How do you stay on top of everything? (Dave’s Newsletter)

WE ASKED THE COMMUNITY

How do you stay on top of everything?

Confession: I have always been (or attempted to be) a bit of a productivity nerd.

As a kid I had this weird obsession with constantly rearranging my bedroom.

Maybe it was the only thing I could control - this tiny little room. There’s some deep psychological lesson there I am sure, but we’re here to talk about marketing.

Then when I got into work that manifested itself into me taking notes. I was always filling up Moleskine notebooks.

I was an early user of Evernote and still pay for it to keep my notes from 2011-2017. Then there was Wunderlist. And Trello. And Basecamp.

Then I went through a post-it note and notepad phase. Then the email to myself phase. Then the Apple notes phase.

So this got me thinking: I bet the marketers that read my emails are like me in some ways and obsess over this stuff too (and sometimes it’s therapeutic to hear from people who are more Type B about this stuff too).

I wanted to know what’s working for other marketers to actually get things done.

So I asked the Exit Five community: how do you actually manage your work?

Here’s what we heard with some tips that might help you.

The Calendar Block Rules Them All

“If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not going to happen.”

School pickups, drop offs (padded for time to get kids settled with snacks and homework), after school activities. It's all on the work calendar AND a personal shared family calendar.

One marketer keeps a weekly calendar in the kitchen so everyone knows what's happening, who's doing what, and when.

The key? Time blocking for work tasks too. Not just putting "work on campaign" on your to-do list, but actually blocking the time to get it done. Especially if you're managing a team and balancing your own work with meetings and check-ins.

And yes, the email-to-self system is alive and well. Something you think of late at night or first thing in the morning? Email it to yourself so you don’t forget then add it to your calendar later (if it’s still something you’re pumped about).

Pick Three Top Priorities - No More

One marketer has tried all the systems over the years (including 7 Habits with the weekly planner).

Their approach now: Monthly priorities, weekly lists, and then focus on signal to noise.

Complete the "Top 3 Priorities in Next 18 Hours" daily, 7/365.

Simple. Focused. Works.

Color-Coded Excel Sheets

Here's a wild one we heard: Excel sheets with lists that change colors for a good dopamine hit. And a promise of ice cream if the to-do list is completed.

This marketer tried Notion, Obsidian, Logseq, and quite a few others. Then realized one simple truth: it needs to be on the local hard drive, able to carry on a pen drive if needed, and has to open without hassle even if there's no internet.

They even keep all their written content in a single Excel workbook, adding things they find interesting and sorting by topics and sub-topics.

Have AI Organize Your Calendar

One marketer is using Motion to build multiple schedules: one for work, personal, army stuff, podcast stuff.

They create projects where they can dump all tasks for various areas of focus. Each task gets a due date, estimated length to complete, a priority, and a specific schedule to follow.

Motion then organizes the calendar based on those tasks. If someone books them or they don't finish a task, it automatically reorganizes everything.

They plan the week once on Sunday and don't have to think about it again. Just sit down to work and the calendar tells them the next priority task.

This removes a huge mental load while stopping things from slipping through the cracks.

Another marketer mentioned using an AI tool like Claude or ChatGPT to integrate with your Google Calendar and manage the day from there. Help me structure my day around when I can be most productive. Let’s block Friday from meetings so I can learn about Claude Code.

Ideas Go in Notion. Work Gets Done on the Calendar.

One marketer figured out something smart: separate storage from execution. I love that line.

Notion and Google Docs hold ideas and plans. The calendar handles execution – everything with a deadline.

For tasks that don't fit neatly on the calendar (research, thinking, admin), they batch them into themed 90-minute blocks twice a day. It keeps context switching low and helps distinguish between "urgent" and "progress-making."

Mixing Work and Life To Do’s?

I am not alone here. I keep one main To Do list - which could mean scheduling my dentist appointment or following up on that campaign in HubSpot.

It’s too much thinking to have places for Work and Life for me, so I integrate them both into one and I was not alone! So many of you do the same thing.

One marketer uses iOS Reminders app heavily for non-work things. It's not flashy, but it's quicker and simpler to use on the go. Whenever they think of something they need to do or remember, they put it in and set a date and time reminder, even if it's arbitrary.

Another created a free Monday board for personal stuff after a big fight with their husband about priorities and things they need to get done. Saw a huge improvement in focus and progress in just a few days.

One marketer went old school: pen and paper with little checkboxes on each line. They love ticking them through the day for a dopamine hit. Combining work and personal tasks on the list and time blocking both types of events on the calendar gives them balance that doesn't stress them out when one dwarfs the other.

What All of This Productivity Talk Means for You

There's no perfect system. But here's what’s working for so many other marketers like you right now:

• They're not just making lists. They're blocking time.
• They're not separating work and life into different systems. They're managing it all together.
• They're being realistic about their capacity and focusing on what actually matters.

The tool doesn't matter as much as the discipline to actually use it.

So here's my question for you: What's the productivity hack you swear by that everyone else thinks is weird?

– Dave

P.S. reply back and LMK how your week is going, i want to hear from you. Seriously. Hit reply. Holler back. What’s up?

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