“I feel like I’m in a war zone; there’s so much transformation,” shared a tired but upbeat CMO from a billion-dollar software company. Empathetic heads nodded around the virtual huddle. Then we went to work isolating the time management issues. It was a revelation.

You Can’t Outwork the CMO Role

Feel free to try. Most do. Being Type A’s, many CMOs average 70-hour work weeks, especially during their first year. Their calendars are a solid block of meetings from 9-6 pm preceded and followed by more hours for their “real work.” Unless, of course, they have an international team, in which case the meeting hours extend to midnight. Doesn’t sound healthy, right?

This Isn’t a Call for Sympathy

On the contrary, exhausted CMOs know their fatigue is often self-inflicted. First, they wanted the job and worked hard to get it. Second, they know there’s a better way, but they can’t find the time to fix it, or worse yet, they don’t adopt the habits that will help them escape their personal hamster wheel. One thing is for certain - no one does their best work when they’re exhausted.

Oft-Ignored Truth: You’re Trying to Do Too Much

You’re good at what you do. You wouldn’t be CMO if you weren’t. But this is a curse. It makes it too easy for you to do things yourself, things that you could delegate. It also means you’re not just directing your team about “what to do” you’re also spending way too much time telling them “how to do it.”

Our “war zone” CMO was in the process of transforming the team, the brand, the messaging, the tech stack, and the go-to-market strategy. I’m exhausted just writing that sentence. Perhaps this list was a mandate from the CEO. Regardless, even if you aim for transformation, don’t try to do everything simultaneously. It’s not just you who suffers. Your org most likely can’t keep up with your desired pace of change.

8 Time Management Tips Shared by CMOs

• Prioritize ruthlessly: Focus on a few big rocks (desired achievements)
  
• Delegate liberally: Only do the things only you can do
  
• Defend your calendar rabidly: Leave 20% of your week for thinking time.
  
• Meet purposefully: "No agenda, don’t attenda!" End meetings 5 minutes early with clear action items
  
• Batch productively: Create specific work windows for email, Slack, and messaging. These always-on channels will eat up your day and your brain power if not contained.
  
• Track your time consistently: Few do this. One CMO noted that it was a hard habit to adopt, but after a month, it was easy. Knowing where his time was going meant he could manage it.
  
• Share religiously: Sending weekly high-level updates to your team will save you countless hours of individual updates and keep the team aligned.
  
• Recharge regularly: Don’t leave recharging to your vacations. Build "you-time" into your daily, if not weekly, schedule.
  

What are your timely time management tips?

Written by Drew Neisser