Introduction

Marketers today feel busy but don’t get much done. Meetings and messages eat the day, while real work gets left behind.

What's the problem it solves?

Marketers are drowning in communication and shallow work. They stay busy with meetings, chats, and emails but struggle to focus on work that actually matters or moves the business forward. AI could help, but most teams aren’t using it in ways that truly save time.

Quick Summary

Most marketers are stuck in "busy mode" - spending their days in meetings, responding to chats, and writing emails. While it feels like a lot is happening, very little real work gets done. A huge part of this is performative productivity - work that looks important but doesn’t create real results. This is making people tired, stressed, and burned out.

Even though 86% of marketers use AI, most of them only use it for small writing tasks. But AI can do much more. Smart teams are using it to draft meeting summaries, clean up long threads, outline ideas, and write boring documents faster. The real power of AI is in handling the tasks no one likes, not just making social posts. Teams that use AI this way get back their time to focus on actual strategy and creative work.

To fix the problem, marketers need to stop rewarding busyness and start valuing focus. That means fewer meetings, more quiet time, and better use of tools like AI. The best teams aren't using AI just to write better copy - they’re using it to clear the clutter and make space for deep, focused work.

Key Takeaways from the article

• Most marketers waste over 10 hours a week on busywork and bad communication
• AI is widely used but rarely used well
• The biggest opportunity is using AI to cut down internal work, not just write content
• Meetings, messages, and updates eat away at real work time
• Focused teams block out time, cut unneeded tasks, and use templates to move faster
• Real productivity means doing meaningful work, not just being busy

What to do

• Block at least 2 hours every day as “do not disturb” time
• Kill meetings that could be emails or short video updates
• Use AI to:
  • Write first drafts of briefs and updates
  • Summarize meetings into action steps
  • Clean up messy notes and turn them into usable docs
• Build a library of templates with AI (e.g. campaign briefs, project updates)
• Automate repetitive tasks like weekly reports
• Pick one task that usually takes 2+ hours and try using AI to do it faster
• Choose 3 things this month to either automate, templatize, or stop doing
• Use data (like hours lost to busywork) to push for better workflows
• Focus on results, not responsiveness. Fewer messages, more impact.