Note: The following is an excerpt from the Scale Smarter Newsletter.

Time is a founder’s most precious resource.

Protecting your time by limiting switching costs is the key to staying focused and actually making progress against your goals.

One strategy I use: time blocking.

It’s the practice of scheduling specific blocks of time for particular tasks or types of work, which sounds simple but it’s actually a superpower. Here’s how it works:

Do a Time Audit

For one week, track how you actually spend your time.

Use a tool like RescueTime or just jot down your activities in a Google Sheet by logging what you did every hour.

At the end of the week, add it up by project and by type of work (i.e. team management, deep work, sales, etc.).

Are there any surprises? Does how you’re splitting up your time make you feel good, or frustrated?

Regardless, this will give you a realistic picture of where your time is going.

Identify Your Power Hours

When are you most productive? The data will give you the real answer.

Is it early morning, late at night, or somewhere in between? Reserve these times for your most important and cognitively demanding work.

Build your schedule around your natural productivity patterns.

Create Themed Days