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The Rundown

• 5 Secrets to Self-Control

• Google's AI Search Journeys Are Reshaping SEO With Cindy Krum

• Why ‘Just 5 Minutes’ Always Turns Into 20 (And What to Do Instead) — The Time Trap

• How I use Google Keep as a second brain

• The four-day workweek gets a new booster: AI

• Add this book to your reading list

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Marketing ideas for marketers who hate boring

The best marketing ideas come from marketers who live it.

That’s what this newsletter delivers.

The Marketing Millennials is a look inside what’s working right now for other marketers. No theory. No fluff. Just real insights and ideas you can actually use—from marketers who’ve been there, done that, and are sharing the playbook.

Every newsletter is written by Daniel Murray, a marketer obsessed with what goes into great marketing. Expect fresh takes, hot topics, and the kind of stuff you’ll want to steal for your next campaign.

Because marketing shouldn’t feel like guesswork. And you shouldn’t have to dig for the good stuff.

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🔥Quote/Prompt

Use the quote as a writing or thinking prompt to finish your week strong.

A bit from mine:

(posted in our Doer Entrepreneurs Free Community — off social media)

Did someone forward this to you?

📈 Performance

5 Secrets to Self-Control

White-knuckling your way through tasks with pure willpower works about as well as most January gym memberships. This article is a great review of why we all eventually crack. I see it often with my coaching clients: they burn through way more willpower than they realize, then act surprised when they can't force themselves to do one more thing. This is a huge area we work on in my program and this article is a great read for anyone who ever feels like they’re experiencing “Groundhog Day” when it comes to building and then rebuilding the same habits.

Key Insights:

1. Environmental design beats willpower every time—setting up your workspace or removing temptations works because you're outsmarting your future tired self instead of hoping it'll somehow be more motivated than you are right now.

2. Replacement strategies work better than restriction. Instead of just telling yourself "stop doing that," give yourself something specific to do instead—like applying hand lotion when you want to bite nails. Apparently our brains need actual instructions, not vague demands.

3. Progress tracking beats perfectionism—those impossible standards you set? They're exactly why you give up by Wednesday. Start with baby steps that feel almost too easy, then build from there.

Read the full article for specific self-talk strategies that don't involve mental self-flagellation, ways to rope others into keeping you accountable, and why you don't get bonus points for doing life the "stupid, hard, alone way."

⚙️ Optimization

Google's AI Search Journeys Are Reshaping SEO With Cindy Krum

Is search dead? Kind of, but not in the way most people think. Just like computers changed literally everything about how we do business, AI is reshaping search into something barely recognizable. Instead of panicking and trying to AI-proof your website (spoiler: you can't), Cindy Krum breaks down how to actually work with this new reality. Here's the kicker—if you're fighting against what Google wants instead of aligning with it, you've already lost. And before you say "I don't care about search or SEO," remember that if you want anyone to actually find your business online, then yes, you absolutely do care.

Key Insights:

1. Google isn't just changing its algorithm—it's fundamentally shifting from answering queries to understanding search journeys. This means optimizing for the entire customer decision process, not just individual keywords.

2. Discovery is migrating to platforms like TikTok and Reddit while Google becomes the final purchase decision platform. Smart businesses need presence across all touchpoints, not just a well-optimized website.

3. The real monetization strategy isn't charging for AI features—it's building comprehensive user profiles for hyper-targeted ads. Google wants to show ads only to users likely to convert, making everyone happier (theoretically).

Read the full article for Cindy's specific strategies on mapping search journeys, why she'd invest in TikTok if starting today, and how Google's international consolidation is secretly turbocharging its AI capabilities.

⏲️ Time Management

Why ‘Just 5 Minutes’ Always Turns Into 20 (And What to Do Instead) — The Time Trap

When people come to me, they're usually drowning in overwhelm and hoping for the magic productivity system that'll fix everything. And while my system is pretty awesome (not to brag), here's the truth bomb: no system on earth can save you if you have no clue where your time actually goes or how long anything really takes. The kicker? According to this article, almost none of us know this stuff intuitively. So if you constantly underestimate how long tasks take, congrats, you're totally normal. Now let's figure out what to actually do about it (without the guilt trip).

Key Insights:

1. Your brain zooms in on the task itself while completely ignoring interruptions, complications, and those three urgent emails that'll pop up while you're working. This is why your "quick email" takes 20 minutes instead of 5.

2. Percentage buffers beat fixed time additions—instead of adding "10 more minutes," add 25% to your estimate. Still running late? Try 50% or even 150%. We're genuinely that bad at this.

3. Implementation intentions work better than vague goals. Instead of "I'll work on the proposal tomorrow," try "If it's 9 AM Tuesday, then I'll spend 30 minutes outlining the proposal." Simple but surprisingly effective.

Read the full article for specific strategies on breaking down complex projects, why the Sydney Opera House was 10 years late and $95 million over budget, and how to use the "outside view" to make realistic estimates.

💻 Tools & Technology

How I use Google Keep as a second brain

Real talk…I wouldn't recommend going full tilt on Google Keep as your entire productivity system because it can turn into a digital junk drawer fast. BUT (and this is a big but), it's absolutely brilliant for brain dumps as long as you actually organize those dumps later. The author nails something important here: we can get so obsessed with our beautiful, complex productivity apps that there's no room left for messy thinking. And messy is usually where the magic happens.

Key Insights:

1. The power is in the speed—open app, tap, and you're capturing thoughts without navigating through seventeen menus. Voice memos while walking, screenshots to review later, or running lists all work without friction.

2. Smart organization without overwhelm uses color-coding for visual sorting and labels for filtering by theme. The archive feature lets you clear your main view without deleting anything, functioning like a simple but effective to-do system.

3. Location-based reminders are the sleeper feature here. Set a reminder to trigger when you arrive at a specific store or office—perfect for those "I'll remember when I get there" moments that you absolutely won't remember.

Read the full article for specific organizational strategies, how to seamlessly export longer notes to Google Docs, and why the author ditched complex systems like Obsidian for this simpler approach.

🤖 AI

The four-day workweek gets a new booster: AI

These two articles [Article 1, Article 2] paint an optimistic picture of where we're headed with AI—not the doomsday scenario everyone's freaking out about. Think about it: most companies want to grow without hiring more people (because, you know, money). So when you combine AI's ability to boost productivity [Article 1] with the possibility of working less [Article 2], we get something actually exciting. Whether you're running a team or flying solo as a freelancer, instead of panicking about AI replacing us, let's think about how we can use it to augment our business. For solopreneurs, this could mean finally achieving that elusive work-life balance without sacrificing income.In the 18 months after ChatGPT was released, speakers used words like "meticulous," "delve," "realm," and "adept" up to 51 percent more frequently than in the three years prior, according to researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, who analyzed close to 280,000 YouTube videos from academic channels. The speakers don't realize their language is changing. That's exactly the point.

Key Insights:

1. Google reports AI has resulted in a 10% increase in engineering velocity, with over 30% of their code now AI-generated (up 5% in just six months). [Article 1] For freelancers, this means you could potentially handle more clients or projects in less time—or keep your current workload and actually take Fridays off.

2. The sweet spot isn't AI replacing humans—it's AI handling the grunt work while humans focus on creativity, problem-solving, and deep thinking. One CEO noted: "None of those things correlate with hours." [Article 2] Solo business owners can leverage this by automating repetitive tasks and focusing on high-value work that clients actually pay premium rates for.

3. Companies are creating formal guidance for employees to leverage AI effectively [Article 1], but as a solopreneur, you get to write your own playbook. Test what works, ditch what doesn't, and build your own AI-powered four-day workweek without asking anyone's permission.

Read the full articles for Google's specific AI coding guidelines [Article 1], how 245 organizations are piloting shorter workweeks [Article 2], and why freelancers might be best positioned to benefit from AI productivity gains.

👀 Read, Watch, Listen

This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (Book)

Atomic Habits by James Clear provides a science-based system for building good habits and breaking bad ones through tiny, incremental changes. Clear argues that lasting improvement comes not from setting goals, but from creating better systems—you fall to the level of your systems, not rise to your goals. The book offers practical strategies for making good habits automatic and bad habits impossible, including designing your environment for success, overcoming motivation issues, and recovering from setbacks. Drawing from psychology, biology, and neuroscience, Clear demonstrates how small 1% improvements compound into remarkable results over time, making this an essential guide for personal transformation.

🎉 Celebration Corner

Every week Doers Inner Circle members do a weekly review & get help when they need it — check out the progress they made this week!

• I got business things done.

• Didn't miss any deadlines.

• Wrote texts for [business] webpage.

What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!

🔒Inner Circle: Events & Announcements

• Announcement: Bash Raffle Winner Up! Check here

• The Time Profit: ACTION BOOSTER SPRINT* RSVP here
  *2-Week Event Run: From June 23, 2025 until July 7, 2025

• Monday: {EU Time} Work ON Business. Theme: 5️⃣ Finances  RSVP here

• Tuesday: Work ON Business. Theme: 5️⃣ Finances RSVP here

• Monday/Friday: Goal Setting + Plan Your Week Party

• Accelerators: July 11 is your Office Hours RSVP here

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I hope you found this valuable!

Wishing you much productivity!

- Jenae :)