Are you really in control of your time?

Have you ever stopped to think about how ironic it is?

We start companies in pursuit of freedom—financial and professional—yet we hand over our "time-wallet" to whoever demands it. Meetings pile up, Slack pings steal our focus, and before we know it, the day is gone.

I hear this in most of my 1:1 calls, and I even remember a moment early in my journey when I caught myself working 14-hour days, convincing myself that "this is just a phase."

But it never was. The work never ended—until I made it end.

The truth? 90% of founders are overwhelmed, yet we pretend we’re not. We act like we have it all together, but deep down, we know something has to change.

Let’s stop pretending and start solving. Here’s how:

1. Build a High-Performing Agenda

If it’s not on your agenda, it won’t happen. And guess what? Scaling is never an “urgent” task—it’s important but never pressing. And yet, it’s the one thing only YOU can do.

I used to tell myself I’d “find time” for strategy work, but somehow, the day always filled up with emails, meetings, and last-minute fires. Sound familiar?

That’s when I created the 4x4 system—four mornings a week, four-hour deep work sessions.

The first time I implemented it, my schedule was packed with scattered tasks, making it hard to focus on long-term strategy. But after a few weeks of sticking to the 4x4 system, I noticed a shift—I had more clarity on priorities, made faster decisions, and mapped out concrete steps for growth.

This is when you do your Visionary Magic. This is when you actually grow the company.

2. Know Your Limits

Your brain has moments of deep focus and moments of passive resolution. If 9–11 AM is when you do your best thinking, treat it like a meeting with your most important client—your future self.

• Let your team know you’re unavailable.
• Turn off notifications—yes, all of them.
• Define the exact outcome you want before you start.

3. Define What Priorities Look Like to Your Team

If your team keeps coming to you for every little decision, it’s probably because of one of these two reasons:

1. You’ve (unknowingly) trained them to rely on you.

Fix it: Instead of being the answer key, be the guide. Define what truly needs your input and where they have full decision-making power. For those “gray area” moments, create a simple playbook to help them navigate without you.

2. You don’t fully trust them to make the right call.

Fix it: Start small. Delegate something low-risk and let them own it completely. The more they prove themselves, the easier it gets to let go.

4. Surround Yourself with a Personal Board of Advisors

As I already mentioned in a previous issue, even the best athletes have coaches, trainers, and teammates pushing them forward.

So, why do founders try to do it all alone?

The highest-performing founders operate the same way:

• A business coach to cut through the noise and sharpen decision-making.
• A financial advisor to ensure cash flow isn’t a constant headache.
• A network of peers who get it—because the higher you climb, the lonelier it gets.

The right support system isn’t a luxury—it’s how you stay in the game.

The #1 Time Bottleneck: Micromanaging

When we talk about reclaiming time, there’s one habit that quietly eats away at a founder’s schedule more than anything else: Micromanaging.

At first, it seems harmless—just a quick check-in here, an extra approval there. But soon, it becomes a cycle: your team hesitates to act without your input, and you feel trapped in the weeds of daily operations.

I used to think I was being a “good leader” by staying involved in everything. But then I realized something: my highest-performing team members didn’t actually need me hovering over them.

• They knew what they were doing.
• Their work spoke for itself.
• They delivered results—without my constant oversight.

So why was I checking in? To feel in control. And that’s when I knew something had to change.

Micromanaging is a company killer.

It drains:

1. Trust – Making people feel their work always needs supervision.
2. Freedom – If the update could be an email, don’t schedule a meeting.
3. Focus – Check-ins are interruptions. They shift their minds from creating to reporting.

Only 1% of founders can say, “I own my time and energy to focus on growth.”

Don’t be the micromanager leader.

Support your team. Let them fail (that’s how YOU learned also!).

Celebrate their wins. Inspire their growth.

That’s the foundation of a truly successful company.

If this resonates, let’s talk. I help founders build systems that let them scale—without burnout.

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Best,

Ignacio

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