Interviewing Elena Vrabie on her time management system & time-saving tips
"Each year, I choose a theme that serves as my guide. Finding the theme is an intuitive process that takes time, but it’s an important ritual for me."
If you ask me who the most organized person I know is, my answer will undoubtedly be Elena! Elena Vrabie. I admire her innate sense of balance! What truly fascinates me is how she builds and refines her personal system. So, I asked her a few questions to learn more about her journey and uncover the secrets behind her approach.
Elena Vrabie is Head of Sales at The Recursive (a community-born media for innovation in CEE) introducing herself as the one “guiding CEE tech entrepreneurs to scale through storytelling—part strategist, part therapist, all ears.”
Spoiler alert: if you’re looking for hardcore structure and rigidity, you won’t find that here. I’m a mix of hustle, mindfulness, adaptability, and sustainable growth. I’m reflective and aware of my limits—yet I’m always striving to push beyond them in ways that align with my current life phase, so I can stay true to my authentic self. (Elena Vrabie)
The starting point: planning
Why are you optimizing your time management?
I am optimizing my time because I value having time - for self-reflection, spontaneity, and balance. It’s not about cramming more into my schedule or becoming ‘more’ - creative or productive. That approach can lead to chasing too many goals at once, which I’ve experienced before and know can result in anxiety or burnout. Been there, done that, not going back.
Instead, I aim to complete my to-do list while staying open to surprise opportunities. I also focus on balancing my personal and professional schedules, ensuring neither dominates for too long. For me, success in one area isn’t meaningful without the other. I want it all out of life.
I strive to be productive without stretching a 1-hour task into 3 hours just because I can. That said, I’m human, and I embrace procrastination occasionally. Stepping off the hamster wheel now and then is essential for mental health and resetting the mind.
Do you have a visual overview of your time?
I rely on a mix of intuition and practical tools to stay organized. My big-picture plan is more mental, guided by gut feeling, while I track monthly, weekly, and daily tasks.
Having clear deadlines and knowing what needs to happen keeps me focused, but I’m mindful not to overuse technology or let gadgets and schedules take over my life. I don’t have any notifications on my phone, as I am not a person that needs kind reminders.
My approach balances structure, accountability, and flexibility, allowing me to stay organized without feeling constrained.
Is there a specific approach you follow for planning?
In recent years, my planning has centered on sustainable growth and stepping out of my comfort zone. My mental dialogue could be summed up as: 'You don’t like it? You don’t think you can do it? Great, you’re in!' It’s a challenging yet rewarding mindset that pushes me to learn and evolve, even when I’d prefer to stay in my comfort zone.
Each year, I choose a theme that serves as my guide. Finding the theme is an intuitive process that takes time, but it’s an important ritual for me. I don’t always use charts or systems, I stay flexible and adaptable, ensuring that my plans support growth while leaving room for spontaneity and creativity.
The (symbiotic) system
Provide a brief overview of the system you’ve built.
I’ve developed a system that balances intuition and practical tools to optimize my time and productivity. The key components are:
Mental Big Picture: I keep the plan in mind, guided by my intuition and yearly themes (e.g. ownership, freedom, validation, family, flexibility, sustainability). This helps me stay aligned with my goals without feeling constrained by rigid systems.
Digital Tools: For day-to-day organization, I rely on a mobile calendar app (shared with my husband for personal tasks like appointments and groceries), Google Calendar, email, and Trello for business tasks. These tools ensure I meet deadlines and stay focused on what’s important. I have tried a dozen apps., I love tech, but as I grow I find that simple is best.
Boundaries with Technology: I make intentional use of tech, ensuring it serves me rather than overwhelming me. I like schedules and structured time so I can do everything I plan.
How disciplined are you in respecting this system?
My discipline is intentional but not rigid. I respect my system by sticking to the tools and frameworks I’ve chosen, but I don’t force myself into overly structured routines, especially since becoming a mom. It’s a system that grows with me year on year. It’s symbiotic and it took me a while and many books and workshops to get it right.
How often do you review your progress?
I naturally review my progress yearly for personal and professional aspects of my life. It’s less about setting review dates and more about an intuitive sense of how things are going.
When things aren’t running smoothly, I can feel it—my anxiety levels rise, or I stop waking up with a smile. Sometimes, it feels like I’m carrying an 'Eeyore cloud' over me no matter what I do.
Do you revise your system based on your reflections when needed?
Of course, especially when I am in “yes mode” to everything that comes towards me. It’s all about ensuring that my system evolves with me and continues to support both my goals and well-being. Life is too short to move on with the brake pedal pressed.
The strategy for challenging projects
Every challenge starts with that initial resistance—'I don’t want to do this.' But I sleep on it, gather the strength to tackle it, and then I make a plan. I prioritize what I need to do, and delegate what I can. As an early riser (usually around 6-7 AM), mornings are crucial for me to focus on structured work. I tackle the hardest tasks first—'swallowing the frog,' as they say.
The rest of the day is a balancing act between working remotely and managing an active family life. After the sun sets, I wind down either with something productive, like yoga or reading, or something I enjoy, though it feels a bit guilty in the best way, this is for another conversation.
If I’m being honest, I also sometimes end up in bed by 8-9 PM because I believe in recharging for the next day - this is also the reason why receiving and attending networking events after 6 PM is something I double-check mentally if it’s worth me not getting those +8h of sleep!
Any time-saving tips that worked well for you?
Here are my top 3 time-saving strategies that can be applied to both personal and business life:
‘Eat the frog’ first: Tackle the tasks you least enjoy but are necessary. Whether it's a difficult conversation, a dreaded e-mail, cleaning, or appointments, handling it first frees up mental space for everything else. Not every task is fun, but balancing the hard with the easy is key to maintaining progress.
Leave a place as you would like to have received it: This can apply to physical spaces, workflows, and interactions. Whether it’s tidying up a space, finishing a meeting on a positive note, or organizing a task before moving on to the next, small gestures of care and order make things flow more efficiently.
Delegate: Not everything needs to be done by you. Assign tasks to the people best suited for them. When someone is skilled at a task, they’re more likely to do it quickly and well—no procrastination necessary. The secret is in matching the right person to the right task.
Takeaway
What would be the simplest framework for readers to apply your system?
A dear coach couple - Gabriela Blaga & Matthew K. Cross - gifted me a series of books for which I will be forever grateful.
One step would be to go with the “Hoshin North Star Playbook” to guide you in finding the yearly phrase or focus question and priorities.
This is how I ended up with “How can I live fully with fewer distractions?” a question to filter things and focus on others, like “pay attention to the present”, “stop rushing”, “exercise healthy habits - physically & mentally”, and “listen to your feminine energy”, among others.
Final note, "The greatest threat to success is not failure, but boredom", says James Clear in "Atomic Habits", so challenging oneself I believe it’s key to surfing life.
PS: this is my first post about time & frugality (link here)