Polina Marinova

Polina is the founder of The Profile, a weekly newsletter that compiles the best long-form stories on successful people and companies.

Prior to launching The Profile, Polina was an editor at Fortune and the author of Term Sheet, Fortune's daily newsletter about deals and dealmakers.

On the first hour of her day.

Overall, my mornings are pretty structured, and then I do a lot of my other writing late at night. It's just when I write best.

When I first started writing Term Sheet about two years ago, a typical morning would have looked a bit different.

I’d wake up at 4:45 am and be in the office by 5:30. Because it had to go out by 9, it was really stressful.

Over time, I've been able to manage my time better.

As I transition to working on The Profile full-time, I plan to start my day at 6:30.

Even though I won’t be working from an office, I believe structure is important to stay disciplined while maintaining the momentum I’ve built so far.

Over time, I plan to add more value for premium Profile readers, including original content and in-person events.

On protecting her workouts.

Here's what's interesting. I'm naturally an incredibly anxious person.

Like Type A to the absolute max.

So for that kind of personality, I know that every day I just need to stop what I'm doing.

I need to stop reading, get away from my computer and my phone, and go run, hit the gym, or do something where I can’t touch technology. 

When you’re listening to podcasts and reading books all the time, there’s just so much information. You don’t give yourself time to metabolize it all.

So, I’ve learned that I need to give myself that time.

Every day, I try to get in at least 40 minutes of physical exercise.

Right after that, I’ve tried to tack on a meditation habit with Calm.

On getting back to basics.

I’m still getting used to my exercise and meditation habit as a daily thing.

While I used to do both, they were sporadic and not at all part of my day.

If you get the basics right — sleeping 8 hours, eating right, exercising — everything else will fall into place in your life.

So, instead of following crazy New Year’s resolutions or new diets, I’m just focusing on the basics.

On combating overwhelm.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed by information. But, I've noticed that when you improve the content you consume, you get less anxious.

I don't know how to explain it exactly, but to use an example, I used to watch the Bachelor religiously.

And, I noticed that the types of things I was thinking about were a direct product of what I saw in the show.

It was just so ridiculous. You can get into these crazy thought patterns that are just not representative of how the world works.

So, I made a conscious decision to stop and elevate the content I’m consuming. I think this is especially helpful if you're an anxious person to begin with.

On launching her own company.

I launched The Profile in 2017 because I was feeling very down on the types of articles I was seeing across the media industry.

I created The Profile as a content quality filter, sifting through hundreds of stories to help readers learn from the most successful people and companies.

To put this in context, I read 8.9 million words last year, equivalent to 121 books.

I did that to find well-reported profiles worthy of inclusion in The Profile.

On finding the edges of time.

I send out The Profile on Sundays, but I really start working on it every Monday.

To do so, I really love finding the edges of time.

When I'm on the subway or walking around the city, I'll listen to an interesting podcast or read a profile in the 15 minutes that I'm in transit. I’ll make rough notes either in my Notes app on my phone or in a Google Doc.

I’ve worked on The Profile at baseball games, on vacation, and in Italian coffee shops with no Wi-Fi.

No matter what, it always gets done because I’ve made it a priority.

Then, as the week goes on, I'll go back and reread the most interesting articles that I think will make the cut and run from there.

After writing about so many people’s entrepreneurial paths at Fortune, I hope to pave my own with The Profile.

On chasing flow state.

I write best later at night after I've been able to exercise and when I don't have my phone around — when I’m just alone in my head.

I’ll come home, have dinner, and dive into writing.

To get it to that state, I require zero distractions.

I can't have music playing. I can't be listening to something. I can't have people talking around me. So an ideal environment would be by myself and just writing.

On her evening routine.

I’m usually in bed by 9:30 or 10, which I know is super early.

People think I'm lame, but it is what it is.

If I don't get enough sleep, then I'm an absolute monster, so I’m trying to do it for other people too. Ideally, I wind down by reading.

Realistically, it's me scrolling through Instagram. 

Last night, for example, was a perfect night. I ordered sushi, did a face mask, watched a good documentary, and was in bed between 9 and 10.

Doing things for yourself, things that make you happy, is so important.

As long as you can look forward to something in your day, even something that other people see as a chore, then you’re doing great.