‘My day to day life at Telefónica’, by Ana Siles

The start of the day

I start the day with gratitude, because after all I have been through, every morning is a gift. I have faced several illnesses and honestly, just being alive fills me with energy.

I'm a big fan of healthy routines, maybe even a little geeky! My day starts with a cocktail of practices: intermittent fasting, a bit of Chikung to move the energy, meditation to calm the mind… Then every day I try to do some strength training (from 20.00h to 21.00h), and at least one day I try to train on my dragon boat team. I take care of myself with a strict anti-inflammatory diet because I feel it gives me balance (and so I take away my fears).

At work, I start with my litre of green tea with lemon, kind of like my morning fuel. I usually play Mozart in the background while I read all the tech press and check LinkedIn posts, especially those of Telefónica's Top Voices. Writing is my passion and I always have my monthly schedule, although sometimes I get carried away by the most interesting thing of the day.

My favourite project

My favourite project is LinkUP. It is a programme we have created in Telefónica so that all employees take care of our personal brand. We can't sell technology if our profiles don't reflect our experience and commitment. The best thing is that it works as a community, we share practices and learn from each other. It's amazing how these kinds of projects generate a sense of belonging and motivate us to improve every day.

My tools

After my stroke, I have learned to adapt and I use tools to help me stay organised and focused. My memory and concentration are not what they used to be, I used to cry, now I can deal with it. I can't live without my Outlook calendar and my inseparable paper diary, I'm analogue turned digital! In addition, I have recently discovered the power of the To Do list linked to Outlook.

I work with the Pomodoro technique to stay focused, although I change it because I'm 45 minutes of concentration in front of 25, then I usually get up and stretch for 5 minutes. And, although it sounds simple, I don't open more than three tabs in the browser because otherwise I get distracted too quickly.

My great ally in overcoming my post-disability fears is artificial intelligence. I use Copilot and other AI tools to check everything and ask everything I need, even as a search engine. They are like a second voice that help me to be more confident. I'm also doing a master's degree in AI with Microsoft and Founderz, to further my learning. Of course, if I don't use these tools I also forget them, so I try to 'train so I don't forget' and use them in projects such as Fundación Telefónica's Digital Leaders project (schools, AMPAs, teachers).

My best moment of the day

At 11 o'clock, when I break my fast, I usually go to the cafeteria. It's my social time, where I share time with friends and colleagues while taking advantage of this small space for negotiation. I love it because it's a point where I update my contacts, call in favours, sell the LinkUP course and just socialise. I was very isolated until I took things into my own hands and now I place a lot of value on coming to the office.

My tricks to get organised

My ADHD makes my mind scattered by nature, as I have been dealing for fifty-four years with this, I cling to routines to be organised. A few tricks:

• I have my mobile and PC notifications muted.
• I send messages to myself on WhatsApp or in my own Teams with ideas, articles and things I don't want to forget.
• I don't start a task if I haven't finished the previous one.
• I use a huge magnetic calendar of the month in my kitchen to visualise everything.
• Every morning I check the calendar and the 'To Do' list where I subdivide big tasks into small ones.
• To avoid stress, I set myself only three key goals a day. If I try to do more, I get overwhelmed and have to keep my anxiety at bay.I am strict about schedules and fixed routines to reduce anxiety.