Onboarding: Anna Potter-Malone
The tools, tricks and tiny little details that keep our project managers on point.
Name: Anna Potter-Malone
Current residence: Nashville, TN
How did you get into project management?
This is a new journey for me! I’ve worked in the medical field as a manager of operations/executive assistant for the past nine years. In March 2020, I was furloughed due to COVID, and thus began my journey of being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom).
My husband and I have been working towards this as a goal for a little while now so that I not only would have more freedom and availability to homeschool our children (by choice — not due to COVID) but also so that I could pursue a career path that was fulfilling for me creatively. Along came WOTW.
Favorite WOTW project you’ve worked on and why?
Before caffeine.
After a cup of coffee.
Millenia Smart Park. I worked with Shelly on this website, and even though it brought its own set of unique challenges (as they all do), she was able to create an absolutely breathtaking website that really executed the client’s vision. She applied so many different and unique design elements, both big and small, that really ‘wow’ you as a visitor, and navigating the website is both easy and seamless.
Where do you work best?
I honestly don’t know yet. I bought myself a desk, which my husband is still ordering all the tech things for (he’s in IT and I love him all the more for it), so it’s not set up yet. We also are nesting for a third baby coming in June, so have lots of projects over the next few months. So for now, I either end up in my bed or at my kitchen table. The ultimate goal, though, is productivity no matter where I am. Sure, a dedicated space definitely helps. But making order out of chaos is right up my alley, so not having a set workspace yet isn’t something that I let deter me.
In the middle of the chaos.
Curated for this photo.
Workspace essentials?
For most people, I’m sure these are tangible items. For me, it’s focus and time. My schedule is sporadic most days. I’d love to say that I’ve fallen into a routine and that things run the same every day, but this would be a straight-up lie. I have two boys — 7 and 3 years old — at home with me most days, and we homeschool our oldest. So to say that things get chaotic is an understatement! I’m still working on finding a schedule that works for all of us. But having the ability and skill to hone in on what I’m doing while there’s a tornado going on around me is essential. Oh, and coffee! Always coffee.
Can’t-live-without organizational tool?
My mind. Of course, it gets overwhelmed all the time with all of the things I have going on: work, kids, home, marriage, friends, family. So I also utilize Notes as a place to store information that I can easily access with a quick search, and I make sure all of mine/our family appointments are in iCal with all the alerts and reminders set. But neither of these things hold a candle to my mind. It’s the fiercest tool I’ve got.
Favorite part of the WOTW process?
Onboarding. I live for a process, and onboarding clients involves setting that process up and walking the clients through it. It also is a time for me to really delve in and get to know the client — their business, their personality, their strengths and weaknesses — and assess how I can best help them help us build the website of their dreams.
Best source of creative inspiration?
Magazines are the OG for me. I have a binder FULL of all kind of recipes and organizational articles and funky pictures and home decor ideas. Does it ever get looked at? No hahaha. But I know it’s there! And of course there’s Pinterest. I mean…it’s an endless rabbit hole of all kinds of inspirational goodness. I love it.
Favorite shortcut or tip of the trade?
Keeping a level head. The nature of any kind of management/organizational job is stressful. Whether it’s the client and the work itself or outside circumstances, there can be a tendency to become overwhelmed with all the things you are trying to manage on a daily basis. For me, the key is to ground myself. I’m not a pro, and it’s definitely not easy. But when I can feel myself becoming overwhelmed, it does me no good to succumb to the chaos, as that helps no one — especially me. So, I take a deep breath, get some water, turn on some relaxing music, block out any other external stimuli, and focus on what’s right in front of me.
What are you binge-watching?
It’s a rarity that I binge-watch anything, but if I do, it’s to re-watch ‘Parks and Recreation or ‘Broad City.’ I’m definitely more of an avid reader and have an obsession with all things historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi. Right now, I’m on a WWII kick and have been binge-reading historical fiction over the past several weeks.
Favorite meal?
How do people answer this? I love food, like in an obsessive way. Give me it all!
What are you hoping for in 2021?
Normalcy. For all of us. To be able to hug my mom, who has been having a very difficult time with her depression. Lots of sunny days. *Possibly* a remodeled bathroom. To go on vacation. For our 7-year-old to have a smooth transition into public school. A healthy birth and newborn. And to have all the drinks once this baby is born!
