Being a business owner today is a true balancing act of working in your business and on it. 

If you’re anything like me, you're constantly navigating pressure and uncertainty—wondering where your next client will come from, if you're building the right team, if you'll make payroll this week, or if that strategy will pay off. 

One of the biggest challenges for me in my business journey has been protecting my time. Somehow, the days just seemed to evaporate as I straddled the fence of managing operations and building the business.

In the back of mind, there was always a nagging feeling that saying no to a meeting or networking event might mean missing out on the next big opportunity. So my default was always YES! Yet, after countless meetings and events I would leave depleted and often asking: why do I keep doing this to myself?

Almost five years into my owning The Bunker, a local independent insurance agency, I’ve learned a few things about time and how to better manage it. 

Here are four things that completely changed the game for me.

1. Know Your Hourly Rate  Should I be doing this? Knowing your hourly rate can help you decide where you should be focusing your time, and more importantly where you shouldn’t. Focus on high-impact tasks that drive your business forward, and delegate or decline the rest. This clarity can transform your productivity and ensure you’re spending your energy where it truly counts. Whether you actually get paid that rate or not is irrelevant; it’s about recognizing the value of your time. 

2. Designate a Day for Out-of-Office Meetings: Personally, nothing disrupts my flow more than multiple lunch meetings scattered throughout the week. These can easily stretch into 2-3 hour events, consuming valuable time without you even realizing it. To combat this, I’ve set aside one day each week for all my out-of-office meetings— I have a coffee meeting, a lunch meeting, and drinks all packed into that single out-of-office day. This strategy allows me to reclaim precious working hours and prevents me from having to switch gears frequently, enabling deeper focus on my core tasks and enhancing my productivity.

3. Use a Calendar Scheduling Tool  There is absolutely nothing more stressful than having 6 emails back and forth just to coordinate a lunch meeting. Scheduling tools like Caldendly can be a game changer in eliminating the hassle and unclogging your inbox! When someone wants to meet, I simply send them my booking link with my coffee meeting, lunch meeting, or drinks meeting options- preset to my designated day of the week of course! They can easily see which ones are available and select the option that’s most convenient for their schedule. The software even sends a reminder email and calendar appointment to both of us! PRO TIP: I also have 3 pre-determined restaurants for my guests to choose. These locations are either close to my office or close to my house to minimize drive time.

4. Reserve Lunch Meetings for Exploration, not Discovery When it comes to new introductions, I typically only send the booking link for my coffee meeting option. It’s rare that I am introduced to someone who immediately warrants a “lengthy lunch meeting” right off the bat. Keeping it brief with coffee allows for more casual conversation and lets me explore the potential for opportunities without investing hours of my day. This allows me to reserve my lengthy lunches for more collaborative conversations with potential strategic partners. 

When I first began implementing these strategies, it was uncomfortable, but I did it out of necessity. At the time I was overwhelmed with work travel and an overflowing calendar. I remember early on, I had received an introduction to someone and shared my booking link, looking forward to a productive conversation. Instead of a booking confirmation, I received a surprising response: “You seem really busy. Maybe some other time.”

I was shocked, and began drafting a reply explaining why my availability was more limited than normal, how I had these speaking engagements on my calendar for months, how important these conferences were for my business… and then I realized he did me a favor- and so did this time management system!

If I didn’t have these small friction points in place, I probably would’ve accommodated him at my own expense. I would have spent a three hour lunch with someone who feels entitled and doesn’t respect the boundaries of a person they do not yet know, or someone who doesn’t understand a business owner’s need to manage competing priorities. Not someone I want to derail myself for! And certainly not someone worth the value of my hourly rate! I deleted the email and never responded to him. 

At first, exercising this level of control over my time felt uncomfortable, selfish even. But I quickly learned that this gentleman was the exception not the rule. Most people made their booking selections without hesitation.  And quickly, I was able to optimize all of my newfound free time.  As I was sharing this framework with colleagues and friends, I also learned that most successful business owners in my network had similar systems they leaned on to manage their time and productivity. 

The reality is, time is our only non-renewable resource. We can find more clients, more events, more team members, but we only get 24 hours in a day.  Time is the currency of entrepreneurship. Don’t give yours away for free.