Time Hacks That Can Hand You an Extra Workday Every Week
Cincinnati bike-shop owner Rosa Kim was clocking 70-hour weeks yet missing delivery deadlines. After reading Harvard Business Review’s “Making the Time to Build Your Side Hustle,” she borrowed one idea—treating her calendar like real estate—and blocked two daily “work sprints.” Within a month her overtime fell 35 %. hbr.org
That result isn’t unusual. A 2024 Slack survey found the average U.S. small-business owner loses 1.5 hours a day to low-value tasks—worth about $39 000 a year. patrickaccounting.com Another 2025 roundup shows owners burn 6.8 hours weekly answering routine emails or scrolling social media. lifehackmethod.com In a market where cash and energy are tight, wasted minutes are silent killers.
Below are five actionable tactics you can adopt by Monday.
Key terms
Time audit – short period when you log activities to see where minutes leak; concept popularized by productivity expert Laura Vanderkam.
Time blocking – assigning specific hours to a single task, shielding it from interruptions (HBR). hbr.org
Pareto Principle (80/20) – idea that 80 % of outcomes come from 20 % of efforts; focus on the 20 %. (Source: Quality Progress, 2024).
Common pitfalls
Task switching. Jumping between apps can cost 23 minutes to regain focus each time.
Overstuffed blocks. Leave 10 % buffer for spillover; otherwise, stress rises and plans crumble.
DIY pride. Refusing to delegate cheap tasks while neglecting high-value work.
Rosa now audits her calendar monthly and shields her morning block like a client meeting. Revenue per labor hour is up 18 % and she clocks out by 5 p.m.
Time isn’t just money—it’s the raw material of every goal you have. Which single hack will you test this week, and how much time do you expect to reclaim? Post your target below; let’s build accountability—and maybe give each other back our Fridays.
