If your workday feels like a never-ending cycle of emails, distractions, and reacting to everything but your actual priorities, it’s time for a reality check. You don’t have a time management problem. You have a system problem. The truth is, time management for entrepreneurs isn’t about squeezing more into your day—it’s about taking back control so your business works for you, not the other way around.

You sit down at your desk, ready to dive into the day, but before you even start, you’re already overwhelmed. The inbox is overflowing, notifications are pinging, and suddenly, your entire morning disappears responding to emails, putting out fires, and dealing with things you weren’t planning for. By noon, you’ve been busy, but somehow, nothing important got done. Sound familiar? If you’re stuck in reaction mode every day, your business is running you instead of the other way around.

The first shift you need to make is deciding your priorities before the day even starts. Because if you don’t decide what matters most, your inbox, your clients, and your notifications will—and that’s exactly why you feel like you’re drowning. Before you log off today, I want you to write down your top three priorities for tomorrow. That’s it. No complicated systems, no overthinking—just a simple plan so you know exactly what matters when you sit down to work. High-level entrepreneurs don’t leave their schedules up to chance. They make decisions in advance so they don’t waste time scrambling.

The next thing you need to do is stop letting your inbox run your business. If you’re checking email all day long, you’re letting other people dictate how you spend your time. Constantly bouncing between emails, messages, and notifications is a productivity killer. So here’s a challenge: Decide how many times you’ll check your email each day—and stick to it. For most business owners, checking email twice or three times a day is more than enough. If you’re brave, try twice—morning and afternoon. Pick two or three set times when you’ll check email, and no, all day is not an option. Set a five-minute timer and unsubscribe from at least three email lists you never actually read. Move non-urgent emails into a “File Later” folder so they don’t clog up your inbox. You can’t afford to spend half your day reacting to what lands in your inbox instead of working on what moves your business forward.

One of the biggest time-wasters I see among entrepreneurs is recreating the same tasks over and over again. If you want to buy back your time, you need systems that eliminate unnecessary work. How much time are you wasting rewriting the same client emails, manually sending invoices, following up with leads, or trying to remember what step comes next in a process? If you don’t have workflows in place for routine tasks, you’re the bottleneck in your own business. 

The fastest way to free up your time is to create simple, repeatable systems for the things you do all the time. Use automated emails and templates for client onboarding. Set reminders for follow-ups instead of keeping everything in your head. Batch recurring admin tasks into a dedicated time block instead of letting them take over your entire day. Imagine starting your workday knowing exactly what needs to be done—with half of it already running on autopilot. That’s what happens when you stop reacting and start leading.

So here’s the deal. Scaling your business isn’t about working harder. It’s about making intentional shifts that put you back in control of your time. If you’re serious about making that happen, start today. Pick one thing—set your priorities before the day starts, take control of your inbox, or put a simple workflow in place. The way you manage your time determines how far you’ll go, so stop wasting it on things that don’t move you forward.

 If you’re serious about shifting from chaos to clarity, join us inside The MY-T Society. Inside, you’ll get access to resources and message templates to cut down the time you spend responding to emails. And most importantly? Direct support from me.

You’ve got two choices: Keep spending your days putting out fires, or take control of your time once and for all. Make a decision and take the first step toward a business that works for you.