How to "buy back your time"

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Hi Candidate,

Have you ever heard of "buying your time back"?

Here's how I did it.

Years ago, I was swamped with emails. This site had just started ramping up and I was getting more emails than I could handle. I was working at a startup. And writing this blog. I'd think about all the things I had to do every day … and just shudder.

The usual solutions are downloading some app, or trying really hard to hit inbox zero (which lasts for about a week). I didn't want hacks. I wanted complete change. A lasting solution.

* * *

I recently spoke to a small group of busy people about productivity. Before we met, I asked them to track their time for one day.

When I asked what they'd found, their heads started shaking.

"I spend 80% of my time on things that don't matter," one guy said.

Another: "I spend hours in email every day. For what? I just do it again the next day."

Then I asked what they wanted to spend time on. One entrepreneur said, "I want to spend time on revenue-generating things."

If I asked you 2 questions, how would you answer them?

On an average day, where do you spend your time?
If you could spend your time any way you wanted, where would you spend your time?

Yes, that sickening feeling in your stomach means the answers to those 2 questions don't add up. You know it. I know it. We all know it.

Try it! Take a look at what you spent your time on yesterday. Be honest: It's OK if you watched 3 hours of Netflix (the average American watches 5 hours of TV every day).

But now ask: Where do you WANT your time to go?

If we could wave a magic wand and spend our time where we wanted to, most of us would not choose to spend 3 hours a day in email. We'd spend it on things like our relationships with friends and family … exploring the city we live in … working on higher-value items … or just having fun.

Now, one final question. How can you do it?

For most people, we just pat ourselves on the head and say "I'll try harder." This feels good. It sounds like a real plan. It's also destined for failure.

"I'm up and out of door 8 / 8:30 morning, drop kid off at daycare, groceries, clean kitchen, cook, clean again, pick up toddler or husband does, home spend 30 min with kid, goes to bed, eat dinner, then 8-9PM is when I actually get to checking emails or voicemails."
—Elizabeth

"We start deliveries at 4am. If there's a problem, I'm getting a phone call at 4am...We're closed Christmas and New Years, those are basically the only days I have off."
—Uri

Elizabeth and Uri from above can tell themselves they'll try harder all they want … but that won't change a thing. Yes, there are minor tweaks they can do, but if you want to become dramatically more productive, you have to make a dramatic change in how you think about your time.

The usual answers to becoming more productive go like this:

More productivity apps and hacks: To-do apps, RescueTime, Bulletproof Coffee. Productivity hacks are the coupon-clipping of the productivity world. They feel good, they seem helpful, but they're ultimately useless.
Go minimalist: Minimalism is a perfectly fine worldview. Going from where you are to minimalism is a long, difficult journey. If you don't believe me, open your medicine cabinet. How many cosmetics and hair products do you have? Would you be prepared to shrink those down to two? Or the number of gadgets or subscriptions you have? For most people, the answer is no.
Work harder: This is how you create a delusion, try to live up to it, then ruin your life (aka most Americans). Longer hours, another shot of espresso, catching up on the weekend, an unhappy spouse, stress, and a sudden moment of realization in your late 40s that something is wrong. #HustleLife

If you look for productivity advice, those are the major categories of what you'll find. But none of these work!

So what happens? We try one. It doesn't quite work, so we double down. "If I just try harder ..." we say. After we try these a few times, we eventually give up. Suddenly you get a bunch of jaded millennials posting on Twitter: "Free time? LOL? What free time?"

The real truth is: You tried everything except the things that would work. You didn't restructure your lifestyle. You didn't pick the priorities you wanted to spend time on. You didn't learn the skill of saying no. You downloaded a stupid app and called it a day.

* * *

I went a different route.

I knew that I was starting to get swamped with emails and pulled in all kinds of directions. I knew this would only get worse — and I had to figure out a solution now, because the more successful I became, the harder it would be to figure it out. So I went all in.

I tried the apps. I tried minimalism. I tried all these tactics. Some of them worked and I incorporated them into my productivity system. But I needed to save more than just a few minutes — I needed to free up 2+ hours a day.

That's when I realized I needed help. The most successful people have people helping them — a personal trainer, a business coach, a supportive spouse.

I realized I had money but not time — and that I could "buy back" my time.

That's when I hired an assistant. I know, I thought it was crazy, too. Until I tried it.

It's funny, because I didn't look like the kind of person who would have an assistant. I was in my early 20s. I didn't work at a fancy office or wear a fancy suit.

But I was busy and I was ambitious. I worked at a startup during the day and wrote the IWT book at night. I didn't want to spend my time on mundane tasks. And I didn't care if it was weird for a guy in his early 20s to have an assistant. I wanted my time back.

I hired a part-time assistant on Craigslist. Since then — over 10 years ago — I've built an incredible system with my assistant, who helps me save over 20 hours per week.

You can find an extensive list of what my assistant does for me here.

I learned who to hire (ignore the advice that tells you to hire someone for $3/hour in a foreign country).

I learned what the highest-impact tasks to delegate are (whether you have your own business or not).

I learned how to delegate (including the exact emails and playbook I now use).

And I learned when to outsource … and when to keep a task for yourself.

And in true IWT fashion, I didn't just get "good enough" at this and move on. I went all-in and spent years to become world-class — building systems to simplify, streamline, and perfect every part of the assistant process:

How to find an assistant
How to quickly separate the amazing, trustworthy (life-changing) assistants from the beginners, the flakes, and the wannabes
How to start handing off tasks to an assistant on Day 1
How to make collaborating with an assistant smooth and easy
How to get any assistant to do any task exactly the way I like it (this is win-win — it's comforting for me and efficient for them)

Today, I'm opening up a course that gives you the systems, tactics, and tricks you need to find and work with a trustworthy assistant.

If you'd like to buy back your time, you should join.

Full details are here: Delegate and Done is now available.

The course is only open until this Friday.