Ever feel like you’re constantly busy, but not actually moving forward? Like you’re checking off tasks, but the needle on your biggest goals barely budges? It’s a common feeling, especially for busy professionals and entrepreneurs. We get caught in the whirlwind of daily demands, reacting to every ping and urgent request, and before we know it, another week has flown by without significant progress on what truly matters.
I’ve been there myself. There was a time when Asian Efficiency was growing fast, and while that was exciting, it also brought a lot of chaos. I found myself struggling to keep up, and the structure I had in place just wasn’t cutting it anymore. It felt like I was constantly putting out fires instead of building something sustainable. It’s a bit like trying to navigate a busy city without a map… you might get somewhere, but it’s probably not where you intended to go, and it took way longer than it should have.
But what if you could transform that feeling of being overwhelmed into a sense of calm control? What if you could shift from simply “getting things done” to strategically “getting the right things done”? The secret lies in intentional planning and a powerful shift in how you view your time and tasks. It’s about creating a system that supports your biggest ambitions, not just your daily grind.
The Power of the “Income Day”
One of the most revolutionary concepts I’ve encountered comes from my friend Lauren Goldstein, an entrepreneur and business strategy consultant. She introduced me to the idea of an “admin day,” but not in the way you might think. When I first heard it, I pictured a day dedicated to clearing out backlogs and catching up on busy work. But Lauren’s approach is far more strategic.
She realized that while her business was doing well and her clients were getting great results, she was neglecting the crucial work of growing her own business. She was the “chief everything officer,” as she puts it, constantly working in the business, not on it. So, she designated Wednesdays as her “admin days,” a time when nobody could get on her calendar unless it was directly related to income-producing activities.
This wasn’t about clearing out the “pile-up zone” of slightly important but not urgent tasks. This day was reserved for things that directly impacted her bottom line: sales calls, strategic follow-ups, reaching out to her network for specific client needs, or even finding a new developer when hers suddenly retired. The results were astounding. Within the first couple of months of implementing this, her business saw a two-times increase in revenue.
When I heard this, the first thing that came to my mind was, “That’s not an admin day, that’s an income day.” Or even better, a momentum day. It’s about dedicating focused time to activities that propel your business forward, not just keep it afloat. What if you could transform your busiest day into your most profitable?
Theme Your Days, Master Your Week
Beyond the “income day,” Lauren also themes her entire week. For her, it’s ingrained: Mondays are for catching up and team meetings, Tuesdays and Thursdays are client days, Wednesdays are her dedicated admin/income days, and Fridays are for finishing up and financials. Saturdays are strictly for unplugging, and Sundays are for fun with a little bit of planning for the week ahead.
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with themed days myself. Early on, when Asian Efficiency was in hyper-growth mode, the chaos meant a strict theme didn’t quite fit. There was too much unpredictability. But now that our business is more predictable and runs like a well-oiled machine, themed days make a lot of sense. My own week is front-loaded: Mondays and Tuesdays are my creative days for writing and podcasting, Wednesdays are meeting days, Thursdays are for deep thinking, and Fridays are my flexible “flex days” for anything that needs wrapping up or personal appointments.
The beauty of themed days, whether strict or flexible, is that they provide a “navigational beacon,” as Lauren calls it. They help you know exactly what the main point of that day is, allowing you to focus on high-impact activities. Anything else you get done outside of that core focus is a bonus. It’s about creating a rhythm that supports your energy levels and your business priorities.
Beyond the To-Do List: Prioritization That Pays Off
One of the biggest traps we fall into is treating every task on our to-do list as equally important. But as I often tell people, if everything looks equally important, something is off. Lauren tackles this with her “big three” approach: every night, she identifies the three most critical things that must get done the next day to keep things moving forward. This simple practice keeps her out of the “busy work” trap.
She also uses a powerful framework for task management: Do, Delegate, Defer, and Delete.
- Do: Urgent and important tasks that need immediate attention.
- Delegate: Tasks that can be handed off to someone else (like an assistant).
- Defer: Important but not urgent tasks that can be circled back to later.
- Delete: Tasks that have been deferred for too long or simply aren’t serving a purpose. If something has been on the defer list for more than a week, it often gets deleted because it’s likely never going to get done anyway.
This framework helps you make conscious decisions about where your energy goes. It’s also crucial to understand the difference between a “goal” and a “project.” A goal, as Lauren learned from Todd Herman, often has a monetary component and is something you have little direct control over (like wanting a seven-figure business). Projects, on the other hand, are the controllable steps you take to achieve that goal (like acquiring X new clients or launching Y new products). By focusing on the projects you can control, you make consistent progress towards your larger, less controllable goals.
Your Calendar: Your Command Center
For many, the calendar feels like a demanding master, dictating their every move. But for Lauren, her “calendar is her Bible,” a powerful tool that she controls. She’s trained her friends and clients alike: if it’s not on her calendar, it doesn’t exist. This isn’t about being rigid; it’s about protecting her focus and ensuring her time is spent intentionally.
She leverages tools like Calendly to streamline scheduling, allowing others to book time with her without the endless back-and-forth emails. And for managing multiple calendars (personal and work), she uses Google Calendar’s sharing features, allowing her assistant to see when she’s busy without revealing personal details. I even use a Zapier hack to automatically mark my work calendar as busy when personal events are added, ensuring no conflicts.
The key here is to make your calendar work for you, not the other way around. It’s your command center for intentional living and working. By proactively blocking out time for your “income day” activities, your themed day focuses, and even your personal appointments, you create a clear roadmap for your week.
The Art of the Quick Getaway (and Other Productivity Hacks)
Productivity isn’t just about work; it’s about optimizing all areas of your life. Lauren shared some brilliant tips for getting ready quickly, a common challenge for many. Her secret? Planning and combining tasks. She brushes her teeth in the shower, organizes her makeup drawer for quick access, and plans her outfits the night before. For travel, she even showers and does her hair the night before to save precious morning minutes.
This ties into a philosophy I call the “minimus luxury lifestyle.” It’s about having fewer items, but making sure every item you own is the best quality you can afford and brings you joy. Instead of five mediocre t-shirts, own one perfect one. This reduces decision fatigue and ensures everything you use or wear makes you feel great. Every year, I go through a “pruning” process, getting rid of clothes, electronics, and anything else I’m not using. The smaller your closet or digital space becomes, the easier it is to manage and the more intentional your choices become.
Lauren’s business simplification journey also highlights this: by narrowing her focus from a full-service agency to just strategy, she saw a 2x to 4x bump in revenue. Sometimes, doing less, or rather, doing only what truly matters, is the fastest path to growth.
Your Next Step: Intentional Action
Transforming your productivity isn’t about adding more to your plate; it’s about strategically removing what doesn’t serve you and intentionally focusing on what does. Whether it’s dedicating an “income day” to revenue-generating activities, theming your week to align with your energy, or simply taking five minutes each night to identify your “big three” for the next day, small shifts can lead to massive results.
What’s one intentional action you can take this week to gain more control over your time and propel yourself towards your biggest goals?
