“Matt, how the hell do you run two companies, write a newsletter, host a podcast, and have any kind of personal or family life?”

I got this question from a CEO I’m coaching a few weeks ago.

What a reasonable question too.

The funny thing is, I don’t think I’m an overly productive person compared to many folks in my social network.

I tend to be a procrastinator.

I default to wanting to do the least amount of work possible in everything.

I struggle with staying focused and completing individual projects.

I’m disorganized.

I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. I’m far from perfect.

That said, I’ve managed to build up some tools, principles and systems over the years that help me create more time leverage and get more done.

Once a month I sit down and review my business activities and look for obvious leverage points.

Leverage for me usually comes in the form of:

1 - People

2 - Systems

3 - Capital

I’m always looking for work I am currently doing that I could delegate to someone on my team.

My EA and I are mostly attached at the hip, and she helps me move work around and ensure things are getting done.

I’ve got very competent leadership teams in my two operating companies (Pela Case + Lomi) that I trust to keep pushing those businesses forward. I mostly serve as vision, strategy, and helping remove friction from their day to day.

When it comes to systems, this isn’t my strongest leverage point. I keep it on my review list because it reminds me to at least consider if something is a systems-leverage point.

This has turned into mini-systems that work for me, like my Agreement Tracker and a running “Agenda” notion doc for me to put things that Alyssa (my EA) can manage for me.

Capital is a major leverage point.

This might not apply to you if you are light on capital, but once you have some, it’s a HUGE advantage.

From cleaners, to landscapers, car wash services, travel and so much more. When I can use my capital to create more time, I do it. Especially if that time can be spent with my wife and daughter or doing things that fill my battery like mountain biking with my friends.

I’m also a fan of giving your capital legs of its own. I’m far from a prolific investor, but I do like to put money to work so that it can compound while I sleep. Which just creates more future capital leverage.

I’m sharing all of this because as entrepreneurs and CEOs we can often feel like we’re just too damn busy to do anything else, whether that’s for fun or even in our business.

In my experience, the people who seem to get a lot done are often highly leveraged.

It’s also common that those people have been at it a long time.

In my case, 16+ years of building companies that generate profits and then having sold one for a life-changing amount of money.

Don’t beat yourself up if you think you aren’t as productive as the person you see on the internet. You’re probably just missing the full context for how they’re doing it.

​Onward,

Matt

​P.S. Whenever you’re ready there are 3 ways I can help you…

1 - Go listen to The Operators Podcast. 4 co-hosts with bigger companies all jamming on real business problems.

2 - Coaching/Advising - VERY rarely I open my calendar up to do 1on1 advisory/coaching work with others. If you're interested you need to reply to this email with "interested". I'll send you info/options.

3 - The Briefing ($25/mo.) - Want a behind the scenes look at how I run my companies? Twice a month I release a special issue email giving you a look at how I do my day job (CEO). These are my playbooks. My experience. The last issue was a detailed playbook on how to run an EA (Assistant).