Let’s be clear: You’re on the edge of a transformation that will redefine how you work, think and create. This isn’t hype. It’s a pivotal moment, much like when business first embraced Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management or The One Minute Manager.
The new game-changer is artificial intelligence (AI).
AI is the biggest business breakthrough in the last century. It’s not theoretical. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s evolving fast. So, let’s lean into it to give us back something precious: time.
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After years of advising startups, I can recognize a tipping point when it arrives. Right now, we’re at one for time management, and AI is the key.
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Whether you’re a founder buried in pitch decks, a product manager juggling road maps or a solo operator aiming to outperform, AI can lighten your load, sharpen your focus and let you channel your energy where it truly counts.
If AI could put time in a bottle …
Miles Davis once said, “Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.” Time is your most limited resource. You can’t create more of it or recruit it, but you can manage it better. And that’s where AI comes in.
The trick isn’t just using AI. It’s understanding how it can amplify your efforts. Automate the mundane. Speed up research. Draft faster. Dive deeper into analysis.
Don’t chase every shiny tool. Identify your bottlenecks and delegate them to AI. Real productivity is about achieving more by doing less of the unimportant stuff. This isn’t about taking the easy road; it’s about working smarter on a scale we’ve never seen before.
How AI made my life (and business) better
I’ll be honest: Not long ago, I felt overwhelmed. As an entrepreneur, I lost control of my time the moment I launched my company. You think you’ll be your own boss? Wrong. You trade one boss for many: clients, customers, vendors — you name it.
I became a slave to my calendar. Every Sunday night, I planned my week. Every morning, I tackled the day’s emergencies. In between? Meeting. Call. Meeting. Call. Repeat.
That endless cycle left no room for the work that truly matters: reflection, vision, strategy, leadership. If I’m not doing those, who is? If I’m the CEO but also the dishwasher and the stamp-licker, where’s the leadership? Where’s the intentionality? Where’s the time to build strategic partnerships or lead my team with clarity and purpose?
That’s when “buying back my time” became vital, and where implementing AI made a difference.
It’s a productivity powerhouse
Pop culture often reduces AI to a chatbot writing your kid’s book report. However, let’s elevate the conversation: AI is a powerful tool for productivity. It’s how I escaped email ping-pong to schedule a 30-minute call. Ten emails to find a time? Not anymore.
AI manages my calendar with more efficiency and intelligence than most humans. That’s not replacing someone’s job — it’s reallocating energy to higher-value work. My admin’s time is better spent elsewhere, and so is mine.
Which tasks are made for AI, and which aren’t
Here’s the real secret: AI doesn’t just take things off your plate; it lets you focus on the things only you can do. That’s the litmus test I use now. If a task requires my voice, my experience, my leadership, then it’s mine. If not? Automate it. Delegate it. Let it go.
We get bogged down in the weeds. We’re chasing invoices, answering customer emails, fixing website issues and attending meetings that could have been handled via email.
Meanwhile, the big-picture work — the vision, the strategy, the partnerships that move the needle — waits. And waits. And sometimes never gets done.
If you don’t reprioritize and refocus, you end up spending too much time in the business, and not nearly enough time on it. I see it all the time with the founders I advise how to make the shift, but I had to learn this the hard way.
The data doesn’t lie. Most business owners spend only about 32% of their time working on the business, but when asked where they want to spend their time, they often say they want to spend more time working on the business.
Nearly three-quarters say strategic thinking, growth planning and leadership are what really matter. And they’re right. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where culture is built. That’s where value is created.
Don’t leave money on the table
As entrepreneurs, we often miss opportunities when we fail to follow up. I’ve left money on the table because I never followed up after receiving an out-of-office reply.
AI can nudge me to reconnect, remind me when a contact changes jobs, and help me maintain relationships with personalized touchpoints. That’s the kind of quiet, invisible value that compounds over time.
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But let’s not fool ourselves: Not everything can or should be automated. The gut-check moments still matter. Human context and connections still matter.
Whether it’s reviewing a sensitive post before it hits social media or rewriting a note that needs genuine empathy, we can’t outsource the essence of who we are. That’s our edge.
Time isn’t something you spend; it’s something you invest. That shift in mindset changes everything.
Invite AI to your next meeting
If you’re trying to figure out where AI fits into all this, here’s what I tell my team and clients: Start small and start smart. Use it where it makes a difference.
For us, it’s not about shortening meetings; it’s about making them more effective. People still talk too much. We’re human.
But AI is invaluable after the meeting. It captures action items, summarizes key takeaways and flags deadlines I might have casually mentioned but otherwise forgotten.
That’s where it buys me back time, not in the moment, but in the follow-through. And when I follow through, that builds trust.
The cost of not investing in your time? It’s soul-sucking. You end up on the hamster wheel, busy but unproductive, constantly reactive and never quite getting to the work that moves your business forward. You disappoint yourself, your team and your clients. And eventually, it wears you down.
I measure my success differently now. I know I’m doing it right if I’m well-rested, I follow through, I’m not avoiding my calendar and I can sit down to dinner with my family instead of yelling, “Be right there!” from the other room. That’s not just balance. That’s integrity.
Want to shave 10 or 15 hours off your workweek?
So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s your starting point: Adopt one small AI tool — for meetings, for content drafting, for email management. Use it to free up time for your highest-value work — strategy, relationships and creative thinking.
Don’t waste time figuring out if a meeting should be at 2 or 3. Focus on what that meeting is for. That’s where the real ROI lives.
Here’s the truth: Embracing AI isn’t just about learning some shiny new tool. It’s about rethinking how we value our time. As entrepreneurs, our calendar is our capital.
When we start delegating routine emails, scheduling, basic research and even first drafts, we unlock hours we didn’t think we had.
I’m not talking theory here; I’m seeing it play out every week, five, 10, sometimes 15 hours handed back to people simply by being smart about where AI fits in.
But this only works if we’re intentional. It’s not about automating everything. It’s about choosing what stays human and what doesn’t need to be. That gives us back the space to lead, think, build and nurture the relationships that drive growth.
I asked ChatGPT what the best AI tools are for founders who want their time back. No fluff, no guru advice, just real tools that help with the chaos. Categorized by what they do, I picked three:
- Motion. Automatically plans your day by prioritizing tasks, meetings and deadlines.
- Notion AI. Combines tasks, docs and projects in one smart workspace.
- Zapier. Automates workflows between apps like Gmail, Slack and Airtable.
But you find your own.
The future isn’t about grinding harder. It’s about being sharper, more focused, more present. And AI? It’s not the whole answer, but it’s an incredible lever when used wisely.
Start small. Start smart. And start now.
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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.
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