Picture this: You’re juggling multiple calls with new and existing customers, brainstorming solutions for a unique enterprise use case, scoping out AI tools you need to stay on top of, and—if you’re lucky—squeezing in a quick workout before diving into late-night deep work. That whirlwind pretty much sums up the day-to-day of Ashley Artrip, a GTM engineer at Clay.
In my most recent conversation with Ashley, we dove into how her varied background—startup founder turned AI enthusiast—fuels her approach to productivity, tech adoption, and staying inspired. We also talked about how she’s harnessing AI in ways that remind her of the “calculator moment” in education, and why she believes the next year of work will be a game-changer for all of us.
Meet Ashley: Founder, coach, and go-to-market engineer
Ashley’s early career saw her co-founding a startup that helped people make career transitions. She witnessed firsthand how quickly roles can evolve and how pivotal it is to build skills that transcend job titles. These days, she channels her knack for “teaching and enabling” into her new role as a GTM engineer at Clay.
“I basically became a professional executor,” she laughs. “I used to manage everything from strategy to sales to coaching. Now I’m zeroed in on exploring AI tools, talking to enterprise customers, and helping them use Clay more effectively. The biggest piece is that teaching aspect—helping people navigate change.”
The hybrid day (meetings + deep work)
Ashley’s calendar often includes anywhere from 3–5 meetings with current customers or prospects. That alone would fill anyone’s schedule. But in between, she’s also building Clay tables, testing AI tools, and prepping presentations.
- Morning ritual: Grab coffee, skim her “meeting brief” that Clay auto-generates, check which accounts she’s talking to that day, and confirm any follow-ups.
- Afternoon calls: Meet with customer teams, showing them how to leverage Clay in ways that cut down repetitive tasks. (She calls it “unlocking more time to do the creative, interesting stuff.”)
- Evening deep dives: “I’ll either start early or work later, so I can get into a flow without that mid-day meeting popping up.”
“I say ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ more often. Otherwise, I’ll keep trying everything. Being aware of how easily I get excited helps me preserve focus.”
How she defines productivity
Contrary to the hustle mindset of “never stop moving,” Ashley’s learned to measure her success by how well she showed up for others—and herself.
“I do a quick scan of my tasks and meetings. Did I follow up on that client’s request? Did I build out that table I promised? It’s reactive but in the best way: if I’ve freed someone else to move forward, then that’s a great day.”
She’s also intentional about balancing “heads-up” work (collaborating in real time) with “heads-down” time (tackling complex tasks in solitude). Key to that? Tools that smooth out the friction.
The toolkit: Motion, Notion, Slack… and Hoop
If you can name it, Ashley’s probably tested it.
- Motion
- “There’s so much mental energy in deciding when to do something,” she says.
- Motion auto-schedules tasks based on priority and deadlines, which keeps her from manually juggling a to-do list.
- Notion
- She uses it for meeting summaries and daily planning.
- Even calls herself a “power user,” though she modestly adds, “I’ve seen real pros—I’m definitely still learning!”
- Slack
- “We have so many channels at Clay—champagne problems, sure, but it’s easy to miss things.”
- She tries to minimize Slack time or batch-check it; otherwise, context switching derails her day.
- Hoop
- “Hoop is my eyes and ears for Slack and calls,” she says.
- Meetings fly by, and with Hoop capturing tasks, she doesn’t have to rely on her memory or typed notes to know what needs follow-up.
- That shift from “scrambling to catch action items” to “I’ve got them automatically” gives her more mental space to focus on deeper tasks.
Why AI isn’t stealing your job (but it might kill mundane tasks)
Ashley sees AI as parallel to how calculators transformed math class. Initially, teachers feared it would make them obsolete. Instead, calculators freed them to teach bigger concepts. She’s convinced AI will do the same for modern professionals:
“I bounce ideas off ChatGPT almost like it’s my co-founder. It helps me plan, strategize, or handle mundane things that drain my energy—so I can stay locked into work that lights me up.”
She’s most excited about AI bots and agents that automate repetitive steps. But she’s quick to caution that not everyone has equal access or awareness of these new tools.
“I worry about small business owners who are strapped for time. There’s a risk the folks who don’t adopt AI might get left behind. I want to see these tools become more inclusive, not create another digital divide.”
“Soft skills matter even more now”
With tasks like research or data entry becoming ever more automated, Ashley sees a big advantage for folks who excel in empathy, communication, and creativity:
“It’s not just about knowing how to use an AI prompt—it’s understanding your client’s real need and nurturing that relationship. Tools like Clay or Hoop free you up so you can connect deeper with customers instead of digging through random spreadsheets.”
On the horizon: from “just doing it all” to “zone of genius”
Ashley’s overarching theme for 2024? Working in your zone of genius. She’s relentlessly looking for ways to delegate or automate tasks that weigh her down—using AI wherever possible—so she can show up better for high-level brainstorming, coaching, and building solutions.
“I keep telling people it’s such an amazing time to be in the workforce. Tech is evolving at lightning speed, so we’re learning new ways to focus on what we love, not what drains us.”
She’s also personalizing that approach outside of work. Case in point: “I literally used project management tools to plan my birthday vacation,” she says with a laugh, “complete with RSVP forms, who’s flying in when, and the activities. A year and a half ago, that never would’ve happened. I’d be too scattered to track it well.”
Automate the mundane
It’s no secret that AI is top-of-mind for a lot of teams right now.
But if we follow Ashley’s lead, the real story is about freeing humans from low-level busywork, so we can pour our energy into creative tasks and genuine connections.
Whether that’s brainstorming a custom solution for a client or planning a once-in-a-lifetime getaway with friends—both flourish when we automate the mundane.
Ashley’s final reminder?
“We’re not losing our roles to AI. We’re gaining new ways to supercharge our strengths.”
Ready to spend more time in your zone of genius?
Try Hoop to capture tasks effortlessly across your email, Slack, and meetings—so you can ditch the constant context-switching and focus on the fun stuff.
Thanks for reading, and here’s to working smarter (not harder) in a world where AI and humans collaborate for real impact.