Stop Firefighting: Own Your Calendar Like a CEO

If you’re constantly in firefighting mode as a Customer Success Manager, you’re not alone. Your days are packed with emails, QBRs, bug reports, and Slack pings. But here’s the real talk: time isn’t your problem. Prioritization is. In this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, Anika Zubair shares tactical strategies to stop reacting and start operating like a strategic, revenue-generating CEO of your book of business.

Why Your Calendar Is Out of Control (And What to Do About It)

Anika kicks off by breaking down the top three time management mistakes CS pros make:

1. Reactive Planning: Starting your day in your inbox or Slack sets you up to be reactive all day. Inbox zero may feel productive, but it rarely moves the revenue needle.

2. Treating All Customers Equally: Giving the same attention to every customer, regardless of their value or growth potential, is a fast track to burnout and minimal impact.

3. No CEO Time: CSMs need to think of themselves as the CEO of their book of business. That means blocking out time to work on strategy, not just in the day-to-day.

The takeaway? You’re not short on time. You’re short on planning.

How to Block Your Calendar Like a Revenue-Generating CS Pro

To shift out of reactive mode, Anika emphasizes calendar ownership. She explains how she structures her week with dedicated blocks of time that allow her to think, plan, and act strategically:

• Monday Morning: Block for personal development and strategic planning. This sets the tone for a proactive week.

• Wednesday (CEO Time): A no-meeting zone dedicated entirely to revenue work like QBR prep, account strategy, stakeholder mapping, and renewal planning.

• Friday Afternoon: A 90-minute block to reflect, learn, and plan for the next week. This ensures you start Monday strong.

If it’s not on your calendar, it doesn’t happen. Anika’s tip: don’t just label time as “Focus Block.” Instead, title it like you would a customer meeting. For example, “Build Strategic Plan for Account X to Unlock Upsell.”

Apply the 80/20 Rule to Customer Success

Most CSMs try to do it all. But spending equal time on all accounts is a losing game. Anika brings back the classic 80/20 rule: spend 80 percent of your time on the 20 percent of accounts that actually impact revenue, retention, or advocacy.

Your loudest customer? Not always your best expansion opportunity.

Your highest-paying customer? May already be at their ceiling.

Your greenest customer? Not necessarily the most strategic.

The solution? Conduct whitespace analysis to identify where your time will yield the highest ROI. If you’re managing 100 accounts, maybe only 20 need your attention this quarter. Prioritize accordingly.

Make Your Calendar Your Strategy Tool (Not Just a To-Do List)

Anika shares a personal story from managing a global CS team. Early on, her calendar dictated her actions. It was packed with meetings, calls across time zones, and back-to-back escalations. That’s when she realized she needed to flip the script.

Instead of being at the mercy of her schedule, she turned her calendar into a strategic planning tool. That meant:

• Communicating availability: Letting her team know when she’s in deep-focus CEO time.

• Theming days: For example, Tuesday = APAC, Thursday = US, Wednesday = Revenue Day.

• Color coding: Not just for fun, but to help her brain quickly switch context and stay focused.

This structure gave her the mental space to build the revenue frameworks she now teaches in RevUp Academy.

Key Takeaways

• Stop being reactive. Starting your day in your inbox is a trap. Start with strategy instead.

• Time-block like a CEO. Use calendar blocks for revenue work, planning, and reflection.

• Protect your calendar. Don’t just label time as busy. Name it, own it, and defend it.

• Apply the 80/20 rule. Focus your energy on the accounts that will move the needle.

• Use themes and color coding. Bring clarity to your workweek and reduce context switching.

Weekly Challenge

Anika’s challenge to you:

Block out one new strategic calendar session this week. It could be a Monday morning planning session, a two-hour CEO block on Wednesday, or a Friday reflection window. Name it like a real meeting and protect it. Then send her a screenshot—she wants to cheer you on.

Listen Now & Build Strategic Time Habits

This episode with Anika Zubair is a must-listen for CSMs and CS leaders ready to reclaim their time and boost their strategic impact.

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