Episode Overview

Podcast: The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast
Host: Carey Nieuwhof (Art of Leadership Network)
Episode: CNLP 768 – The Leadership Time Trap: How to Multiply Results Without Adding Hours
Date: November 18, 2025

In this solo episode, Carey Nieuwhof addresses a major challenge facing leaders: the “leadership time trap.” He breaks down how to evaluate and manage your time using his “Investment-Reward Matrix”—a practical framework designed to help leaders and pastors achieve more meaningful results without increasing hours or burning out. With personal anecdotes and real-world examples, Carey encourages listeners to audit their calendars and ruthlessly prioritize activities that truly multiply impact.

Main Theme

How can leaders—particularly in ministry, but applicable across all sectors—multiply their results without simply adding more hours or effort? Carey introduces the Investment-Reward Matrix, explaining how to identify and focus on high-return activities, cut out time-wasting “clutter,” and avoid burnout.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Leadership Time Trap

• Leaders often waste significant time on activities with little real impact, from unnecessary admin to redundant meetings and low-leverage tasks.
• “You can spend, honestly, 10, 15 hours a week just spinning your wheels, doing administrivia that doesn’t go anywhere.” (Carey, 00:01)
• Challenge: Many can’t articulate what they’ve accomplished in a week, despite exhausting themselves.

2. Introducing the Investment-Reward Matrix

• Concept inspired by Aaron Chung: evaluating tasks by their investment (time/energy) and their reward (outcome/impact).
• Two axes: vertical (investment: low to high), horizontal (reward: low to high), creating four zones:
  • Clutter Zone (Low investment, low reward)
  • Dream Zone (Low investment, high reward)
  • Burnout Zone (High investment, low reward)
  • Multiplication Zone (High investment, high reward)

3. Deep Dive: The Four Zones

a. Clutter Zone (Low Investment, Low Reward)

• Examples: Reports nobody reads, obligatory meetings, excessive email and texts, “administrivia.”
• “These activities multiply when you’re not paying attention… the ministry equivalent of junk collecting in your garage.” (Carey, 03:45)
• This zone slowly drags leaders down without them noticing, and because each task is so small, there’s no urgency to eliminate it.

b. Dream Zone (Low Investment, High Reward)

• Magic spot: minimal time, big results—often dividends from past high-investment work.
• Examples: Repurposing old but evergreen content, quick encouragement calls or texts to key leaders, automated systems.
• “30 seconds of your life can have a life-changing impact.” (Carey, 09:45)
• You can’t start here; it comes from systematizing and investing up front.

c. Burnout Zone (High Investment, Low Reward)

• The most dangerous zone—draining time/energy with little visible impact.
• Examples: Counseling people who don’t change, endless or ineffective meetings, handling trolls online, responding to long emails.
• “You have to be willing to stop doing things that matter to some people if they’re preventing you from doing the things that matter to the mission.” (Carey, 17:20)
• Carey’s own hard call: stopped doing most weddings/funerals, shifted to training others and focusing on bigger-picture leadership.

d. Multiplication Zone (High Investment, High Reward)

• The sweet spot for exponential impact; the foundation for real growth.
• Examples: Sermon and content creation, vision casting, team alignment, cultivating healthy culture, securing resources.
• “Developing leaders is going to take your time. But if you’ve cut out unnecessary meetings, you’re now free to invest here.” (Carey, 21:45)
• Activities here are hard but produce compounding results, and they often set up future Dream-Zone wins.

4. Practical Application: Using the Matrix

1. Audit Your Ministry / Work Week

   • Review calendar and time use over the past week.
   • Be candid: which zone do your activities fall into?
   • “I guarantee you, when you map it out, you’re going to be shocked at how much time you’re probably spending in the wrong zones.” (Carey, 24:08)

2. Maximize Dream & Multiplication Zones

   • Invest heavily in what will pay off tomorrow.
   • Identify 3–5 high-investment, high-reward activities ("your big five") and make those a priority.
   • Carey’s “big five”: content creation, vision, team alignment, culture, resources.

3. Ruthlessly Eliminate the Burnout Zone

   • Be tough: cut or delegate activities that drain but don’t move the mission.
   • “Ruthlessly eliminate the burnout zone. This is where you gotta really get tough with yourself.” (Carey, 24:50)

4. Minimize the Clutter Zone

   • Set aside time for a “spring cleaning” of your commitments.
   • Think of it as essential stewardship of your limited energy and time.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Clutter:
  “The danger of this zone is because the investment is low, you never feel a sense of urgency about eliminating it… It’s like a slow leak in your tire. Each one isn’t a big deal, but collectively, soon you’re not moving at full speed.” (Carey, 05:30)

• On Burnout:
  “You have to be willing to stop doing things that matter to some people if they’re preventing you from doing the things that matter to the mission. It’s hard, but it’s necessary.” (Carey, 17:20)

• On Multiplication:
  “An aligned leadership team multiplies your effectiveness exponentially.” (Carey, 21:20)
  “The pastors who thrive aren’t the ones who work the hardest. They’re the ones who figure out where to invest their hours.” (Carey, 25:30)

• On Auditing Your Time:
  “Don’t skip this step because I think the ability to look very honestly at your life and say, am I really spinning my wheels? Am I really making high investments with low reward?” (Carey, 24:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01 — Opening thoughts: The hidden cost of low-ROI activities
• 01:50 — “Investment-Reward Matrix” overview
• 04:20 — Clutter Zone explained; examples and analogies
• 09:20 — Dream Zone: leveraging small investments for big payoffs
• 12:40 — Burnout Zone: identifying and escaping high-investment, low-reward traps
• 17:20 — Making hard choices: Carey’s personal story of delegating weddings/funerals
• 19:50 — Other common burnout zone traps in ministry
• 21:00 — Multiplication Zone: focusing on high-investment, high-reward leadership work
• 23:55 — Carey’s “big five” priorities for multiplication
• 24:08 — Step-by-step framework: Audit, maximize, eliminate, minimize
• 25:30 — Summary: stewardship, intentionality, and strategic leadership
• 26:26–27:45 — Final reflections and tease for future guests (Caroline Leaf, JD Greear, NT Wright)

Takeaways and Action Steps

• Every leader should regularly audit their weekly activities, using the Investment-Reward Matrix as a diagnostic tool.
• Focus relentless energy on maximizing time spent in the Multiplication and Dream Zones.
• Ruthlessly cut or delegate activities that are time sinks with little payoff.
• See this framework as a matter of stewardship—not just productivity: “You have what you have, time-wise. So the question is, how are you investing it?” (Carey, 25:05)
• Growth doesn’t mean working harder; it means working smarter and more intentionally.

Episode Tone and Style

Carey’s tone is practical, candid, and encouraging—rooted in firsthand experience but applicable to a wide range of leaders. He doesn’t shy away from unpopular advice (like dropping sentimental or “important” tasks that don’t scale), always keeping mission and stewardship front and center.

Further Resources

• For visuals and downloadable resources, Carey directs listeners to: careynieuwhof.com and the Art of Leadership Academy.
• Next episodes: interviews with Dr. Caroline Leaf, J.D. Greer, NT Wright, and a discussion on church trends.

This summary captures the core content, insights, and memorable moments of CNLP 768, allowing any leader to apply Carey’s principles immediately—even if they haven’t listened to the episode.