Efficient Time Allocation Strategies

I've tried 100s of time management techniques.  This is by far my favourite: I used to work 80 hrs/week and call it "productive." When really I was: - Attending pointless meetings - Fighting countless small fires - Being involved in every decision Now I work less than 70% the time and get 4x as much done. The Eisenhower Matrix helped me get there.  It teaches you to categorise tasks by importance and urgency. Here's how it works: 1. Do It Now (Urgent + Important) Examples: - Finalise pitch deck before investor meeting tomorrow. - Fix website crash during peak customer traffic. - Respond to press interview request before deadline. Best Practices: - Attack these tasks first each morning with full focus. - Set a strict deadline so urgency fuels execution. 2. Schedule It (Important + Not Urgent) Examples: - Plan quarterly strategy session with leadership team. - Map long-term hiring plan for next 18 months. - Build a personal brand content system for LinkedIn. Best Practices: - Protect time blocks in advance. Never leave them floating. - Tie them to measurable outcomes, not vague intentions. 3. Delegate It (Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Handle inbound customer service queries this week. - Organise travel logistics for upcoming conference. - Update CRM with latest sales call notes. Best Practices: - Build playbooks so your team executes without confusion. - Delegate with deadlines to avoid wasting time. 4. Eliminate It (Not Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Tweak logo colour palette again for fun. - Attend generic networking events with no ICP fit. - Review endless “best productivity tools” articles. Best Practices: - Audit weekly. Cut anything that doesn’t compound long-term. - Replace low-value busywork with rest, thinking, or selling. If you are always reacting to what feels urgent,   You'll never focus on what matters. Attend to the tasks in quadrant 1 efficiently,  Then spend 60-70% of your time in quadrant 2.    That's work that actually builds your business. Which quadrant are you spending too much time in right now?  Drop your thoughts in the comments. My newsletter, Step By Step, breaks down more frameworks like this. It's designed to help you build smarter without burning out. 200k+ builders use it to develop better systems. Join them here:  https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb ♻️ Repost this to help other founders manage their time.  And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building and running businesses. 

Every morning, leaders across the country face the same crushing reality. Sarah Martinez knows it well. She arrived at her office at 6:45 AM, coffee in hand, only to find three urgent emails, a missed call from a key client, and two team members calling in sick. Her calendar, already packed with back-to-back meetings, now needed to absorb their workload too. The irony wasn't lost on her: as teams get leaner, leaders spend more time doing and less time leading. The conventional wisdom fails us here. "Just delegate more," the experts say. But to whom? When teams are stretched thin, traditional time management advice falls flat. The real solution lies deeper, in the space between efficiency and reality. The truth is, most leaders are drowning in plain sight. They're running faster on the same hamster wheel, trying to solve tomorrow's challenges with yesterday's time management tools. Too often, a leader’s calendar isn't a record of their own commitments – it's a diary of other people's priorities. But there's a better way. Here are 7 unconventional strategies that actually work in the real world: 1. The "Energy Audit" Calendar: Your calendar lies to you. It shows time blocks but hides energy costs. Start color-coding meetings based on energy required, not just time consumed. Red for high-stakes dealings. Yellow for creative work. Green for routine tasks. Schedule around your energy peaks, not just open slots. The difference is immediate and profound. 2. The "Batch and Bank" Method: Look at your sent emails. How many times have you explained the same concept? Record these explanations once, then share them repeatedly. One-to-one becomes one-to-many. Your time multiplies. 3. "Productive Procrastination": Everyone procrastinates. The trick is making it work for you. When avoiding one task, channel that energy into completing another. Keep a list of important but non-urgent tasks for these moments. Turn avoidance into advancement. 4. "Decision Sprints": Decision fatigue is real. Combat it by front-loading your minor decisions. Twenty minutes each morning to decide the decidable. Your afternoon self will thank you. 5. "Template Everything": Recurring situations demand recurring solutions. Create frameworks for everything – meeting agendas, project reviews, even email responses. Complex becomes routine. Routine becomes automatic. 6. The "Power Hour" Principle: Be visible but unreachable for one hour daily. Your team will learn to solve problems independently while knowing you're there if truly needed. It's not abandonment – it's empowerment. 7. The "Future You" Strategy: End each day by preparing for tomorrow's first task. Fifteen minutes invested today saves thirty tomorrow. Your morning self deserves this gift. The best system isn't the most complex or the most innovative. It's the one you'll actually use. Start small. Pick one strategy. Master it. Then move forward. Your team is watching, waiting to follow your lead. Show them a better way.

Time blocking fills a calendar. Time allocation fulfills a vision. I learned that the hard way. Years ago, I was “blocking time” like crazy. Recruiting blocks. Call blocks. Follow-up blocks. I had a calendar full of good intentions. But here’s the truth: I rarely honored those blocks. If a meeting ran long, I’d move the block. If I was tired, I’d skip it. If something urgent came up, I’d erase it altogether. Blocking time gave me the illusion of progress. But it wasn’t moving me closer to my vision. Everything changed when I started allocating time instead of blocking it. Allocation is different. It’s a commitment you make in advance before the moment arrives, that says, “This is happening, no matter what.” For a recruiting leader, that’s everything. Because without allocated time: Vision is always out in the future. Recruiting never becomes a daily standard. Growth always stays “someday.” When you allocate time, you’re building a system you can trust: Affirmation allocation → Every conversation starts with affirmation. Vision allocation → Time set aside to refine and share where you’re going. Value allocation → Weekly moments to deliver something useful. Relationship allocation → Time to connect over coffee, lunch, or events. Objection allocation → Practice responses before the moment, not during it. Social allocation → Show up online with consistent posts and engagement. Follow-up allocation → Daily rhythm that ensures no one slips through the cracks. This isn’t about perfect schedules. It’s about standards. Most leaders block time. Few leaders allocate it. And that’s why few leaders ever fulfill their vision.

Some say PM & PO is too much work for a single person. Have similar doubts? You might reclaim 15–20 hours/week. And it's not rocket science. - Before we dive in, I spent 10 years in product. I talked to, advised, and observed hundreds of PMs. And made all possible productivity mistakes myself, including working 520 extra hours/year. As a rule of thumb, if you have 1-2 teams, anything above 35-40+ hours should be a warning sign. - Here are 10 tactics to get back your time: 1. Leverage the Pareto principle According to it, 80% of outcomes result from 20% of actions. Identify and double down on that 20%. Consider eliminating the rest. No one will remember them 6 months from now. So why bother? - 2. Respect your strategy You can't be everything to everyone. Strategy requires tradeoffs that amplify the value and make strategy difficult to copy. Some customers will be delighted, others disappointed. And that's a good thing. - 3. Apply timeboxing Per Parkinson’s Law, your work will expand to fill the allocated time. So, set a timebox for every task you start. I also find it extremely helpful to group similar tasks (e.g., interviews) into larger blocks. - 4. Work in a single-threaded mode Multitasking is a myth. According to the research presented by Gerald M. Weinberg, each additional project or task is a loss of ~20% of productivity. Single-threaded teams are one of the secrets of Amazon's success. - 5. Prioritize ruthlessly Many things busy PMs do don't matter. Will anyone ever read this 20-page-long document? Do you need this 2-hour meeting? Can you make it in 15'? Or async? - 6. Apply the Last Responsible Moment (LRM) strategy Decisions made too early are risky. They often result in work that needs to be thrown away. Delay decisions until the cost of not making a decision is greater than the cost of making it. Similarly, avoid taking action too early. - 7. Delegate more than you are comfortable with Providing baby-step instructions might result in a positive feedback loop. Others start expecting even more detailed information. Instead, communicate the vision (WHY), strategic context, and objectives so people can make better decisions. - 8. Don't promise too soon Nobody likes committing to a date. But sometimes, it might be necessary. Don't make those commitments too soon. Ask for additional time to perform Product Discovery. Also, it's better to underpromise and over-deliver. - 9. Automate If you don't use LLMs and AI agents (n8n, Cassidy) virtually every day, you're lagging behind. As a rule of thumb, most repeatable, time-consuming tasks you could delegate to a graduate can also be delegated to AI. - 10. Take care of yourself Take breaks, get enough sleep, and exercise. Find a hobby unrelated to your work. The quality of the hours you work is way more important than the number of hours. --- Hope that helps. I'm still learning and don't know everything. What would you add to that list?

I recently sat down with the CEO of a nearly 8 billion company in his office, and I was struck by his deliberate approach to time management. All executives keep a full schedule and must master effective time management. However, he took "hyper-scheduling" to another level—but with a thoughtfulness that transformed what could be an oppressive system into a powerful tool for effectiveness. Every minute of his day was accounted for. And I mean every minute. The real kicker? This was all printed out on a sheet on his desk and on the white board in his office. A constant visual reminder of his time allocation. What struck me the most about this approach was the intentionality. By having every commitment visibly mapped out, he gained complete awareness of his time allocation. This transparency made it impossible to ignore when he was overcommitted, forcing conscious trade-off decisions rather than simply cramming more into an already full day. Time as a Fixed Currency He viewed his calendar as a fixed budget that couldn't be exceeded. When a new opportunity arose, he would have to open his calendar and ask, "What am I willing to remove to make room for this?" This forced immediate prioritization decisions rather than defaulting to "yes" and figuring it out later. So, I know what you’re thinking, that this is a cool story, but what’s the benefit to this approach? → Strategic Focus By pre-deciding where his time goes, he prevents reactive work from dominating his day. → Reduced Decision Fatigue The system eliminates hundreds of small daily decisions about time allocation. → Psychological Clarity Having a visual representation of time commitments creates clear expectations. → Improved Meeting Quality Unconventional meeting lengths force preparation and focus. → Value-Based Time Allocation The system makes it easy to reassess if time allocations still match priorities. The transparency of the system makes it impossible to fool himself about where his time actually goes versus where he claims his priorities lie. Most people's relationship with time is passive. This system forces an active relationship with one’s most limited resource.

It’s not my usual article day, but I couldn’t wait to share this one. Why? Because I know so many of you are feeling the same: overwhelmed by endless tasks, struggling to keep up with everything that demands your attention. So let’s talk TIME. Master Time, Master Success: Proven Strategies for Leaders Here’s the deal: Time is the ultimate equalizer. We all get 24 hours. That’s it. But what separates the truly successful from the overwhelmed? How you manage those hours... 👇 Here’s a sneak peek at the top strategies from this week’s article: 1️⃣ Ruthlessly Prioritize Ask yourself: What are the top 5 things that will move the needle this year? Then, focus 95% of your time on those 5. If it’s not one of those five? Delegate or cut it. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Focus is a force multiplier. The tighter your focus, the bigger your results. 2️⃣ Stop Death by Meeting Before you schedule or attend another meeting, ask: Does this meeting have a clear purpose tied to a critical decision? If not, cancel it. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Meetings without purpose are really distractions in disguise. 3️⃣ Master Calendar Clarity Start with a clean slate. Rebuild your calendar with INTENTION—deep work, high-priority meetings, and most importantly, time to think. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: A cluttered calendar = a cluttered mind. 4️⃣ Time Block for Deep Work You’re a leader, not a micromanager. Block off 1-2 hours a day for undistracted work on the big challenges. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Deep work isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. 5️⃣ Make Well-Being Non-Negotiable High-performing leaders aren’t just good at their jobs—they’re good at life. Schedule time to recharge...skip the slow burn. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Peak productivity comes from balance. 6️⃣ Audit Your Collaboration Time Be ruthless with your time—collaboration should be about solving problems or making decisions. Everything else? Skip it. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Collaboration is only productive when it drives results. 7️⃣ Delegate Like a Pro Let it go. If its not vision, strategy, or leadership? It belongs on someone else’s plate. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Your job is to empower, not control. 8️⃣ Track Your Time, Own Your Day For one week, track every minute. Where’s your time going, really? Once you know, you can fix it. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Time is your most valuable asset. Own it, don’t let it own you. 9️⃣ Batch Similar Tasks Together Stop multitasking—it’s a myth. Group similar tasks and handle them in focused blocks to boost efficiency. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Switching between tasks kills productivity. Batching is the answer. 1️⃣0️⃣ Reflect & Adjust Each week, take a few minutes to reflect: What worked? What didn’t? Then tweak your approach for the next week. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Time management isn’t static. It’s a process that needs refining. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

A founder I worked with cut their meetings by 80% in two weeks. Here are the 7 rules that made it happen: → Rule 1: Do a time audit Assign a dollar value to every hour on your calendar. Most executives spend hours in $10 meetings when they should be focused on $1,000 work. If a meeting is worth less than your hourly rate, delegate it or delete it. → Rule 2: Ask one question before every meeting "Is this the highest, best use of my time right now?" Most people don't ask this. They just show up because the meeting was on the calendar. Break the pattern. If you can't answer yes to that question, you shouldn't be there. → Rule 3: Kill your open-door policy Being "always available" destroys your ability to do deep work. One founder went from letting people drop by anytime to establishing office hours, freeing up 60% of his week for strategic thinking. His team learned to solve problems themselves. Everyone won. → Rule 4: Batch your interruptions Check email twice a day, not ten times. Every time you switch tasks, you lose momentum. Your brain needs recovery time to get back to peak performance. → Rule 5: Schedule recovery between meetings Your brain after 4 back-to-back meetings? Absolute fried! 10 minutes is enough to reset you back to baseline. Walk around, do some squats, get water. Research backs it up: Your attention span improves, and the ROI is immediate. → Rule 6: Build bookends around your workday Start each morning with 3 questions: 1. What are my top 3 priorities today? 2. Where will I spend my $1,000/hour time? 3. What can I eliminate or delegate? Then end each evening with a 10-minute debrief. This lets you fully detach from work. → Rule 7: Simplify your to-do list Go through your calendar: Cancel what you can, and delegate the rest. Spend 60 days focused exclusively on tasks in your zone of genius. Ultimately, winning back your calendar comes down to deciding what's worth your time in the first place. Most founders think they need to be in every meeting, on every call, available to everyone. The best founders know: If you're spending 80% of your time on anything other than your highest-value work, something is wrong. Start with one rule, and build from there. Save this post and keep coming back to it. If you’re a founder and executive currently feeling stuck DM me “Clarity” for an audit of your situation.

Planning to be out for Thanksgiving week. It's November 10th. Which means I have exactly two weeks to get ahead. Most people wait until the week before vacation to panic about their workload. I used to do that too. Scramble the last few days, work late nights, show up to the holiday already fried. Not anymore. Two weeks out is when I start planning for compressed capacity. Here's the framework I'm using right now to work ahead without burning out: 1. Start with Daily Big 3 What is both important AND urgent that must happen today? Those three things get scheduled in blocks first. Non-negotiable. Everything else waits. 2. Map the 4-week window I'm looking at Nov 11-Dec 6. The two weeks before I'm out, the week I'm gone, and the week I'm back. What's truly time-sensitive across this entire period? When do these items realistically fit in actual blocks of time? 3. Audit my meetings NOW I'm looking at my calendar for the next four weeks and asking: Which meetings can be graciously rescheduled? I'm not canceling—I'm being strategic about capacity. Most people appreciate the honesty and advance notice. 4. Delegate what I can What can my business manager handle so I can focus on the work only I can do? This isn't dumping last-minute—it's strategic allocation with time for handoff. 5. Tighten my routines (not loosen them) This is the counterintuitive part. When I know capacity is about to compress, I don't let my healthy habits slip. I tighten them up. Because I need to be sharper over these next few weeks, not more scattered. I need sustained focus, not borrowed time. That means: → Morning routine stays non-negotiable → Sleep is protected, not sacrificed → The time I have gets used with precision The pattern I see leaders fall into: They wait until the week before vacation to deal with their workload. Then they loosen routines—skip workouts, sleep less, work nights—thinking they're "buying" more productive hours. But you don't get more hours. You get the same hours with worse judgment, lower energy, and resentment about taking time off. The better approach: Start planning two weeks out. Make strategic decisions about what matters. Protect the capacity you have instead of pretending you can manufacture more. This isn't about being superhuman. It's about being strategic when you see compressed capacity coming. Because the week before Thanksgiving? That's just one example. This is every leader's reality before: → Quarter-end → Board meetings → Major launches → Industry conferences → Any planned time off We can't eliminate compressed timelines. But we can stop treating them like surprises and start planning for them like the strategic constraint they are. Question: How far in advance do you start planning when you know you'll be out? Or are you a "deal with it the week before" person? #vacationplanning #capacityplanning #timemanagemnt #intentionalleadership