Personal Productivity Systems for Founders

Welcome back to 📈🧠 Scale Smarter.

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🔗 Jake’s Picks

Must-read resources for founders from this week.

🚀 Scaling Startups

• How to scale your startup sustainably rather than chase growth at all costs (Crunchbase)

🧠 Founder Self-Development & Mental Health

• How imposter syndrome quashes CEO productivity and what to do about it (Worklife)

📈 Productivity Hacks

• Taking breaks doesn't make you lazy — here are 4 ways it actually makes you more productive (Entrepreneur)

🛠 Tools for Scaling

• This new productivity app will give your life the color-coded order it’s been missing (Fast Company)

💡 Hiring Insights

• How to find talent your competition has overlooked (SourceCon)

👀 ICYMI

• Scale yourself out of meetings by sending this weekly update email (Scale Smarter Newsletter)

🚀 The 2-Minute Rule for Task Management

Startups can be a death by a thousand cuts. It’s really easy to fall into that trap across your entire team, where they drown in a sea of small tasks.

Here’s a way out: the 2 Minute Rule.

It’s simple. Tell everyone on your team that if a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. It if takes longer, schedule or delegate it.

It works because it doesn’t allow those small tasks to ever pile up. They either get done or delegated. Team members end up not waiting around for other people who are blocking them with small tasks. The ship sails faster.

Here's how to implement this across your team:

Introduce the Rule

In your next full team meeting, explain the 2-Minute Rule and its benefits. Highlight how it can reduce task backlogs and increase overall productivity.

Lead by Example

Start practicing it yourself and share your experiences. Your team will be more likely to adopt the rule if they see you benefiting from it.

Set Up a Slack Channel

Set up a Slack channel where team members can quickly mention the two minute tasks they complete. You’ll notice a productivity boost due to the shared accountability.

Do Weekly Check-Ins

Ask team members to share how the rule has impacted their productivity. Use these insights to refine your approach and address any challenges.

Measure the Impact

Track completed tasks and time saved over a month. That data will help you quantify the benefits and be a constant reminder to the team that it’s valuable.

By the way, it was originally popularized by David Allen in "Getting Things Done" — worth a read if you’re interested in diving deeper.

💪 Time Blocking - Your Secret Weapon

Time is a founder’s most precious resource.

Protecting your time by limiting switching costs is the key to staying focused and actually making progress against your goals.

One strategy I use: time blocking.

It’s the practice of scheduling specific blocks of time for particular tasks or types of work, which sounds simple but it’s actually a superpower. Here’s how it works:

Do a Time Audit

For one week, track how you actually spend your time.

Use a tool like RescueTime or just jot down your activities in a Google Sheet by logging what you did every hour.

At the end of the week, add it up by project and by type of work (i.e. team management, deep work, sales, etc.).

Are there any surprises? Does how you’re splitting up your time make you feel good, or frustrated?

Regardless, this will give you a realistic picture of where your time is going.

Identify Your Power Hours

When are you most productive? The data will give you the real answer.

Is it early morning, late at night, or somewhere in between? Reserve these times for your most important and cognitively demanding work.

Build your schedule around your natural productivity patterns.

Create Themed Days

To further reduce switching costs, you can reserve different days of the week for certain types of work.

For example, set all your marketing meetings and work on Mondays.

Do all your 1:1s on Tuesdays.

You get the idea.

This may not always be possible though so make sure to reserve some flex time to jump in the weeds and help the team fight fires when needed.

Block Your Calendar

Schedule everything — even breaks and buffer time. Be realistic about how long tasks will take, and don't forget to include transition time between activities.

Leila Hormozi went viral when she shared her calendar and, granted, a full calendar like this isn’t for everyone.

But if you want to stay on track, merging your to-do list with your calendar in this way is an effective strategy.

And once you have your blocks set up, treat them as unmoveable appointments with yourself.

Since it’s on your calendar, you can confidently decline invites and recommend other times.

Review and Adjust

You’re not going to get it right the first time. Or the second, probably.

At the end of each week, assess what worked and what didn't. Be willing to experiment and refine your system over time.

Here's a sample daily schedule that’s simpler than Leila’s:

• 8:00-10:00: Deep work on top priority

• 10:00-10:30: Email and communication

• 10:30-12:00: Meetings

• 12:00-1:00: Lunch and break

• 1:00-3:00: Strategic planning

• 3:00-3:30: Email and communication

• 3:30-5:00: Team management and mentoring

• 5:00 onwards: Anything not solved during the day

Here’s another tip: Use a tool like Clockwise to automatically optimize your calendar and create focus time. It can help you find the best times for deep work and meetings based on your team's schedules.

By mastering time blocking, you'll not only get more done but also reduce stress and improve work-life balance. You'll have a clearer picture of your commitments and be able to say no to activities that don't align with your goals.

It’s going to feel rigid and stiff at first but stick with it and make adjustments as you need to.

Lastly, share your new schedule with your team. Let them know when you're available for meetings and when you're in deep work mode. This will help them respect your time and plan their own schedules more effectively.

You’re the leader, it’s ok to assert your own needs in this way — the company can’t survive without you at your peak.

🎬 TLDR — Your Actions For The Week:

• Scale Your Team → Implement the 2-Minute Rule and create a "2-Minute Task" Slack channel.

• Scale Yourself → Block out your calendar for next week using the time blocking method.

Whenever you're ready, here’s how I can help:

💼 Hiring? I built an expert bench of recruiters from companies like Uber, Amazon & Spotify to run the full recruiting process for you. We’re on-demand, can flex up & down, and there are zero commissions or hidden fees—Learn more here.