How CEOs Schedule Their Day - The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell Episode: How CEOs Schedule Their Day
Release Date: October 23, 2023

Dan Martell, a renowned entrepreneur and bestselling author, delves deep into the intricate art of scheduling as a CEO in this insightful episode of The Martell Method. Drawing from his personal journey of transforming his life and building a $100M empire, Dan shares actionable strategies and mindset shifts that enable CEOs to maximize productivity, maintain work-life balance, and drive their businesses toward explosive growth without burnout.

1. Prioritizing the "Big Rocks" in the Morning

Dan emphasizes the significance of tackling the most critical tasks—the "big rocks"—first thing in the morning.

[00:45] Dan Martell: "Your first 90 minutes of your day, minimum, should be focused on your number one priority, the one thing, the leading domino. If you got that done, everything else in your life would get easier."

By dedicating the initial hours to addressing the primary objectives, CEOs can ensure that the foundational aspects of their business receive unwavering attention. Whether it's fundraising, business development, sales, or marketing, attacking these key areas head-on sets a productive tone for the rest of the day.

2. Allocating Every Minute: No White Space

Dan’s scheduling philosophy revolves around meticulous time allocation, leaving no gaps in the calendar.

[04:10] Dan Martell: "I don't have white space. I don't have 15 minutes here, I don't have 30 minutes there. Everything is allocated."

Partnering with his assistant, Dan plans his week in advance, ensuring that every minute is purposefully utilized. This approach eliminates downtime and prevents the creeping backlog of tasks, fostering a sense of control and efficiency.

3. Structuring Different Types of Meetings

Understanding the varying importance and objectives of meetings, Dan categorizes them based on duration and purpose.

15-Minute Meetings: Ideal for initial connections or exploratory discussions.

[04:45] Dan Martell: "A 15 minute is great for a first time new connection with where I don't even know if this is somebody I have an opportunity to do any work with."
30-Minute Meetings: Reserved for business partners, team leaders, or potential investments.

[05:10] Dan Martell: "30 minutes are used for business partners, leaders that report to me, people I want to invest in, coach them."

For more extensive projects requiring in-depth focus, longer time blocks are allocated, ensuring that significant initiatives receive the attention they deserve.

4. Designing the Day for Energy

Dan structures his day to align with his natural energy levels, optimizing both physical and mental performance.

[06:30] Dan Martell: "My day is designed for energy. There's a reason why I do certain workouts in the morning. Then I do my creative work."

His routine typically includes:

Morning Workouts: To boost physical energy and mental clarity.
Creative Work Sessions: Post-exercise periods dedicated to high-output tasks.
Lunch Reset: A break to rejuvenate and prepare for the afternoon.
Afternoon Meetings: Focused on collaborations and external engagements.
Evening Wind-Down: Quality time with family to close any open loops, ensuring a clear mind for the evening.

5. Batch Work for Increased Productivity

Batching similar tasks together minimizes context switching and enhances focus.

[08:15] Dan Martell: "If I'm shooting videos, I'm going to shoot a bunch of videos, podcast interviews, always batch work."

By grouping related activities, Dan maximizes his productivity and maintains a high level of creativity and efficiency throughout the day.

6. Avoiding Context Switching: Embracing Batching Over Multitasking

Dan debunks the myth of multitasking, highlighting its inefficiency compared to batching.

[09:40] Dan Martell: "Most people do a lot of context switching that takes up 20 times more time. Instead, batching similar things together... will get you huge yield in your productivity."

He illustrates this with a cognitive experiment, demonstrating how alternating between tasks significantly hampers performance and prolongs completion time.

7. Maximizing Net Time: Combining Activities for Dual Productivity

Dan introduces the concept of "net time," where multiple productive activities occur simultaneously.

[12:05] Dan Martell: "How do I accomplish things and do other stuff at the same time? For example, most meetings in person with people that are new... we're doing them Tuesday morning at 6:30am and we're hiking up a mountain."

Other examples include:

Internal Team Meetings on a Road Bike: Utilizing physical activity to conduct discussions.
Reading in the Hot Tub: Combining relaxation with continued learning.
Travel Conversations: Engaging in meaningful dialogues while in transit.

This innovative approach allows Dan to leverage every moment, ensuring continuous progress without sacrificing personal well-being.

8. Intentional Scheduling for Work-Life Balance

Throughout the episode, Dan underscores the importance of a well-structured schedule in achieving both professional success and personal fulfillment.

[14:20] Dan Martell: "Being a high performing CEO requires you to be intentional about your calendar by focusing on the major projects by blocking out your time."

His strategies enable him to maintain high output levels while also enjoying quality time with family, friends, and personal pursuits, exemplifying a balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.

9. Conclusion: Embracing the Martell Method

Dan wraps up by encouraging listeners to adopt his scheduling techniques to enhance their productivity and achieve their business goals without compromising on personal life.

[16:00] Dan Martell: "If you wanna learn how I've done that, be sure to check out my book buybackyourtime.com. Click the link, grab your copy."

He also invites listeners to engage with his resources, including his book and newsletter, to further explore his methodologies.

Key Takeaways:

Start with Priorities: Focus on the most important tasks first to set a productive tone.
No Gaps in Schedule: Allocate every minute to maintain control and efficiency.
Categorize Meetings: Differentiate meeting types based on purpose and duration to optimize interactions.
Align with Energy Levels: Structure the day to match natural energy peaks for maximum performance.
Batch Similar Tasks: Grouping tasks reduces inefficiency caused by context switching.
Leverage Net Time: Combine activities to achieve dual productivity without overextending.
Maintain Work-Life Balance: Intentional scheduling ensures both professional success and personal fulfillment.

By implementing these strategies, CEOs and entrepreneurs can emulate Dan Martell's disciplined approach to scheduling, leading to enhanced productivity, sustained business growth, and a harmonious personal life.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:02]
Dan Martell
Welcome to the Growth Stacking Podcast. This is Dan Martell. This is what my schedule looks like as the CEO of a multi million dollar company. When I first started, it was hectic. Then I had human alarm clocks, I had my first son Max, and then Noah. And all of a sudden now I couldn't stay up till two in the morning to get caught up. What I want to share with you is how I've designed my life and my calendar to to be able to be the most effective CEO for the people that report to me. The first thing is even though I have a morning routine and that kind of ramps up my body and my mind so that I can focus, it's really about getting the big rocks moving forward. Your first 90 minutes of your day, minimum, should be focused on your number one priority, the one thing, the leading domino. If you got that done, everything else in your life would get easier. Typically it's stuff around fundraising, business development, sales, marketing. Whatever area of your business has got a blockage right now, you should wake up and should attack it violently. 90 minutes every day. But my morning is really left pretty much until noon for my creative work, for my output. What I don't do is I don't sit there on my phone and start getting into my inbox or looking at my WhatsApp. I get up, I execute, it's planned the night before. I know exactly what I need to do to move the business forward. I don't get distracted by a bunch of demands on my time. The second aspect about my calendar, if you looked at it, is that I don't have white space. I don't have 15 minutes here, I don't have 30 minutes there. Everything is allocated. So my assistant and I will sit down the week before and we'll look at the calendar. And if There is a 90 minute block or a 30 minute window or 15 minutes in between meetings, we're always looking to fill it. And I have different types of meetings that I'll do. So a 15 minute is great for a first time new connection with where I don't even know if this is somebody I have an opportunity to do any work with, but I want to take the meeting. So usually a quick 15 minutes, 30 minutes are used for business partners, leaders that report to me, people I want to invest in, coach them, and we use those 30 minutes. Anything above that. I'm always asking myself, what projects could I accelerate if I allocated that open time to a project that's on the next 90 minute window of key boulders and rocks? I got to push up the mountain so I don't do lead time. See, a lot of people just allow themselves to have that space to like, recover and do email. I block my email time, I block my social media time, my personal time, date nights, spending time with my kids. It's all in there. From the time I wake up at four in the morning till I pass out at nine o' clock at night, it is allocated. So I never wonder if I'm getting behind on different parts of my life, because my whole life is designed into the day and the week. If you looked at my calendar, you would see that my day is designed for energy. So there's a reason why I do certain workouts in the morning. Then I do my creative work. Then I usually have some kind of reset for lunch. I get into meetings, calls, collaborations, external meetings that if I got to go look at projects or deals, and then I usually like to wind down before dinner with my kids because I want to make sure that I kind of close down any open loops so I can be focused for the meal. And usually every night it's either, you know, going mountain biking with friends, spending time with my wife, date night, we do group date nights, we'll go wake surf. But essentially I use the day and the energy, my natural internal kind of feeling, to be able to show up, to do the type of work that makes the most sense based on the time of day. The other thing is batch work. If there's certain types of work, you should put them together. So if I'm shooting videos, I'm going to shoot a bunch of videos, podcast interviews, always batch work. Because that mindset, that creativity, that focus, focus makes a lot of sense. And I'd much rather push back on other people's calendars to meet mine than make exceptions. And then I'm trying to context switch. Most people don't realize there is no context switching. For example, if I asked you to count from 1 to 26 as fast as you could, most people do it in about five and a half seconds, spell out the Alphabet, A, B, C, D, E, F, G all the way to the end. Most people do it in about 4 and a half, 5 seconds. If I then ask you to go 1, A, 2, B and context switch in between each one, most people lose track and just can't even finish. If you do finish, it takes you about a minute to a minute and a half. So we're talking 20 times more time multitasking that everybody says, oh, I'm a great multitasker. No, you're not batching similar things together so that you can go 30 minute intervals of just attacking something until it's done will get you huge yield in your productivity. And then finally net time. So so for me net time stands for no extra time. How do I accomplish things and do other stuff at the same time? So for example, most meetings in person with people that are new that I've never met before, we're doing them Tuesday morning at 6:30am and we're hiking up a mountain. Why do I do that? Because I want to know that they're serious that they really want to meet with me. I do other things like do meetings with my team on my internal road bike where I have a setup with my TV and my trainer. I use Zwift that that way I can be on a low cadence zone 2 bike ride for three hours and do three hours of internal meetings to help the businesses move things forward. I love to also read while I'm in the hot tub. So when I'm doing recovery or I'm kind of taking a mini break, I'm going to feed my mind. See some people they like do these things as separate consuming past meetings. I can listen to them on 2x speed while I'm running. When I'm traveling, I've paid people's plane ticket to come travel with me so that while I'm in flight I I'm having conversations with people I've been meaning to have. It's worth that investment to get that time to be more productive. And that concept you should consider in all areas of your life. Where can you get more leverage out of the same unit of time by doing more than one thing to move your life forward. Being a high performing CEO requires you to be intentional about your calendar by focusing on the major projects by blocking out your time. And that's really why I wrote Buy Back youk Time is so that I could teach people ways that I've been able to get incredible amount of output and at the Same time take 12 weeks a year off on vacation or travel and do things every month with my family or with my friends. So if you wanna learn how I've done that, be sure to check out my book buybackyourtime.com click the link, grab your copy. I'll see you next week. If you like this week's episode, be sure to visit itunes, leave a review that'll help us get in of other founders just like you. And if you're looking for more resources and video trainings, be sure to check out dan martell2lsmartell.com to subscribe. Keep up the hustle, keep stacking your growth and I'll see you in next Monday's episode. Peace. Grow Peace. Bye bye.