Together Friends,
This Together Tour was lots of fun to put together – I so love when people have big mission-driven day jobs AND big other commitments. In Omar’s case, he is the Deputy Mayor of his town. No big deal, right? In the conversation that follows, we will find out how he holds it all Together – with some pretty cool tips on using AI and some email account magic revealed in his video. If you are looking for more Together Inspiration (is that a thing?), then check out Marina, Braxton, MaryKate, Juan, Crystal, and Versha!
On a fun note, in the spirit of our mantra: You do not have to be Together with everything! Just what matters to you… My cereal situation doesn’t matter to me, so if you need a giggle, check out this video series showcasing a decided lack of Togetherness.
Together Tour: Omar Lopez
Omar and I have crossed paths several times in and around NYC over the past decade, and I reached out to him recently when he wrote an amazing LinkedIn post on email triage. I immediately wanted to know more, and luckily, Omar was willing to spill the secrets as he juggles his day job, his civic duties, and his family responsibilities.
Why is Togetherness essential in your role?
I have lots of threads of responsibility that I’m weaving together in the fabric of my life. Keeping it orderly makes the volume beautiful instead of overwhelming.
What are your Top Together Tools and why?
Email: It’s the main way that folks get in touch with me. I have 4 inboxes (personal, work, government, and kids). (Editor’s Note: Watch the life-changing video linked below for the brilliance of the email Omar shares with his wife to manage all things kid-related.)
Task List in ClickUp: I use ClickUp because of its ability to forward emails from my inbox and keep those next steps organized. (Editor’s note: This is great because SO many To-do’s come from our various inboxes.)
Calendar: Within each of the four main calendars associated with my email inboxes, I have sub calendars. Some are for sharing and some are for personal use. For example, I share my personal calendar with my wife and my work calendar with my colleagues, but I have a sub calendar called “DARPA” that is only for items that I want to keep track of and have visibility of.
I “subscribe” to my personal calendar on my work calendar, so I can view everything together. (Editor’s Note: Having a single source of calendar truth helps ensure events don’t collide.)
How do you use Togetherness with other humans in your life?
I strive to have everyone in my life say to themselves “Omar’s got this” when they ask me to complete a task. Whether it’s replying to an email or updating them when I’m going to miss a deadline, I’ve worked hard to be seen as someone that others can rely on.
Fun fact: Omar has two keyboards because he likes a mechanical keyboard for regular use but has a tiny quiet one he can use for typing during calls.
Some Together Tricks I do that no one knows about are. . .
I subscribe to ChatGPT and it’s been unbelievably helpful. It has helped me to draft emails and documents that would otherwise take me a long time to develop. While there are lots of AI tools that are on the market that I’d recommend (Perplexity, for example, has been great for web searches), I’ve gone all in on ChatGPT. There are lots of tactical things that I use it for, like uploading 990s from nonprofits and having it give me an analysis before I start a search, but it’s actually most helpful with strategy. I have ChatGPT act as if it’s an expert at whatever the topic is (in this case, executive search) and give me advice throughout the process. Creating custom versions of ChatGPT (what they call GPTs) allows me to keep returning to the same conversation and have it give me ever more personalized advice on strategy. [Editor’s Note: If you have other ways you have used AI to support your Togetherness, we want to know. Write me here!]
I also subscribe to Tactiq, which allows me to transcribe all of my meetings. This is very helpful since I lead a lot of interviews. Between that and ChatGPT, I’ve supercharged my ability to be efficient.
One area that you are NOT Together and fine about it is. . .
Laundry is definitely my weak spot, but so it goes. I’ve moved toward paying for help (like bi-monthly house cleaners) and that has made a big difference.
If you could recommend one purchase from an office supply store, it would be _________ because _____________.
Breath mints. Whenever I go meet people in public I make sure I have a little tin and it goes a long way to making a good first impression when meeting people that I’ve only met over Zoom.
Omar, thank you for sharing your entire systems with us! Anyone else out here maximizing AI?
Together Treasure Box 
- Are you a What-er or a When-er? Take our quiz to see which fits you, and learn more about how you can Together yourself.
- Unstructured time can be a great opportunity to take care of tedious tasks. Taking time for DEEP Admin helps to clear your plate and make space for more meaningful tasks!
- Do you ever wonder how I keep it all Together? I have my tried and true Together Tools, but sometimes I like to system-hop and see what sticks.
