with AURA with both content and products.
19:00-19:30 I check to see if the day’s priorities were achieved. Then, I update tasks in Trello and objectives on my productivity board on the wall.
20:00-21:00 Time for myself: I either go for a run along the beach or play the Moonlight Sonata on the piano.
21:00-22:00 Dinner home with some light food and an extra big fruit platter for dessert. Eating watermelon with a spoon is an all time favorite.
22:00-23:00 I put my phone on airplane mode. I disconnect and it’s sofa-movie time. Lately I’ve been watching When They See Us—a beautiful and inspiring story.
23:00-23:30 A little bit of reading is the best for a peaceful sleep. Now I am reading Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss; it’s opening a world to me.
23:30 Lights go off. If my mind is still wandering I apply some mindfulness techniques to stop it and immediately fall asleep until the morning.
Olga Shirokova is a full-time entrepreneur and she also enjoys helping young projects as an advisor. Olga’s company AURA provides personalized subscription boxes that transform the period for each woman to make it a special ritual of self-care. Each box includes organic hygiene products, hand-picked wellness products and expert tips to feel better during these days of the month. For more information visit AURA’s website at: aurabox.co, follow on Instagram (@aurabox.co) for inspirational content and YouTube for expert videos. Also, if you want to know more about Olga or talk to her directly you can check out her personal website at: olgashirokova.com.