What would you do with an extra 20 hours per week?
No, really - think about it.
Would you take that bucket list trip with your family?
Invest more into your health and relationships?
Or maybe you'd double down on your business. Build that new offer you've been thinking about. Or something else.
The reason I'm asking is because I used to dream of regaining 20 hours a week.
At Bitmaker, I worked 14 hours a day for YEARS. And it made me miserable. I had no time freedom or flexibility. The business was running me into the ground.
But then, I woke up after a decade of "hustle" mentality.
I committed to streamlining and optimizing every area of my business. To put myself before my business. It took 4 years, but today:
- I cut my workday from 14 hours to 4
- I take one week off every 6 weeks
- I travel the world while working
And the best part?
The systems that created those results are universal. ANY founder in ANY industry can use them to get back 20 hours per week and build a business that runs itself.
That's what I'm going to share with you in this email. Here's the exact 3-step process I've used to create radical time freedom and build a life and business I love:
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A personal brand builds authority, attracts ideal customers, and boosts sales.
It’s a lifelong asset.
LinkedIn for CEOs is the first personal branding course specifically for CEOs. In it, I share the exact system I use to generate $2.8M annually from LinkedIn.
Inside you'll find:
- My content creation system that grew my LinkedIn to 633K+ followers in just over a year
- Tools and templates that I use to autopilot my LinkedIn growth
- The CEO’s guide to delegating and outsourcing your LinkedIn Growth
Now, back to regaining 20 hours a week...
Step 1: Conduct a Time Audit & Categorize Your Tasks
You manage what you measure.
The first step to reclaiming your time? Get crystal clear on where it's actually going.
For one week, track how you spend every 30-minute block of your day in a spreadsheet. Click here to copy the template you see below.
1) Hourly rate audit:
Categorize each activity as either:
- High-leverage ($1,000+/hour tasks that drive the business forward)
- Low-leverage ($100-$500/hour tasks that are necessary but not the highest value)
- No-leverage (<$100/hour tasks that someone else could easily do)
2) Energy audit:
Assess how each type of activity impacts your energy.
You'll eliminate, automate, or delegate anything that's low energy.
3) Elimination audit
"Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else's time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash." - Tim Ferriss
A mistake many founders make is that they rush right into delegation.
Instead, begin by eliminating tasks. Ask yourself -
"Is this task absolutely essential for my business?"
4) Automation audit
For the remaining tasks, assess -
Can I automate this task?
No-code tools like Zapier and Make can take care of most admin work.
5) Delegation audit
For the final tasks, ask yourself - can I delegate this to someone? If yes, to whom?
Fill in the “Delegate” and “Who” columns.
Then, move on to the next step:
Step 2: Set Up Systems to Delegate Low-Value Tasks
Now that you know what you shouldn't be spending time on, it's time to delegate those tasks.
How to delegate tasks:
1) Create a minimum-viable SOP
- Create a Loom to record yourself doing the task
- Turn it into a Google Doc text-based instruction
2) Use the 4-step delegation system to teach the skill to your team
You can delegate any task in 4 steps:
- You do the task with them watching
- They do the task with you watching live
- They do the task and send you a loom of how they did it
- They do the task autonomously
3) Hire for the tasks you can't delegate
You'll find that the level of tasks gets higher and higher over time.
Group any tasks you could delegate but lack the team to do. Use them to write a list of responsibilities. Your delegation list becomes their job description.
One of the most powerful hires you can make early on is an Executive Assistant.
They can help you:
- Manage your calendar & appoint meetings
- Do administrative tasks like invoicing
- Manage your emails (CEOs spend 30% of their time managing emails)
I recently heard about Athena on Tim Ferriss’ podcast. They pre-train their EAs for you so that they can delegate to themselves.
I heard they have a long waitlist right now. But with this link, you can bypass it (and also save $1500 on your first month with them).
Step 3: Fiercely Protect Your Time for High-Leverage Work
With low-value tasks off your plate, it's time to maximize your "genius zone" hours.
You do so by becoming unreachable. Here are 6 rules I follow:
- I have a "meeting-free mornings" policy - I take no meetings 8am-12pm every day. Instead, I spend this time focused on deep work.
- I cut distractions. Turn off notifications, use a website blocker, and work in a distraction-free environment.
- I always tackle my #1 most important task first before doing anything else.
- I limit all meetings and calls to a specific 4-hour block, 1-2 days a week.
- I use a scheduling tool like Calendly to streamline scheduling and avoid back-and-forth.
- I batch similar tasks together, like recording content or strategic planning.
- I have a daily shutdown ritual. I end every workday by defining my top 3 priorities for the next day and brain dump any nagging thoughts.
Get my Time Manager OS
If you want to save yourself a lot of time going through this exercise, get my Time Manager system. It helps you:
- Go through a virtual AI exercise to eliminate, automate, and delegate tasks
- Focus on the most important tasks
- Create a calendar template for your weeks
And if you at any point would like more help in working less and making more through systems -
In Founder OS, I share the exact systems that helped me cut my workdays by 10 hours.
If you want to learn more about how we can help you as a founder reach your goals, click the button:
By the way -
Want to share this newsletter via text, social media, or email? Just copy and paste this link:
www.matt-gray.ck.page/posts/3-steps-to-regain-1-000-hours-this-year
Let's win together,
Matt
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
#1: If you want to learn more about how I regain 20 hours per week, check out my YouTube video on How To Find Your Calling in Life (And Make $20K Per Month)
#2: I’ll pay you $1,000 for each founder you refer to Founder OS. Just copy this link and send it to 5 founder friends: https://www.founderos.com/claim?referred_by=
#3: Book me as keynote speaker. In my talks, I share practical strategies and systems for audience growth, brand building, and automation.
