For our Day in the Life series, we look at the daily work habits, schedules and routines from people in a variety of roles and careers around the world.
Sarah Archer, Content Marketing Manager at Anyplace
Sarah Archer is the Content Marketing Manager at Anyplace, a marketplace that allows people to secure flexible-term furnished housing rentals.
No day is the same working at a startup and that’s something I love about my current role. I’m one of two marketers at Anyplace, so that means we manage the whole gamut of marketing activities: an affiliate program, remote work and digital nomad community, content marketing and SEO efforts, social media, advertising, perks program, and more.
Four things that remain the same across every workday are working out, coffee, documentation, and project management. I almost always start my day with a workout (online HIIT workouts are my favorite!) followed by a cold brew or hot cup of joe. Then I sign on and start my work day.
I begin by prioritizing my tasks on Asana, our preferred project management platform. I’ll shape my week around projects that will make the most impact on our company-wide OKRs and our developer’s schedule so we can strategically fit priority projects in the next sprint.
Additionally, I write everything down in Notion, our hub for documentation. Being a small team, it’s so important to build out a centralized place where we keep track of progress, record processes, and share any learnings. Not only will it help us keep track of each project, but it will make onboarding that much easier as our team grows.
Isabelle Hahn, Content Marketing Manager at Qatalog
Isabelle Hahn is the Content Marketing Manager at Qatalog, a work hub startup connecting all the tools of modern collaboration — wikis, project management, team chat, and more.
Mornings are usually pretty busy since half my team is located in London, so the first thing I do in the morning is check our work hub and Slack to see what everyone’s up to. We have a daily, 15-minute call with the whole company at 9 am my time, so usually my day starts around 7:30-8.
After that, I’ll have the occasional project meeting or 1-on-1. Typically I don’t have many calls in the afternoon, so that’s when I like to get my deep work done.
I also have 11am-4pm blocked out on Wednesdays and Thursdays to give myself that deep work time. This week that’s involved freelancer outreach, copy editing, SEO research, blog outlining, and some social content creation.
Jewel Dayoan, Content Marketing Specialist at Caped Creative
Jewel Dayoan is a Content Marketing Specialist at Caped Creative, a content marketing agency based in Orange County, California.
Lately, I’ve been working from home, so my day starts a little bit later than usual since there is no traffic to beat. My day usually starts at 8:30 a.m. where my laptop, espresso machine and I are up and running. I like to do some slow stretches to wake my body up while my espresso is waking my brain for me.
My daily tasks for Summit Lending are usually pretty routine, so they are typically quick & easy to finish up before the day ends. In that case, I try getting ahead and finish up the quicker tasks I have set for the rest of the week so I can focus on bigger things for the remaining days.
Once those are off my to-do list, I tackle my responsibilities for Caped Creative, which is usually continuing to brainstorm, plan and create content for the current month. Whether it is designing graphics or making TikTok and Instagram Reels, there is often something extra for me to do for Caped Creative.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I usually have an afternoon coffee run to either a nearby Starbucks or my trusty espresso machine just to prevent a good ol’ mid-work day drag. Can’t forget my coffee!
Once I have crossed everything off my to-do list, I usually like to get some fresh air that is actually outside of my house. Other times, I have plans to go out with close friends or loved ones, get some food, and just catch up on life. One can occasionally find me at a cafe or running errands. Anything to just be out of the house, to be quite frank.
JoJo Swords, Global Content Lead – Demand Marketing at ThoughtWorks
JoJo is a global content strategist and creator, currently working on the strategic planning, creation and delivery of a series of global marketing programs that drive demand for ThoughtWorks.
As Global Content Lead for Demand Marketing, every day is different!
I work closely with my partner-in-crime in the US to look at what our demand and demand marketing teams need in order to be successful, strategising and executing on materials and campaigns that they can leverage in their own regions.
My role involves unlocking the knowledge of global SMEs and surfacing that value for the rest of the organisation to use, as well as working on ongoing content pieces, including Perspectives, a digital publication for business and tech leaders, content for an upcoming global thought leadership event, and currently, we are creating a new podcast for digital leaders.
I love the variety and creativity of my role!
Nate Martins, Content Marketer at Notion
Nate Martins is a Content Marketer at Notion, a startup providing users with with an all-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases, where he heads up the content program.
It changes all the time. But mostly, my morning starts with either reading, writing or working out. I try to do at least one of those things every day.
Once I start the day at Notion, I’ll usually reserve the morning for any writing I need to do because it’s a nice time to focus. In the afternoon, I’ll typically take meetings, such as doing interviews for customer stories.
I’ll try to end the day with a walk, accompanied by my wife and our dog, Olive.
Divya Voleti, Head of Content at Circle In
Divya Voleti is the Head of Content at Circle In, a personalised program that provides parents, managers and HR with tools that facilitate productivity and connection.
No two days are alike! Our morning stand up takes us from speaking with amazing women with great stories to hosting Linkedin lives with dad activists.
I’m usually up by 6-630, and if the Melbourne weather allows, I go for a 30-40min bike ride. (Please don’t picture a girl in spandex speeding down bike paths…I’m really just a novice rider who is sometimes afraid of big slopes!!)
By 730am, I’m at my desk, focusing on a big task that needs my full attention or responding to urgent requests from the day before. I try to break up the day by taking my dog for a walk, squeezing in a workout or hanging out with my partner on the days that he’s home.
This time allows me to well and truly step away from the screen for a good brain break. I find that it’s especially great when I’m stuck on a problem and need to clear my head. The rest of the work-day it’s bum to seat, switching between Zoom calls, slack messages and everything in between.
I usually have my cross-team chats early in the day so that I can spend the rest of the day actioning stuff as needed. My team keeps things entertaining with GIF wars, silly videos and 10/10 banter so Slack is my go-to when I need some entertainment.
Annette Micallef, Content Marketing Manager at FCB Group
Annette Micallef is a Content Marketing Manager at FCB Group, Australia’s leading workplace legal and human resources (HR) solutions business.
It’s busy, to say the least! I normally try to get up early and start my day with a workout and I always have a coffee – always! Once that’s done and dusted, I’m onto mum duties (quickly make a Vegemite sandwich for my son’s lunchbox, feed the puppy, and drop my son off at school). Then it’s time to work.
I need to be highly organised to pull off the number of projects we have on the go. I rely on my old-fashioned handwritten to-do list as well as a project management tool, Jira, to allocate and manage tasks and deadlines.
Once I have reviewed the key tasks for that day, I have a daily check-in meeting with the entire marketing team to discuss projects or tasks, and of course a little bit of social interaction!
Every day is different (which I love). Proofreading and subediting blogs and articles, briefing the team to produce an eBook, meeting with an employment law expert to deliver a webinar – these are just some of the activities in my day.
One of the more routine tasks I do is spending time building strategies and finessing our marketing and communication plan – it’s a working file that is scalable to meet the needs of the business and any industry changes.
In recent times, the industry has experienced so much change – workplace legislation and case law (think JobKeeper, industrial reform, amendments to the Fair Work Act, changes to Modern Awards).
I need to be informed and understand what is happening and how these events are affecting our key stakeholders – this information is invaluable and helps me to quickly devise a strategy to produce communication and content that informs and educates.
But producing content is a team effort – the entire marketing team works together to do this. I feel so lucky to work with such a wonderful group of talented people.
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