Spreadsheets, Stickies, and Whiteboards: A Love Letter to Organized Chaos

There are two types of people in the world: those who claim they “thrive in chaos” and those who have a color-coded system for everything, down to their grocery lists. Most of us, though, fall somewhere in between—trying to balance big ideas with practical execution, creativity with efficiency, and getting things done with getting the right things done.

And that’s the thing: creativity without structure is chaos. But too much structure? It kills creativity. The real magic happens somewhere in between—a system that’s just organized enough to create clarity without suffocating spontaneity.

The Myth of ‘Pure’ Creativity

People love the romanticized idea of creativity happening in a flash of inspiration. The Eureka! moment. The divine spark. But anyone who actually works in a creative field knows that inspiration is unreliable at best and non-existent at worst.

Great ideas don’t come from staring at a blank page. Oftentimes, they come from constraints—deadlines, structure, and limitations that force you to make decisions. That’s why some of the most creative minds in history had rigid systems in place: Hemingway wrote standing up at the same time every morning. Picasso had a daily work routine like clockwork. Creativity, it turns out, isn’t magic. It’s a process.

The Difference Between Productivity and Running in Circles

Busy ≠ productive.

If you’ve ever sat through an hour-long meeting that could’ve been an email, spent more time organizing your to-do list than actually tackling it, or felt like you were constantly working but never actually moving forward, you know what I mean.

Here’s where things go wrong:

✅ Structure done right = A clear system that keeps things moving and prioritizes work that actually matters.

🚫 Structure gone wrong = A bloated process that creates more work instead of reducing it.

Some common traps:

• Over-planning as procrastination. If you’re spending more time prepping than doing, you’re just delaying the work.

• Meetings for the sake of meetings. If there’s no clear agenda or decision needed, cancel it.

• Tool overload. Productivity software is great—until you’re using five different platforms just to track one project.

The goal isn’t to be busy—it’s to be effective. And that starts with using structure to your advantage.

The Tips & Tools That Keep Me Sane (and Actually Work)

There’s no single “right” way to organize your work, but these are the tools and strategies that keep my brain from imploding:

Big-Picture Planning: Calendar Blocking

At Against, we rely on calendar blocking to keep the chaos in check. Calendar blocking is a time management technique where you set aside specific chunks of time for deep work, emails, and strategy—so your day doesn’t get swallowed by meetings and ad-hoc tasks. (Bonus: Task-switching kills efficiency by 40%, so batching similar tasks actually helps you work faster.)

How We Make Calendar Blocking Work at Against

Set Realistic Expectations
You can’t schedule every minute of your day, and even if you could, things would still go off the rails. Fires pop up, priorities shift, and unexpected asks roll in. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s to have a framework that makes adjusting easier when things inevitably go sideways.

Define Your Work Hours
Decide when you’re on and when you’re off. Blocking out clear start and stop times creates boundaries that help you stay productive and avoid burnout.

Start with Recurring Tasks
Some things happen like clockwork—weekly meetings, reporting, regular check-ins. Blocking those first gives your schedule structure and keeps the rest from turning into a free-for-all.

Carve Out Deep Work Time
Know when you’re at your best (morning, mid-afternoon, post-coffee refuel) and protect that time for focused work. Meetings and Slack can wait—this is when the real thinking happens.

Batch Similar Tasks
Jumping between unrelated tasks wrecks productivity. Instead of bouncing between emails, project planning, and creative work all day, stack similar tasks together so your brain doesn’t have to keep shifting gears.

Build in Buffers
Leave room for the unexpected. Meetings will run long. Emails will need responses. Giving yourself breathing space between blocks keeps your day from spiraling into a game of catch-up.

Review & Adjust
Calendar blocking isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it system. What worked last week might not work this week. Take a few minutes at the end of each week to adjust your schedule so it fits what’s actually happening, not just what you hoped would happen.

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Keeping the Chaos Contained: Task Management Tools

The right tools don’t just track work—they make sure sh*t actually gets done. At Against, we use a mix of platforms to keep projects moving without drowning in busywork.

📌 Todoist → A no-nonsense individual to-do list app that makes it easy to prioritize what needs attention today vs. what can wait. (Link: Todoist)

📌 Airtable → Our high-level agency project tracker. It gives everyone visibility into what’s happening across teams without getting lost in the weeds. (Link: Airtable)

📌 Miro → Where productive brainstorms happen. We use it to map out ideas, build frameworks, and make sense of messy thinking. (Link: Miro)

📌 Loom → Our go-to for “meet-less” meetings. When an email is too long but a meeting isn’t necessary, Loom lets us send quick, visual explanations—keeping calendars clear and work flowing. (Perfect for explaining processes or sharing feedback.)  (Link: Loom)

For even more tools that help us work smarter, check out our full Against Hackpack—a curated list of our favorite productivity, strategy, and creative resources.

Bottom Line: Creativity Thrives in Organized Chaos

Too much structure stifles creativity. Not enough structure leads to chaos. The best workflows sit in the middle—enough organization to streamline work, enough flexibility to leave room for ideas to breathe.

If you’re constantly working but never getting anywhere, it’s time for a reset. Cancel a meeting. Close some tabs. Find a system that works for you, whether it’s a spreadsheet, a sticky note, or a whiteboard covered in illegible scribbles.

Because in the end, good work doesn’t come from busy work. It comes from having the space—and the structure—to actually create.