The EntreLeadership Podcast

Episode: "These 45 Minutes Will Give You Hours Back in Your Day"

Host: Dave Ramsey
Date: October 20, 2025

Overview

This episode features Dave Ramsey delivering a fast-paced, insightful masterclass on real-world time management, drawn from his decades as a CEO. Recorded at EntreLeadership Master Series, Dave details the principles, mindsets and practical systems business leaders (and their teams) can use to reclaim focus, eliminate chaos, and prioritize what truly moves the needle. Packed with stories, humor, and signature Ramsey straight talk, this episode is both a personal challenge and a toolkit for transforming productivity at all levels of an organization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Time Management Matters for Leaders

[00:10]

• Dave emphasizes that your capacity to lead is capped by your personal and organizational time management.
• Poor time management leads to physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion; successful people master it early.
• Quote: "You will either tell your day what to do or you'll wonder where it went." (Dave Ramsey, 02:14)

2. Technology’s Double-Edged Sword

[02:00]

• Ramsey addresses how smartphones and distraction-prone culture erode focus – especially among younger employees.
• The need to consciously separate work and home time, putting devices away for real presence.
• Quote: "We increasingly, with these things, have the attention span of a gnat." (Dave Ramsey, 01:25)
• Quote: "Be where you is. That's a time management technique." (Dave Ramsey, 01:48)

3. The Foundation: Covey’s Time Quadrants

[07:23]

• Dave breaks down Stephen Covey's 4 Quadrants (from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and applies them to business reality:
  • Quadrant 1: Important & Urgent (crises, deadlines, emergencies)
  • Quadrant 2: Important but Not Urgent (strategic, proactive, relationship-building)
  • Quadrant 3: Not Important but Urgent (interruptions, some meetings)
  • Quadrant 4: Not Important & Not Urgent (time wasters, trivial activities)
• Most people manage #1 and #4 by default; #2 and #3 are where gains and growth happen.
• Quote: "A high energy person can be really fast at doing nothing." (Dave Ramsey, 06:01)

Quadrant 4: Traps & Delegation

[11:00]

• Social media doomscrolling as a prime modern example of wasted time.
• Some tasks may be important, but not important for you to do—learn to delegate.
• Quote: "I cut enough grass by the time I was 18 years old. God said you never have to do it again." (Dave Ramsey, 12:10)

Quadrant 3: The Tyranny of the Urgent

[14:40]

• Busyness that looks productive but isn’t because tasks don’t really matter.
• The 'constant notification' syndrome: email dings, instant messages, phone pings.
• System fix: Delegate, or improve processes so unimportant urgencies don’t come to your desk.

Quadrant 2: The Goldmine for Leaders

[17:52]

• Proactive work that leads to exponential benefit – strategy, succession, cash planning, health, maintenance.
• Quote: "The more time you spend [in Quadrant 2], the bigger your business is going to get, the better it's going to be run, the better your life is going to be." (Dave Ramsey, 15:50)
• Story: On regular succession meetings (“Monty Python meeting”)—planning for contingencies well before a crisis.

4. Delegation: The Power of a Personal Assistant

[26:42]

• Dave makes a compelling case for hiring an executive/personal assistant, no matter your business size.
• Details his relationship with his long-time assistant, Patty, who manages logistics, deflects distractions, and enables high-leverage work.
• Quote: "A personal assistant is not a secretary...She plans my trips...When I step off an airplane, there's a driver standing there...I don't have any false starts." (Dave Ramsey, 27:00)
• Rule for leaders: If it has to be done but doesn't have to be done by you, delegate it.

5. The Forced Ranking System – “Daily Steak Sauce”

[29:40]

• Old-school daily to-do list: List everything, then mark A (urgent/important), B (important/less urgent), or C (wish list).
• Prioritize the “A1” – the highest-impact task for today.
• Apply forced ranking consistently; always return “back to the list” after disruptions.
• Quote: "If I can only get one thing done before I go home today, what is that? What is the most important thing? That's A1 Steak Sauce." (Dave Ramsey, 30:55)
• Anecdote: Colleague who disrupted Dave’s day (“the guy who’s just like the one in Office Space”)—the necessity of focus and systemizing interactions.

6. Systems, Technology & Managing Activities

[37:55]

• Manage activities and correct behaviors, not just results—KPIs and processes drive outcomes.
• Technology should accelerate workflow not create chaos; email should be organized, and digital/physical clutter reflects—and affects—your mind.
• Quote: "Your desktop is the condition of your brain...The cleanliness of your desktop indicates the condition of your brain." (Dave Ramsey, 43:22)
• Dave’s practice: Clears email inbox daily, uses concise communication, doesn’t engage with every message.

7. Evolving Systems: The Modern Calendar

[49:35]

• Dave now runs his priority list through a 15-minute increment digital calendar; tasks land there only if truly important.
• Anything appearing that's more urgent/important bumps what's scheduled.
• He no longer uses A-B-C lists, but the principle of forced ranking and protecting high-value blocks is the same.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On work/life balance:
  "Don't be checking your Dadgum emails till 9 o'clock at night and then wonder why your children don't know your name." (Dave Ramsey, 01:52)

• On focus vs. multitasking:
  "Everything is important. So nothing is important." (Dave Ramsey, 05:35)

• On Quadrant 4 TV time:
  "I lost my man card because I went through Downton Abbey with her. That’s a complete loss. I’ll never get those days back." (Dave Ramsey, 12:00)

• On delegating:
  "It's important, but not important that I do it." (Dave Ramsey, 13:00)

• On hiring a personal assistant:
  "98% of the time, the answer is no, Dave can't come. Cause there's only one Dave, and he ain't coming." (Dave Ramsey, 28:45)

• On digital organization:
  "Some of you...your desktop on your computer is the same way. 73,000 icons you cannot access. Okay, delete them." (Dave Ramsey, 44:08)

• On time management as a leadership skill:
  "Very few people manage their time well, because very few people are successful." (Dave Ramsey, 55:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |---------|-------------|-----------| | Why Time Management Matters | The real cost of poor time management | 00:10–04:00 | | Technology Distraction | Phones, attention span, work/home boundaries | 01:00–02:45 | | Covey’s 4 Quadrants | Framework and practical translation | 07:23–17:52 | | Quadrant 4: Wasting Time & Delegation | Social media, task delegation | 11:00–14:39 | | Quadrant 2: Proactive Leadership | Strategic/legacy planning, story | 17:52–25:41 | | Delegation/Personal Assistant | Why & how leaders should get help | 26:42–29:40 | | Forced Ranking To-Do Lists | How to structure your day to focus | 29:40–37:55 | | Systems, Technology, and Focus | Desk/inbox management, activity vs. results | 37:55–49:35 | | Modern Calendar/Final Principles | Calendar-driven, time blocking, ripple effect | 49:35–55:35 | | Conclusion/Leadership Challenge | Organizational time management, legacy | 55:35–end |

Takeaways for Listeners

• Leaders set the organizational tone for time management—a lack of focus at the top multiplies chaos down the org chart.
• The “forced ranking” mentality (priority, then everything else) is timeless, whether you use pen and paper or a digital calendar.
• Delegate everything that has to be done but does not require your unique contribution.
• Ruthlessly eliminate low-value tasks, busywork, and digital distractions.
• Real growth and hours of reclaimed time are found not by working harder, but by working only on what truly matters.

Final Challenge:
Rethink your own habits and examine your full leadership pipeline—where is time management falling through the cracks, and how will you tackle it?

"You will either tell your time what to do or you will wonder where it went."
– Dave Ramsey