Why Your Time Management Hacks Fail You

Open LinkedIn and scroll long enough and you'll see them: time management hacks

"10X your productivity"

"The ONE tool you need to focus!"

"The best CEOs do THIS with their calendar"

All promising that you’re one or two hacks away from solving time management.

Friend, they are lying to you.

No hack will solve it.

There’s a reason people struggle with time management.

Not because it’s complicated. In fact, it’s actually pretty simple.

But because it’s hard.

It’s hard to change the time management habits we’ve lived with for decades.

It’s hard to piece together all the hacks into a comprehensive system that can deal with the reality of your world.

Lets look at why these hacks are failing you.

Examples of Time Management Hacks That Fail You

Each “hack” below is actually a helpful piece of the puzzle.

Things go sideways when you’re made to believe it’s the silver bullet to solve your pain related to time management.

Here are 3 key offenders:

All these hacks are well intentioned.

All are half solutions.

The Solution :: A Holistic Time Management Operating System

Solving your challenges with time management won’t be found in hacks.

It requires embracing a holistic Time Management Operating System.

This goes beyond just managing tasks—it transforms how you interact with time at a fundamental level.

Here’s what to look for in a good Operating System.

• Strategic Weekly Planning :: Instead of relying on a simple to-do list, take a proactive stance by planning your week with intention. This involves prioritizing tasks that are aligned with your goals and values, and effectively mapping them onto your calendar. It's crucial to not only plan for tasks you aim to accomplish but also have a strategy for those that don't fit immediately, ensuring you maintain intense focus and clarity when executing your plan.
• A Daily Plan Prepped For Focus :: Designing each day with a realistic plan that minimizes distractions allows you to be responsive to other’s needs is key to allow you to focus. This involves retraining relationships so that colleagues and stakeholders to get what they need from you without derailing your plan, strategically checking email, text messages or Teams/Slack at designated times, turning off non-essential notifications, and incorporating planned margins into your schedule.
• Adaptive Daily Reviews :: Daily reviews should be more than a task checklist—they're an opportunity for meaningful reflection and strategic adjustment. This ensures that you’re not just busy, but effectively progressing towards your goals, adapting as needed to stay on course. In addition, it ensures you close all loops every day, allowing you to be emotionally free of work and truly rest.
• Sustainable & Upgradable Habits :: The goal here is to foster habits that bring about a significant shift in how you manage your time. By approaching them as habits, you can upgrade them day over day, week over week, to be fine-tuned to how you’re wired. Even the hacks listed above can be incorporated into your operating system as upgrades.

Onboarding a Time Management Operating System isn’t merely about managing your time; it’s about mastering it.

This is a profound shift in perspective, recognizing time as currency to get the life you want, and onboarding an operating system to leverage this currency.

The Challenge :: You Have to Commit to Change

Name a thing in life you actually want that actually comes easy.

I’ll wait.

Everything you want in life is on the other side of challenge, and your relationship with time is no different.

Changing your relationship with time is hard because habit change is hard.

It takes work, and a plan, and accountability, and unironically… time.

If you want to get in shape, you can try hacks like Slim-fast shakes and TikTok fads, or you can join a gym and eat a macro-based diet. Which would you bet on actually helping you get in shape?

If you want to get your finances right, you can buy crypto and hope for best, or you can live on a budget and follow time-tested advice investing in low-fee index funds (Google it. You’re welcome). Which would you bet on actually achieving your financial goals?

If you want to get your relationship with time right, you can make a run at any time management hack you like, or you can commit to a process to change your relationship with time and onboard a holistic time management operating system. Which would you bet on actually helping time work for you instead of against you?

It’s on you to do the work and make the change. Good news I know a guy 🙂

Ready to Learn a Time Management Operating System?

On February 13th I’m leading a free masterclass on the Time Boss Operating System, a proven system to make massive progress and feel less stressed.

What you’ll get from this 90 minute FREE Masterclass:

• Eliminate Overwhelm: Learn how to run an effective Weekly Planning Meeting, giving you control over your week instead of letting it control you.
• Increase Focus: Discover the power of the Daily List to focus your efforts and significantly boost your day-to-day productivity.
• Reduce Stress: Find out how a Daily Review Meeting can help reduce overwhelm and bring clarity to your daily tasks.
• Crush Priorities: Gain valuable insights and practical tips on prioritizing and managing your time more effectively.
• Lock in Habits for Life: Equip yourself with strategies and habits for long-term success in balancing workloads and maintaining peace of mind.

Due to the interactive nature of the session, space is limited, and there will be NO recording available after. RSVP now!