Monday Productive #6 with Kotryna Kurt

Published on: November 28, 2021

It’s Monday again and it’s time to get s*** done! ⏱

Monday #Productive is a weekly interview format, featuring peak-performers from my network, who share 5 quick ideas on how to boost your #productivity and stay at the top of your game.

Today’s guest is Kotryna Kurt. She is passionate about all things in Digital Marketing and Mar-Tech. Kotryna is a creative content creator and a charismatic public speaker. She is also a no.1 LinkedIn fan and one of top influencers on the platform. She is working as a Digital Marketing Specialist at a Danish software company called TimeXtender, and after work hours she has her own business, consulting companies and private people about personal branding and social media strategies.

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1. You’re having a full-time job as a marketer. On top of that you’re one of the most active people I know of on LinkedIn and social media at all. How do you do that? How do you manage to be as productive, building a personal brand on top of your 9 to 5 job?

▶ That is a great question! I believe in structured planning, or at least that is something that helps me to stay in the game and be so active besides having a full-time job. One of the strategies I use is time-blocking. I block an hour or a few for specific tasks and spend that time really focusing on them without any distractions. Other than that, calendar is my best friend. I often joke with people, that if a meeting is not in my calendar I won’t show up. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without my calendar and it would definitely be a bit more hectic. I think putting things in my calendar really frees up my memory storage, because suddenly I do not have to remember the time or place of the meeting and I can use that mental capacity for something else. So to answer this in short, it’s having a calendar, using time-blocking and prioritizing. ⌚

2. When it comes to producing content for social, how do you decide what to post? What is your exact strategy for content development and distribution? Lead us through your planning process.

▶ It varies from time to time. I have some content ideas for a rainy day or when I do not feel like creating something new, but I also make sure to leave space for spontaneous content. So the process is simple: I always know what type of content I will post for a week in advance and sometimes I post something randomly because I get inspired. I do not have any specific planning document or an Excel sheet for planning. It is all just in my head. I think that when it comes to content creation and distribution, it is a very individual thing – some people don’t plan at all, others have a plan for a few weeks in advance. 📒

3. Many ambitious female leaders today are struggling with perfectionism. They feel like they have to be perfect at everything, which can be of course very stressful. How do you deal with that yourself?

I do not believe in perfectionism. This can be a first step for people who struggle with this – actually admitting that no one is perfect and so you shouldn’t be either. However, I believe in growth and continuous learning, and I am not saying that people should stop trying to be better. I think that it is very important to remember that we are constantly learning and that if something does not go as you planned or as perfect as you wanted, then it is just a part of the growth process. Once you realize that, it is not so stressful. It has to be a shift in the mindset. 🧘‍♂️

4. Is it easy to grow a consistent personal brand? What’s some of your best tips for someone, who is just starting now to be more conscious about it?

▶ Well, if you are asking me if it is easy to grow a personal brand, then the answer is YES. BUT, you have to use a lot of time on it and be consistent. Else, it is not easy to develop a personal brand if you are not continuously working on it. As for someone who just started or are thinking to start doing so, I would recommend a few things:

✅Experiment with your audience – try posting various type of content, see what works best and what doesn’t.

✅Be consistent and do not ghost your audience – once you started posting, keep on doing so. It might take you a few months and up to a few years to build a solid brand. So make sure to keep on pushing the content out and wait for the time when you will reap the fruits of that hard work.

✅Think about your personal brand ingredients – tone of voice, your visuals, message and others. How could people remember you easier? Do you have a very strong visual – for example: green hair or black beard? Maybe you are only talking about one topic of your expertise, for example leadership – that is, again, one way for people to remember you. 👩‍🎤

5. You seem so energetic and happy on social media. But we all know social media only shows part of the story. What do you when you are exhausted or overwhelmed, but still have to get things done?

▶ For times like these, I always have some content ready to be published or some content topics as I mentioned before. However, if I have hard days, I am either not really posting content or posting something and being truly honest. There will always be times when each of us will fall in the content fatigue or will have a bad day. The most important thing is to be prepared in advance. For me, dumping my fresh ideas whenever I get some in my Trello board works the best. And sometimes, I just take a look at my priorities list and see if the things I need to do can wait. Most of the times taking a day off can be a great solution for a short recharge. 🤷‍♀️