- Work smarter, not harder, and achieve better results in less time
- Have more time to travel and enjoy life without constantly thinking about work
- Spend more meaningful time with my loved ones and pursue hobbies I’m passionate about
- Plan your week
- Prioritize your tasks
- Track your time
- Automate and delegate
- Set boundaries
- Take breaks
- Take care of yourself
FreeGUIDE
Free Guide
Cut your endless to-do list in half
The 4-step weekly ritual Demir uses to get tasks off his plate without dropping the ball — and how to run it on yours in under 30 minutes a week. Terminate. Automate. Consolidate. Outsource.
How do you work less?
About 15 years ago, I became one of the youngest senior equity analysts on Wall Street. Now, I’d worked hard to get where I was. I regularly put in 80 to 100 hours each week and worked nights and weekends. But the problem was… I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was gaining weight, sacrificing relationships, and fighting a mysterious but intense autoimmune disease. Still, I worked until I burned out, collapsed, and woke up in a hospital bed – complete system failure. The doctor told me that the only way I would get better was if I started to work less. And because my life literally depended on it, I found ways to work as little as two hours a week. Put simply, my health crisis changed everything. Even though I was working less than ever, I was getting more done while earning more money and securing a huge promotion! How? By developing the Winning the Week framework, which Carey and I still use today. It’s allowed us to travel all over the world, grow our family, and spend about 20 hours each week building and growing our business. In other words: It’s allowed us to design our ideal lifestyle. And you can create the lifestyle you want, too. You just need to have the right strategy. That’s where we come in! The tips I’m about to share are ones that we still use to this day. They are:- Plan your week
- Prioritize the right tasks
- Track your time
- Automate and delegate tasks
- Set boundaries
- Take breaks
- Take care of yourself
1. Plan your week
Planning your week might sound obvious, but less than 1% of people actually do it! Why? Some people find it to be overwhelming or too time-consuming. But it really is a huge part of being able to work less. Let’s think back to that framework I came up with in the hospital. I call it the Winning the Week Formula. Using it lets you set the stage for a highly productive week in just a short amount of time. And it really works. In fact, Carey and I still use it every Sunday – and it only takes us half an hour! Here’s how you can do it: Step 1: Review last week. What went well? What didn’t? What can be improved? Step 2: Get clarity. Determine what’s most important for the coming week. Step 3: Take an inventory of your time supply. In other words, take a look at your calendar to determine how much time you have available. Step 4: Review your time demand. Your time demand is your to-do list – think of each task as a bid competing for your time. Step 5: Match your time supply and demand. Often, this means you have to take a few tasks off your to-do list, so you’re only considering the most high-yielding bids. Struggling to plan your unpredictable weeks? We’ll talk you through it in this video: Next up: Prioritizing your to-do list.2. Prioritize the right tasks
If you have a lot on your plate, you need to work out what needs tackling first. In other words, you have to prioritize your workload in the right way. Now, most people instinctively try to get the small tasks done first. But it’s important to remember that those urgent tasks are never going to stop coming. So, all you’re really doing here is putting off the bigger, more challenging to-dos. The ultimate problem with this? You’ll run out of time to finish tasks before you’ve even completed the small ones! Instead, we recommend you approach them with leverage. Figure out which task will make everything else easier and finish that one by Tuesday so you can spend the rest of your week on the less important tasks. And if you need a little extra help, try the Champagne Moment exercise. Simply ask yourself – which task would you celebrate finishing with a bottle of champagne? Read more: 12 Ways to Write Incredibly Effective To-Do Lists ✏️
3. Track your time
Knowing how you spend your time is key to working less. But a general idea won’t cut it. You need hard data. And that’s what you get with a time audit. By tracking your time, you’ll learn:- Where your time goes
- What matters most and least
- What gets your attention
- Which processes could be improved
FreeGUIDE
Free Guide
Cut your endless to-do list in half
The 4-step weekly ritual Demir uses to get tasks off his plate without dropping the ball — and how to run it on yours in under 30 minutes a week. Terminate. Automate. Consolidate. Outsource.
4. Automate and delegate tasks
Our next tip? Learn how to automate and delegate tasks. Chances are, there’s at least one task on your to-do list that can be automated, delegated, or outsourced. When you automate, you use technology to streamline the more time-consuming or repetitive tasks. There are literally hundreds of tools designed to handle the tasks you don’t want to deal with! Here are a few we love:- Zapier for tracking sales calls and meetings
- ChatGPT for writing detailed SOPs
- Fathom for taking notes during and summarizing calls with clients
5. Set boundaries
Now, another thing you’ll need to do to work less is set boundaries around your time, work, health, life, and even family. Boundaries are the key to prioritizing your well-being, taking control, and lowering stress and anxiety. And they’re what will help you stay productive without getting overwhelmed (even during your busiest weeks). Here’s the thing… Boundaries look different for everyone, but they always boil down to being comfortable saying no. That could mean:- Creating guidelines for what you will and won’t do
- Offering specific amounts of time to those who ask for something
- Only saying yes to opportunities that align with your goals, values, or commitments
6. Take breaks
This might seem counterintuitive, but even on your busiest days, you have to get up from your desk if you want to work less. Why? Because as research shows, breaks give you a chance to disconnect and recharge – which improves your well-being, work performance, and productivity However, you have to take the right kind of breaks. That means:- Doing something creative
- Getting exercise or incorporating movement
- Eating healthy food
- Speaking to others
7. Take care of yourself
Finally, figuring out how to work less doesn’t happen overnight – and it can’t come out of thin air. To get there, you have to take care of yourself and build the right kind of foundation. That means:- Eating healthy foods
- Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night
- Regularly exercising
What’s next?
Well, there you have it – some of the strategies Carey and I use to work less, earn more, and spend time with our family. Now, you won’t master these strategies overnight. But you can jumpstart your planning with our Win the Week worksheet. In just a few minutes, you’ll have everything you need to work less but have your most productive week ever. Get it for free here:
FreeGUIDE
Free Guide
Cut your endless to-do list in half
The 4-step weekly ritual Demir uses to get tasks off his plate without dropping the ball — and how to run it on yours in under 30 minutes a week. Terminate. Automate. Consolidate. Outsource.
Free Masterclass
Save 5, 10, even more hours a week — with one 30-minute ritual
Demir & Carey walk you through the Winning the Week Method®: the 30-minute weekly ritual our members use to reclaim hours every single week. Pick a time and watch.
FREE·~60 min·Pick a time
