Workspaces: Anna Stetsenko, Director of Indigo Recruitment Agency

Here’s another captivating story about a unique and authentic workspace. The owner is Anna Stetsenko, who leads a recruitment agency while traveling extensively, running every morning, and practicing yoga daily. Dive into this article for inspiration!

They say, "Tell me who your leader is, and I'll tell you about the company you work for." If we trust this reimagined folk wisdom, then Indigo recruitment agency shines as a vibrant, original, and harmonious place—just like its director. :)

Indigo has been in the market for seven years, expertly sourcing skilled programmers, social media marketers, and other IT professionals. Anna Stetsenko, the agency’s director, embraces yoga, running, and prefers to live without rigid long-term plans. Below is a glimpse into her work environment.

About Anna Stetsenko
IT recruiter and head of Indigo agency with over seven years of experience in IT recruitment. She actively contributes to the growth of Ukraine’s HR-IT community, writes thought-provoking articles on DOU.ua, and has the unique ability to fill vacancies even in Antarctica.

What does your work involve?

Hello! I'm Anna Stetsenko, an IT recruiter passionate about the realms of #IT, #recruiting, and #people.

My first major project, which marked my entry into business, is the Indigo recruitment agency. Today, our team consists of eight IT-focused, productivity-driven, and freelance-savvy headhunters. Back in 2007, I was among the pioneers of IT recruitment in Ukraine and have never regretted it. Since last year, we've expanded to include internet marketing specialists, learning to recruit SEO experts and Google Analytics professionals.

My most creative venture is “Shantambala”—a spontaneous space inspired by a deep desire for self-discovery, fulfillment, and joy. It all started when I attended a vipassana retreat there, fell in love with the people, the place, and contact improvisation, and soon found myself contributing to the development of an eco-art village near Odessa. :)

My least successful project was Recruforce, a SaaS solution designed to automate recruitment processes. Although the project is still alive, active development and promotion have been paused. I aimed to ease recruiters’ routines but underestimated the market size, and back then, the online community wasn’t ready for cloud-based solutions.

I also dedicate a lot of effort to supporting Ukraine’s HR-IT community and my beloved city, Dnipro.

What does your workspace look like?

I find working from home or cafés more productive than traditional office spaces. I enjoy sitting on the floor or window sills surrounded by flowers and fresh oranges—it fuels my creativity.

When I’m in Dnipro and working from the office, my workspace resembles the one shown in the main photo.

What hardware and software do you use?

I'm an avid Apple and Google user. For work, I rely on a MacBook Air and an iPhone. Over four years, my MacBook failed me only once—in the Peruvian jungle—so I always carry an iPad mini as a backup during travels.

We actively use Google services: Google Workspace, Google Drive (with parallel backups on Dropbox), Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs.

For recruitment management (CRM for clients and candidates), we use our own project, Recruforce.

Recently, we switched back to the KanbanFlow task tracker after moving away from DropTask, which was visually appealing but lacked functionality. During standups, we project our Kanban boards in the office or share screens via Skype when working remotely to monitor project progress.

Communication happens mainly on Skype, with a shared chat named “Indigo team” for all discussions.

• My browser of choice is Chrome.
• Office suite includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
• I keep notes and a personal diary in Apple Notes.
• Reusable notes, receipts, quotes, and papers are stored in Evernote.
• I'm writing a book using iBooks Author.
• Productivity is tracked with RescueTime.
• Habit building is supported by HabitList.
• Documents are scanned via Scanner Pro.
• Financial tracking is done with ZenMoney.
• Tax filings are handled through Taxer.

Whenever possible, I support domestic software developers. If the software is truly user-friendly and elegant, I always reach out to the creators with gratitude and offers to help grow their teams. :)

Planning tools I use:

1. Google Calendar – I’ve relied on it for years, even scheduling romantic dates. It’s shared with my close ones and team.
2. For personal tasks and ideas, I use the elegant Any.Do app on iPhone, complemented by a Chrome plugin.
3. For online work, a Kanban board keeps things organized.

Our team lead, Olya Shatokha, wrote an article about useful apps for recruiters, which offers even more insights into specialized software.

How do you manage your time?

Long-term plans? Seriously? :) If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. I live in the "here and now," replacing planning with dreaming. Plans stress me out, but dreams inspire me.

Of course, to bring dreams to life, I attach deadlines to them. When the time comes, I align each dream with my current reality.

My dream test is simple: "Will this dream enhance the quality of my life?" If yes, then the dream stays.

I use the coaching tool called "balance wheel" to track progress, reviewing it every six months. Last year, I experimented with midweek days off. Everyone has a sacred day without work: Fridays for Muslims, Saturdays for Jews, Sundays for Christians. Why not Wednesday? So, I reserved Wednesdays for non-work "must-do" tasks and kept weekends free for "want-to" activities. To keep things fair, I gave the Indigo team a weekday off during work hours. It took some time to teach clients that I don’t work on Wednesdays. :)

My greatest treasure is time. When faced with choosing between saving time or money, the choice is obvious.

I delegate routine and household tasks to an assistant and actively use PrivatBank’s concierge service to buy tickets, book accommodations, send gifts, and reward my team with bonuses. This significantly lightens my load.

My daily routine is flexible. I sleep six to seven hours, usually going to bed after midnight. Mornings are sacred—they belong solely to me. I delight myself by running, swimming, practicing yoga, meditating, reading, watching movies, visiting spas, without planning or rushing. This motivates me to greet the sunrise. :) Recently, I formulated my ideal day formula:

What role does sports play in your life?

Running is like dancing across distances for me. I longed to start morning runs but lacked willpower. To make it fun, I began photographing everything I see during runs and created the hashtag #WhatDoYouSeeRunningInTheMorning. Now, I’m unstoppable—running almost daily wherever I go (Antarctica, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Peru, Argentina, Russia, and Ukraine). Here you can find my lifehacks on running 5 kilometers nonstop in Rio de Janeiro.

Recently, I started combining runs with friends, potential clients, and business partners who also run.

It’s very convenient. :) One of my favorite photos from the #WhatDoYouSeeRunningInTheMorning series:

After running, I swim in the Dnipro River or any nearby water body and perform Surya Namaskar (sun salutations).

My sun salutations have witnessed the Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Atlantic Oceans; the Black, Azov, Mediterranean, Dead, Red, Caribbean, Galilee, and Arabian Seas. In Cuba, locals mistook my yoga for ballet since they weren’t familiar with yoga. Ballerinas are respected there, so I was often treated to lobsters and fruits.

Lifehacks from Anna Stetsenko

What inspires and transforms me most aren’t books or speeches but living examples from my close circle, like Olya Shatokha. Olya, a true Indigo generation leader, joined Indigo at 20 and now, at 23, leads a team of seven recruiters older by 10–15 years, introduced Scrum at Indigo, earns at senior developer levels, and balances active travels to Japan, India, the USA, Europe, and hiking adventures.

Her penultimate hike involved life-threatening elements. When I asked why she takes such risks, she shared wisdom worthy of a great philosopher:

"Hiking is pure Zen Buddhism. Although it challenges your mind deeply, in just five to seven days you learn more lessons than in five to seven years of regular life. During a hike, you are authentic—no pretenses, just yourself, the trail, and nature. Moments when you get lost, despite panic, hunger, and cold, are remarkable. At home, I have a poster that says, ‘Getting lost will help you find yourself.’ I probably can’t explain it better."

So my main advice is to surround yourself with people who will be your teachers and sources of inspiration.

Lifehacking tips from the Indigo team:

1. Our office wall reads: “Do what you love, love what you do.” If you don’t love your job or feel passionate about it, leave immediately.
2. Make time for creativity—be it drawing, embroidery, cooking, or collecting herbs—the key is to enjoy the process.
3. Push your limits. A yoga teacher once told me, “Find your comfortable edge in a pose and mentally push just a bit further.”
4. Take care of your health—exercise, eat well, and breathe properly.
5. Travel as much and as far as your schedule and budget allow.

Is there such a thing as a dream setup?

This summer, I’m organizing a coworking retreat for friends, team members, and their partners in Georgia by the sea. We’ve secured a magnificent, spacious villa to accommodate everyone interested. Plans include yoga, beach time, painting lessons, country excursions, heartfelt gatherings, and, of course, our beloved work.

I want to demonstrate how to blend work, travel, creativity, relationships, and relaxation seamlessly. This integration enriches life and multiplies joy.

So come visit us! Traveling is as wonderful as coming back home. :)

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