3 Time Management Fixes To Prevent Burnout  

There’s a reason time management isn’t fixed by simply “taking more breaks.” You don’t need a walk around the block to realise your calendar is packed, your inbox is a mess, and your brain is full of tabs you never meant to open. 

Let’s name it: most senior leaders, business owners and professionals aren’t burned out because they don’t rest enough, they’re burned out because their day is hijacked by distractions and a deeply ingrained belief that they have to do everything themselves. 

According to Gallup’s 2024 “State of the Global Workplace” report, global employee engagement declined from 23% to 21%. In particular, managers experienced the sharpest engagement decline, decreasing from 30% to 27%.  This has significantly impacted global productivity. They estimate this decline costing the global economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity.  

Gallup attributes this downturn to increasing responsibilities faced by managers, including adapting to remote work trends, navigating economic fluctuations, managing supply chain issues, and integrating AI tools.  

1. Stop relying on memory. Use a task list.

We tend to treat our brains like filing cabinets. Some could argue they’re more like junk drawers. We can be full of good intentions, yet it’s hard to navigate when the pressures on. 

Instead of reacting to everything that pings, pops up or walks into your office, set a short list of priorities for the day. And I mean short. Two to three key things.  The reality is, we only ever achieve 3 – 5 things in one day.  Research shows we achieve more when we are feeling productive. If we look at a list with 15 things still do at lunch time, we give up. 

When you’ve chose your three things, break those into steps. As each step gets done, cross it off physically. Not in your head, not “mentally noted.” Pen to paper, keyboard to screen, strike-through satisfaction. 

It’s not just for clarity. It gives your brain a way back when you’re interrupted,  which, if you’re like most leaders, is every five minutes. And let’s not forget: every distraction costs you over 23 minutes of recovery time, on average. 

Write it down. Come back to it. Let the list do some of the heavy lifting. 

2. If you’re doing everything, you’re doing it wrong.

Here’s a truth that stings a little: if you’ve convinced yourself that no one else can do the job properly, the bottleneck might be you.  

A lot of high achievers fall into this trap. Sometimes the thinking goes: “If I just push harder, I’ll get through it all.” Or “It’s quicker to do it myself than to explain it.”  Or “If you want it done properly, it’s better to do it yourself,”. Sound familiar? 

Here’s the cost: your time gets chewed up by tasks that could be done by others. You’re constantly context switching. You’re exhausted. And your team is underutilised or underdeveloped, sometimes both. 

Delegation isn’t avoidance or shirking. It’s what leaders do who are good at time management; they are masters of time management. Start by asking: 

• Am I the only person who can do this? 

• What happens if I don’t? 

• Who would benefit from learning how? 

You don’t need to hand over the steering wheel. Just let someone else fill the tank now and then. 

3. Get admin off your plate. Properly.

If you spend more than 15 minutes a day replying to emails, chasing calendar invites, or formatting documents, we need to talk about virtual assistants. 

A good VA can handle all the admin that clogs your day and drains your focus, from email filtering and appointment scheduling to research, document prep, and even following up with clients. 

You don’t need to hire full-time. Start small. Trial a few hours a week. The key is to be deliberate.  Start by tracking your processes and systems (which you should be doing anyway) and decide which of these micro tasks can be shared with someone else, before you’re drowning in all of them. Build that into your workflow before it becomes urgent. 

If you’re not sure where to begin let me know.  I love a good procedure, and I’ve got some great tools that can make it super simple and less painful.  I can also give you some tips on engaging with VA’s, I’ve been working with them for years.

The real time management secret? Protect your focus. 

You can’t manage your time if you don’t first manage your attention. Distractions cost you more than you think, not just minutes, but momentum. So the real fix for burnout isn’t “slow down.” It’s do less of what doesn’t matter and build smarter systems for the things that do. 

Prioritise better. Delegate more. Cut the noise.  To give you an example, my email mastery system typically saves people about 2 hours per day.  It does this through simple but powerful tools that eliminate distractions and over handling of emails and other tools in Microsoft Outlook.  

When you have more focus, you have more energy and that’s where the real freedom starts. 

TL;DR: Time Management That Actually Works 

✅ Do 

• Set 2–3 key priorities each day. avoid long to-do lists that kill momentum. 

• Break big tasks into steps and physically tick them off for mental clarity and motivation. 

• Delegate deliberately. Ask yourself if you’re the only person who can do the task. 

• Track your systems so you can hand off repeatable tasks to others or a VA. 

• Hire a virtual assistant to manage admin and free up your focus. 

• Protect your attention. Treat your time as a limited resource, not an open buffet. 

• Use tools and systems (like my Email Mastery method) to reduce everyday distractions. 

❌ Don’t 

• Don’t rely on memory to run your day, it’s a junk drawer, not a project plan. 

• Don’t try to power through everything alone, that just leads to burnout. 

• Don’t assume delegation means loss of control, it’s a leadership strength. 

• Don’t wait until you’re drowning to get help, build support systems early.