From: alexhormozi
For business owners and high-level employees, understanding and optimizing work output is crucial for financial growth [00:00:00]. Many individuals believe they work hard, but struggle to define “work” itself [00:00:34]. Common definitions like force x distance, time spent, or effort expended are not useful for knowledge workers or in assessing business growth [00:00:45].
Defining Work and Output
Work is defined as outputs, and outputs are equal to volume times leverage [00:01:34].
- Volume: The number of times you do something [00:01:42].
- Leverage: How much you get out of each time you do it [00:01:43].
To work faster, or do more work per unit of time, the formula is (volume x leverage) / time, which equates to output per unit of time [00:01:50].
Volume vs. Leverage
While leverage (getting more out of each action) is often discussed, many businesses neglect the importance of consistently high volume in key activities [00:03:01].
Identifying Core Business Growth Levers
For a business to grow, there are fundamentally two ways:
- Get more customers [00:04:05]
- Make existing customers worth more [00:04:07]
These break down into actionable steps:
- Getting More Customers:
- Increase traffic (e.g., advertise more/better) [00:04:16]
- Convert a higher percentage of traffic (e.g., practice sales, improve offers) [00:04:17]
- Making Them Worth More:
- Raise prices [00:04:23]
- Decrease cost of goods sold [00:04:24]
- Get people to buy more stuff more times (e.g., decrease churn, improve onboarding, hold events) [00:04:26]
Many business owners spend their time on activities that do not directly contribute to these core levers, leading to stagnation [00:05:00]. This non-essential “work” has the same impact as doing nothing and is more tiresome than relaxing [00:05:17].
The "Wrong" Work
“If you keep doing the same stuff and your business isn’t growing, then the stuff that you’re doing is wrong” [00:08:06]. You must be willing to let some fires burn and prioritize activities that genuinely move the business forward [00:08:12].
For most smaller businesses, effort should disproportionately focus on generating more traffic and converting prospects [00:05:51].
The Power of Volume in Key Activities
Excellence comes from repetition [00:06:26]. To become exceptionally good at advertising, dedicate significant time (e.g., four hours a day) to scripting, analyzing, writing, copying, recording ads, or performing consistent outreach [00:06:40]. This dedicated “volume” creates the desired outputs, such as more leads [00:07:22].
If you master one area (e.g., traffic generation) and it’s no longer the business’s primary limiter, then shift focus to the next constraint (e.g., conversion) [00:08:37]. This might involve tracking close rates, analyzing sales interactions, practicing scripts, or hiring coaches [00:08:57].
All problems are solvable with skills, and all skills are attainable through repetition and feedback [00:09:51]. Once a skill is acquired, it takes less time to perform, providing leverage and freeing up time for other high-value activities [00:09:56]. This is akin to moving from growing a skill to maintaining a skill [00:10:14].
Aligning Time with Growth
Every minute spent should clearly align with one of the four growth levers: increasing traffic, improving conversion, raising prices, or increasing customer lifetime value [00:10:36]. If your schedule doesn’t reflect this, you are not doing the work that makes money [00:10:40].
Optimizing Time for Output
Success is indifferent to excuses; only output matters [00:11:21]. People who move faster do better things with their time [00:12:19]. Finding and buying time are critical for focusing on the high-leverage activities [00:12:38].
Finding Time: Maker vs. Manager
Every entrepreneur experiences two types of work:
- Maker Time: Long, uninterrupted blocks (4-6 hours) for low urgency, high importance work that moves the business forward [00:12:55]. A productive maker calendar is an empty calendar, as interruptions destroy entire blocks [00:13:08].
- Manager Time: Small, frequent blocks (5-15 minutes) for training, coordinating, communicating, and putting out fires [00:13:31]. The goal is to fill the calendar with these slots when in manager mode [00:13:37].
Mixing these two types of work leads to inefficiency and disaster [00:14:03]. It’s essential to define your work style for the day and communicate it to your team [00:14:21].
Habits for Maker Time (See also: Daily Routine and Productivity Strategies)
- Decide on one most important project [00:14:44].
- Work during dedicated, uninterrupted blocks (e.g., 4 AM to 9 AM) [00:14:50].
- Turn off all notifications, create a dark/quiet environment [00:14:54].
- Recognize that “emergencies” are rare (true emergencies vs. business growth issues) [00:15:08].
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends [00:15:25].
- Utilize weekends as additional “maker time” blocks (104 days a year) [00:16:04].
Buying Time: Eliminating Unproductive Tasks
You are the most valuable person in your business [00:16:27]. Just as you’d clear the way for a star employee, you should do the same for yourself [00:16:32]. All demands (work, family, chores) drain from the same “battery” [00:16:59].
Eliminating unproductive tasks is more effective for increasing productivity than adding optimization hacks [00:17:11]. Cutting things out creates permanent reductions in energy drainage, freeing up time for money-making activities [00:17:44].
Example of Time Savings (and replacement cost):
- Food (groceries, prepping, eating, cleaning): 50 hours/month (approx. $800/month) [00:18:40]
- Home Cleaning: 25 hours/month (approx. $500/month) [00:18:51]
- Laundry (washing, drying, folding, dry cleaning): 16 hours/month (approx. $200/month) [00:18:57]
- Total: 96 hours/month for approximately $1,500/month [00:19:06]. This is equivalent to two full work weeks back every month [00:19:12].
If you can make more than $15 per hour with your time, this trade is highly beneficial [00:19:18]. This is a form of reinvesting in yourself, but the bought time must be used for high-value work, not leisure [00:19:30]. Many entrepreneurs hesitate to spend on these “frilly” expenses while readily hiring staff [00:19:48].
Furthermore, consider time spent on non-essential, “free” activities:
- Following sports teams: 4 hours/week [00:20:33]
- Watching TV: 21 hours/week [00:20:40]
- Scrolling social media: 17 hours/week [00:20:44]
- Driving to/from work & refueling: 4.5 hours/week (can be replaced by Uber/driver for $700/month to free up time for productive work) [00:20:46]
This “buying time” is a one-time opportunity; once gained, it’s about utilization [00:21:18].
Compressing Growth: The Multiplier Effect
By consistently working on the right things and eliminating distractions, you can move significantly faster than competitors [00:22:47]. If someone spends 96 productive hours a week compared to another’s three hours, they can move 30 times faster [00:18:13].
This approach allows leaders to fulfill their “manager” duties while dedicating essential time to “maker” tasks that drive growth [00:22:56]. The secret is not a complex hack, but the conscious elimination of energy drains not aligned with your goals [00:25:18]. This can compress multiple lifetimes of growth into one [00:25:26].
Personal Application & Further Thoughts
- Sleep: Prioritize sleep. A consistent sleep alarm (rather than a wake-up alarm) ensures adequate rest for peak performance [00:26:04].
- Fitness: Maintenance of fitness takes significantly less time than initial conditioning. It’s about consistent, efficient effort [00:27:49].
- Work-Life Integration: For entrepreneurs, work can be a primary source of enjoyment. Don’t judge the integration of business into personal life if it works for you and your partner [00:28:28].
- Identifying Constraints: Business constraints (like lead generation or conversion rates) don’t change frequently. Focus intensely on breaking the current constraint before moving to the next. Sometimes, the easiest solution isn’t the most apparent, requiring creative problem-solving and considering different perspectives [00:30:17]. For example, optimizing pricing can resolve lead problems [00:31:22].