The weird things I swear by that help me as a CMO

_{Day 79/100}

Hey—It's Tim.

I'm sitting in my office staring at a $40 pen.
Ridiculous, right?
My dad would laugh.

"Why not use the free ones from the bank?"

But here's the thing. This pen makes me write.
And writing makes me think.
And thinking... well, that's the whole damn job.

I see you, with your 17 browser tabs open.

Slack pinging.
Email flooding in.
Calendar.
Notion.
Figma.
Miro.

"Just one more productivity app and I'll get my shit together."

Nope.

Sometimes the best tech is hardware. It’s touchable.

To use one of my favourite words, it’s tangible.

So, here are my favourite non-software tech tools that actually get my work done:

1. Samsung Tab + dot grid for life

Pen and paper is king. Always has been. But with travelling, I need way to keep all my notes in one place. All the time.

I love a notebook. I buy one almost every time I’m at an airport, (thanks Mum for 40+ moleskines)

Now I scribble in Samsung Notes with a screen protector and, this is critical, dot grid layout.

You're insane if you use lines for drawing.
Even worse if you use blank paper for written notes.

Dot grid?
Best of both worlds.

It's actually bonkers how fucking good dot grid is. I lose a little respect for people who don't use dot grid. Strong statement? Sure. But I stand by it.

I sketch out product designs on it. Email layouts too (ironically, including this one).

For me, being able to draw things out, and then instantly have access to them on my laptop is worth it’s weight in digital gold.

And you, my wonderful reader, get access to my fun little drawings 🫠 

2. Physical kitchen timer

"Have you tried the Pomodoro technique?"

Yes, and it changed everything.
But every digital timer sucked.
Distracting.
Buried in apps.
Annoying.

So I grabbed this one from Amazon. When that 15-minute work session is done
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

There's something weirdly satisfying about physically twisting the dial to set my next session. No screens, no distractions.

3. MX Master 3 mouse (I own three of them)

Have a great f*cking mouse.

I use the MX Master 3.

I have three of them.
Just in case one dies.
Or I lose it.
Or I'm working from a different location.

When I went to Lisbon a few years back, I bought one in the airport because I forgot mine.
I was there for 4 days. Worth it.

People cheap out on mice and then wonder why their wrist hurts and they miss deadlines. Your hand is on this thing for 8+ hours a day.

It's the physical connection to your digital world.

The side scroll wheel alone is worth the price. And that thumb rest? Perfection.

Spend the money. Buy the backup. Thank me later.

4. The "yoyo hobby" technique

I have this thing I call a "yoyo hobby."

It's something you do with your hands. Not at your desk. With zero expectation to be good at it.

For me, it's an actual yoyo.
And a Rubik's Cube.

These dumb little skill toys sitting on my shelf have solved more problems than any brainstorming session.

When I'm stuck, I get up, grab the cube, and fiddle with it for five minutes. No screens. No thinking about the problem directly.

And then 💥bang💥 the answer arrives.

Our brains aren't meant to solve problems while staring at the problem. They work in the background, when your conscious mind is distracted.

So find your yoyo. Keep it visible. Use it when stuck.

You'll look weird to your coworkers. But you'll have better ideas.

Spend your marketing budget on some fancy pens.

Our brains evolved for thousands of years to interact with physical objects. Digital interfaces are brand new.

And, even though I’m leading product design for software, sometimes a pen that flows just right, paper that makes the perfect sound, a timer you can touch, is what I need to get things across the line.

The tech industry wants you to believe more features = better work.

But your best ideas probably won't come from another app.

They'll come when you step away and give your brain what it actually wants.

So buy the fancy pen. You deserve it.

See you tomorrow.

✌️ Tim "Pen and Paper is still #1" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.

P.S. What's your favorite non-tech tech? Hit reply - I'm genuinely curious.

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