If you don’t have a framework for managing time, time will manage you.
Table of Contents
Master Time Management with Proven Rules
Most founders don’t fail because of bad ideas. They fail because their calendars crush them.
If you don’t control your time, your time controls you. That’s why I built three rules that helped me go from broke to multi-millionaire. Apply these principles and you’ll stop drowning in busyness, and start creating real momentum.
1. Use the 4D Framework to Take Back Control
The 4D framework helps you stop wasting time on low-value tasks:
Do it: If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now.
Delegate it: If someone else can handle it, hand it off.
Defer it: Push tasks that matter but don’t need your attention today into a review system.
Delete it: If it doesn’t align with your goals, cut it.
| 4D Action | When to Use It | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Do It | Task < 2 minutes | Sending a quick email |
| Delegate It | Someone else can do it | Outsourcing bookkeeping |
| Defer It | Important but not urgent | Strategic planning for next quarter |
| Delete It | Doesn’t move you forward | Joining random networking events |
Learning how to say no is what creates space for your biggest opportunities. A yes to everything is a no to your dreams.
A yes is a no to your goals. A no is a yes to your potential dreams.
2. Manage Energy Not Just Time
Time is finite, but energy determines your output. High-performing founders manage their energy with intention:
Schedule for energy: Morning = creative work. Afternoon = collaboration. Evening = review and planning.
Batch work: Group similar tasks together to avoid context switching.
Net Time (No Extra Time): Layer productive activities into otherwise “dead time” like flights or commutes.
Here’s a simple energy framework:
| Block of Day | Best Activities | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Deep work, strategy, creative projects | Peak focus and mental clarity |
| Afternoon | Calls, meetings, collaboration | Social energy is higher |
| Evening | Review, research, light tasks | Lower energy but useful reflection |
You can’t do more if you don’t have energy for more.
3. Renegotiate and Adjust Your Commitments
Your calendar isn’t a prison sentence. You’re allowed to review, adjust, and say no, even if you said yes months ago.
Here’s the 3-step approach I use every week:
Review: On Sunday, scan the week ahead and ask if each commitment still matters.
Adjust: Renegotiate or decline things that no longer align with your goals.
Expand: Use the freed-up time to invest in skills, relationships, or goals that stretch you.
A simple rule: If you wouldn’t say yes to it tonight, don’t keep it on your calendar three months from now.
If you don’t take your time seriously, nobody else will.
Protect Your Time, Build Your Freedom
Your calendar is a mirror of your priorities. If you let everyone else decide what goes in it, you’ll burn out and stall your business. But if you follow these three rules—4D framework, energy management, and renegotiation—you’ll buy back time, protect energy, and scale on your terms.
Your life will either be built by design or default. Which will it be?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first step for a teenager to start making money?
The first step for a teenager to start making money is to identify a skill, interest, or simple service they can offer right now. Starting small with low-cost ideas like services or reselling teaches responsibility and builds confidence to pursue bigger entrepreneurial ventures later.
What are the best ways for teenagers to make money today?
The best ways for teenagers to make money today include hosting small events like yard sales, offering local services such as lawn care or gift wrapping, joining affiliate programs with companies like Amazon, reselling products, creating online content, flipping items, saving earnings, and even creating products or apps. These methods are low-cost and help teenagers build entrepreneurial skills early.
How can a teenager start an online business with no money?
A teenager can start an online business with no money by leveraging affiliate marketing and content creation. With free platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, teens can promote products from affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates and earn commissions. Consistently creating valuable content builds an audience, which can later be monetized through ads, sponsorships, or digital products.
Is flipping items a good way for teenagers to make money?
Flipping items is one of the best ways for teenagers to make money because it teaches negotiation, buying low, and selling high. Teens can start by flipping used electronics, clothes, or collectibles on platforms like eBay. This builds entrepreneurial experience while generating profit with minimal startup costs.
How can teenagers earn money from creating content?
Teenagers can earn money from creating content by starting a YouTube channel, TikTok account, or blog. Popular niches include gaming, unboxing, tutorials, or lifestyle content. Once they build an audience, they can monetize through ad revenue, brand partnerships, affiliate links, or even selling their own products.
More Resources
Tools Mentioned
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Amazon Associates
Affiliate program that allows teens to earn commissions by promoting and recommending Amazon products online. -
Best Buy Affiliate Program
An affiliate program for recommending and linking to Best Buy products, earning cash commissions from sales. -
eBay
Online marketplace where teenagers can flip used items, collectibles, or products for profit. -
YouTube
Free content creation platform where teens can build an audience and monetize through ads, sponsorships, or product promotion. -
TikTok
Short-form video platform that allows teenagers to reach large audiences and earn money through brand deals and creative content.
Full Transcript
Multi-Millionaire Explains: 3 Rules to Manage Your Time – YouTube
Transcript:
(00:00) stop wasting time I’m going to share with you the three time rules I followed to go from broke to multi-millionaire see when kids come up to me and I’m driving one of my supercars they always ask what do you do and I always say to them it’s not what I do it’s what I did starting with rule number one the 4D framework getting things done by David Allen is one of the best books ever written on doing more I fell in love with it I loved it so much that I actually went to one of his seminars and because of that experience he taught me
(00:30) a completely different way to work that I want to share with you now this is the 4D framework the first D is do it the rule is if it takes less than 2 minutes you do it now you don’t even write it down it’ll take you more time to write it down and then just get it done so if that means sending a text message calling someone I literally was just talking to somebody and they were like I wonder if we can make this work on YouTube I said one sec I called the person asked the question we got it done right away we don’t even write it down
(00:57) the second D is delegated if someone else can do it let them stop working on stuff you don’t need to do the third D is defer it this is really important for things that are not now they need to get done they’re just not a this week even this month so I always try to put it in a place where I know I’m going to review it so I don’t get bogged down by the pressure of having all these open Loops for things that don’t need my attention today the fourth D is delete it if it doesn’t serve your goals even if you want to do it you’d like to do it you
(01:27) got to learn to say no here’s the deal a yes yes is a no to your goals a no is a yes to your potential dreams you have to learn to say no so you create the space so it’s available to you when you have the opportunity to execute to make the thing [Music] happen Ben [Music] Newman 8 nine years ago I was still like I’d be on coaching calls 10 coaching calls in a day you know what I mean just I mean just hammering a mutual friend like dude you’re going to burn out like and he’s like you need to learn to honor the brand and get paid to say no and I
(02:15) never forgot it get paid to say no and I said tell me more he’s like dude you need to develop other coaches you need to develop other speakers so that day I got on the plane I said okay BNC speakers is born BNC coaching is born there’s no other coaches there’s no other speakers so my biggest focus is only doing the things I love yeah dude I love that CH get paid to say no change my life here’s what I like to tell people if you don’t have a framework for managing time time will manage you but time isn’t the only thing you need to
(02:45) manage which brings us to rule number two you don’t manage time you manage energy when I first started getting going I was so worried of missing opportunities that I said yes to everything that my calendar was like a tapestry of meetings that made no sense I mean I used to say yes to meetings at 9:00 a.m.
(03:03) in the morning breaking up my most creative time for some meeting that I could have done in the afternoon understanding how you naturally want to flow through your day so that you’re available for the work that you need to get done is a game changer in business that’s what the best leaders do they don’t create a scenario where they burn out and then have to reset a lot of CEOs do that man it’s actually a self-sabotaging behavior because then it’s not their fault that their whole business went back 30 40 50% yeah it is well no it’s not I was hustle in no you
(03:32) did it in a way that was not sustainable first form is an example of 22 years of non-stop chbl carry water most people don’t understand that the results are exponential but they’re not exponential if you don’t stay in the game Charlie M saying often he’s like compound growth only works if you don’t reset at the moment you lose the capital you reset rule number one don’t get out of momentum that’s why momentum is so powerful once you’re in momentum just stay in it here’s the mental model to consider you can’t do more if you don’t
(04:00) have energy for more if you’re loving this these are my energy management principles number one is schedule for energy when I look at my day and I think about the three blocks of morning afternoon and night there are certain things that I want to do in the morning that is completely different than my afternoons where I’m scheduling most of my calls because I like to collaborate in the afternoon and at night I do things like research review my calendar for the next day it’s a completely different energy if I try to do that in
(04:26) the morning and then the creative stuff at night when my brain is wasted said I would have lost my whole day of productivity the second thing is batch work and the whole idea is to ask yourself what kind of flow do you need to be in to do certain types of work and put it together if it’s a lot of writing you write if it’s a lot of meetings you talk and you put them together so that you don’t have to pay the cost of contact switching I see people do this all the time they go from Finance meeting to a sales call when I think of
(04:53) like doing media tours for example I’m going to do all the podcast interviews first then I’m going to do any speaking or book meetups and only at the end of the day do I do like a Founders dinner because I want to be in that energy of that work the third is net time which stands for no extra time this is like when I’m flying down to Nashville on the jet I’m doing a mastermind with other business people when I’m doing my 101s I do them on scooters cuz I really enjoy being out on a scooter it is a game changer to be more productive and also
(05:24) manage my energy but you can’t keep the same schedule every day and expect exponential results which brings us to rule number three you’re allowed to adjust I remember the other day one of my friends came to me and he was like overwhelmed and stressed out and I was like dude calm down what’s going on and what happened was is that he had said yes to a bunch of things months ago in his calendar was just slammed he had all these commitments he didn’t know what to do and what I suggested that he do that I want you to consider is to make a list
(05:53) of things that you wouldn’t have said yes to if they were today and renegotiate those commitments so for example at the book book meet up somebody asked a question about like being overwhelmed and they said their calendar was slammed and they have all these commitments and they don’t know what to do and I just gave them the feedback the truth is is that you’re allowed to adjust you’re allowed to renegotiate you’re allowed to sit down rep prioritize and say to somebody I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to do
(06:19) that you’re allowed to hold that truth do you think you’d miss out on getting these big opportunities if you didn’t protect your time yes it’s called Death by a paper cuts there’s this great quotee that says don’t trust a man that never says no cuz a man that never says no will eventually say yes to too many people and let people down somebody says no tells you they know what they’re after and when they say yes it’s a yes yeah I’ve never not shown up I’ll be there for a keynote I’ll be there for a webinar I’ll be there for your team I’ll
(06:51) be there for dinner I can’t remember a time I didn’t show up but if I’m not feeling it it’s also no you guys have been with me and people are like he did he know I got this idea and I really like to have you involved and I go appreciate the interest but it’s probably not going to fit sorry heads down lock it what I like to tell people is if you don’t take your time seriously nobody else will so here are three strategies that I use to get the most out of my calendar the first point is to review I look through my calendar on
(07:19) Sunday for the week and I ask myself is this something I should still be doing I know maybe I said yes 6 months ago but I’m allowed to review and decide does this align with my goals things that used to give me energy you know might have turned into things that are mediocre or worse they take my energy you’re allowed to change your mind the second part is to adjust actually renegotiate those commitments have those tough conversations one quick strategy that changed the game for my wife and I is that if the thing somebody’s asking
(07:48) me was tonight and I would say no then it’s a no even if it’s 3 months into the future so just say no today if you wouldn’t go tonight number three is expand once you’ve got that new time think about the goals you want the relationships you want to build the skills you got to acquire and add the new and my favorite thing is to figure out what would make me the most uncomfortable starting or creating whatever gives me anxiety is usually the right path most people stay away from that I use it as feedback to say go
(08:15) forward the question I ask myself is what will grow me even more I choose goals to grow me which is what I put in my account wear that one do you know what that is guess it’s a $30,000 watch this is a TSO it’s nice just guess what it is though for real 30k now I’m thinking more 60 70 100 120 150 three 3 four five 500 I’m very self-aware that that looks like a Swatch and it could be a $25 watch I don’t take it off I worked out with it I wear it all the time that’s like a GT PRS on my wrist that’s the McLaren mindset don’t
(09:01) let your possessions hold you prison wear it cuz you want to wear it I want you to wear it still had that mindset where it was like What if one of my truck team drivers that I PID I can’t pay them $90 an hour like but if they see it and it’s like I guess the answer is who gives a again clear mindset it’s not who gives a [ __ ] is I want you to make $90 an hour Go creative get there if you have the mindset that anything is possible for any person and they actually think oh you got a $5 million do watch like give me a raise I’d love
(09:35) to give you a raise talk to me tell me what you’re going to do to create more value how you going to be more efficient the reason why I got it is cu my next big goal is a billion if you divide a billion by 2,000 there 2,000 amount of hours in a year most people work okay you know what the number is billion divided by 2,000 500,000 500,000 every time I look down I ask myself is this hour producing that level of value or trending towards it if it’s not I cannot continue to entertain this Andy did it you guys just went and saw It Isn’t that
(10:07) cool you literally just saw that personified in person you saw the organization you saw the people you saw the culture you saw what I’m talking about in real life that that is going to represent yeah that was worth the trip oh yeah when I think about people taking their time more seriously I always go back to if you don’t value your own time nobody else will value yours and most people don’t realize decisions around Partnerships that cause issues or even saying yes to commitments that you know really should be a no the people you
(10:42) love the most are on the receiving end so I always go back to reminding myself if I say yes to this I’m saying no to time with my kids I’m saying no to time with my wife I’m saying no to calling my brother I’m saying no to hanging out with my dad and when I put that into context it allows me to feel okay in deciding to do something different if you want to learn how CEOs manage their inbox click the video and I’ll see you on the other side