Automation & Leverage
Automate tasks and use tools to increase efficiency (e.g., Buy Back Your Time, 24 Assets).
Key Insight
"Automation is worth the least when it just helps you do more things. It's worth the most when it lets you stop doing the things that never mattered."
The highest-leverage activity is eliminating low-leverage activities. Automation isn't just about technology - it's about systematically reducing manual work, decision fatigue, and repetitive tasks. The useful skill is knowing which activities can be automated, delegated, or cut outright, and which ones actually need a real person paying attention. This creates time and mental space for high-impact strategic work.
Practical Applications
Automating email sequences and customer communications
Using scheduling tools to eliminate back-and-forth coordination
Implementing automated reporting and data collection systems
Creating templates and standardized responses for common situations
Implementation Guide
Audit your time for one week to identify repetitive tasks
Calculate the ROI of automating vs. manual effort for each task
Start with high-frequency, low-complexity automations
Gradually build more sophisticated automated workflows
Monitor automated systems to ensure they're working as intended
Tools & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Others under Systems Over Goals
External Systems Over Memory
Use trusted external systems to free cognitive load (e.g., Getting Things Done, Atomic Habits).
Process Documentation
Create repeatable, documented processes for consistency (e.g., E-Myth, Built to Sell, Get Scalable).
Feedback Loops
Build systems with feedback mechanisms to monitor and adjust (e.g., Lean Startup, Accelerate, Phoenix Project).