Note: This section has been updated with new AI additions—so even if you first caught it on April 4th, 2024, it's worth a revisit. Last week we covered what to do when you're feeling overwhelmed… and also the most destructive Time-Draining Activities (TDAs) to avoid as a founder.
Today, let's focus on the merrier side of all of this:
Time-Multiplying Activities (TMAs).
And understand our goal here is to avoid this 😂:
A couple weeks ago, when I was feeling a sense of dread & overwhelm…
It was clear that my main problem was saying "yes" to too many people and caring more about their expectations of me than I should.
This put me in a place where I was acting more reactive than preferred (due to insufficient and prescriptive planning) and was spending too much time in non-essential activities and TDAs. Doh.
So I took the weekend to reset, create more specific plans, and ensure my go-forward days & weeks are protected so that I'm more likely to achieve my most important objectives.
What Are Time-Multiplying Activities (TMAs)? TMAs are those activities that create
future leverage and expand time. The future time saved as a result of partaking in these activities is many multiples of the initial time you invest. That's why these often feel energizing once you're in the habit of doing them.
If you're a founder/CEO, a good goal is to spend at least
50% of your time in TMAs. Get to 80%, and you'll be playing at the top of your game.
Now, let's explore high-leverage TMAs—and how AI can supercharge each one:
i) Strategic Planning + Vision Communication At least 50% of effective management comes down to quality planning, calendaring, and communicating core objectives/priorities/vision. I estimate most founders spend 1/5th as much time here as they should.
The key here is to get ahead of your days and weeks, so time is catching up to you rather than you chasing time. And have everyone on your team feel crystal clear about what they and the company need to do (and why).
👉
Where AI comes in: Use AI tools like
Notion AI or
ChatGPT to break down high-level goals into subtasks, write OKRs, and even generate team updates. Tools like
Reclaim or
Motion can auto-schedule deep work blocks based on your priorities—turning your calendar into a tactical plan.
📌
Here's a Notion OKR template to get started ii) Writing + Creating When you write/create and publish, you're not only giving yourself a chance to help someone else, you're also doing work that can live far into the future. Do the work once, and it can be multiplied 100s of times.
Pro move: I strongly recommend batching all writing (and, for that matter, all similar tasks). Not only does writing ahead of a planned publishing date make your writing better—more time to edit/dial-in—but it also ensures you get it done. Furthermore, context-switching is a serious TDA that I try to minimize 👉
AI assist: Use LLMs to speed up outlining, research, first drafts, or repurposing content across channels (e.g. turn a blog post into a LinkedIn carousel, podcast script, or email). Think:
1 hour of effort, 10x distribution.
iii) Recruiting/Hiring/Delegating One of my mentors once advised me that at least ⅓ of my job as CEO was recruiting, hiring, and delegating. I've found this to be accurate. There is no future leverage in doing the work yourself. But there is a lot of leverage in hiring someone else to do the work. Especially when they're better at the work than you (which is the goal). Doing it all yourself = founder bottleneck.
👉
AI boost: Tools like
Metaview,
Ashby, or
ChatGPT can help write job descriptions, screen resumes, summarize interviews, or prep custom interview questions. You can also use AI to generate onboarding docs, SOPs, and async training material for new hires.
📌 Here's the 9 Best Interview Questions to Woo World-Class Talent
iv) Building Relationships (Fundraising + Large Sales) Thank God that relationships last into the future. It would be weird to invest a ton of time with someone only to have things start from zero the next time you see them. Investing in people, especially those you can help or who can help you, is one of the best uses of your time. One of my favorite sayings is that "investors invest in lines, not dots." Want to fundraise? It's much easier to do so with people who've known you for years than one month after an initial pitch.
Relationships = compounding trust. The more consistent your touchpoints, the stronger your network.
👉
AI angle: Use tools like
Clay,
Affinity, or even a custom CRM with GPT integration to auto-track convos, prep before meetings, and follow up with AI-generated notes and smart next steps. Stay top of mind
without spending all your time on follow-up.
"Investors invest in lines, not dots." Be the line. v) Parting Ways with Toxic People When we want to go faster, we often think about stepping on the gas (or adding nitric oxide) rather than releasing the eBrake. Cutting out energy-draining people or obligations is a massive unlock. Don't hesitate. Move fast and cut these people out of your life.
No AI here. Just guts. 🙃
vi) Creating Automated Systems & Dashboards Around Repeatable Tasks Creating systems, dashboards, and templates seems boring to most founders. But it shouldn't. These things, along with hiring/recruiting and effective planning, are probably the most important ways to multiply your time and give you the space you need in the future to achieve your full potential (as a business, leader, and person). What's sexier than CREATING time for yourself? Not much.
👉
With AI: You can now build these systems faster. Use
Notion AI,
Zapier + OpenAI, or
custom GPTs to create and document repeatable workflows. Build a tool-onboarding flow or client intake process in minutes instead of hours.
📌
Start here with a basic business ops Notion template vii) Exercise 30 minutes of exercise = 60 minutes of mental clarity. It's the original TMA. It's magic. Furthermore, exercising daily will not only make you feel better, it'll also extend your life. 1 hour invested today, a decade or two returned? But even here, AI can help.
Tools like Whoop and
Apple Health + ChatGPT integrations can help you track recovery, fine-tune sleep, and optimize your workouts. (Pro tip: AI-generated weekly routines can keep your training sharp
without decision fatigue.)
🚨 Why this matters: If you're spending
50% or more of your week on TMAs, you're ahead of 95% of founders.
Startups are easy. Working long hours is easy.
Doing the right work consistently? That's the hard part.
But that's the difference between building a job and building something iconic.
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