Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps people perform at their top form, from a favorite drafting table to the best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.
Next up is Sarah Lent, global president at Doremus+Co.
Sarah Lent with Andrea Sullivan, who taught her about color coded calendars.
What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?
My favorite “tool” that I have utilized for over 15 years—and counting—is a calendar color-coding system that helps me prioritize meetings, events and other personal and professional commitments or things I need to do:
- Red for immovable and non-cancellable meetings and/or events.
- Orange for those meetings and/or events that ideally would not be cancelled or moved, but are up for negotiation.
- Green for those meetings and/or events that are easily shifted or rescheduled.
Why is it your favorite?
The system totally transformed my wellbeing and shifted my mindset. I like how it helps create structure and builds in some guidelines. Reds are sacred. These could be anything from a highly important client meeting to your daughter’s soccer game to a hair appointment that cannot be missed. The reds are cherished and respected, and keeping those helps everything else fall into place. The oranges are your professional and personal plans that map out a balance of productivity and prosperity. These ideally should not be moved but are up for negotiation based upon shifting priorities. The rest of the items are green—fluid and flexible to meet the ever-changing needs of agency executive’s daily life.
How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?
I first learned this system when I was young and working as a director at Omnicom’s Interbrand, servicing high-stakes enterprise businesses and a client base in the C-suite. The pressure was significant and the workload was well beyond a 40-hour work week. I was struggling to find balance in my professional and personal life, until my boss, mentor and dear friend, Andrea Sullivan, intervened. She taught me to color code my calendar using the red-orange-green system.
How does it help you be successful?
My work and home life are no less busy than they were years ago, but this system helps me stay on track with agency-related obligations and commitments beyond the office, which is especially important.
Does it have sentimental value?
Yes. The system, along with Andrea, changed my life for good. I appreciate her every day when I look at my calendar.
Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral? Why or why not?
Yes, because it’s so simple and easy to follow yet so few people think to implement such a solution for themselves.
We want to know what tools you use to make you successful. If you’d like to contribute or know someone who would want to be featured in Tools of the Trade, contact kyle.obrien@adweek.com and fill out our survey.