Your Calendar Is Lying to You: 5 Steps to Take Back Your Time as a Business Owner

If you’re running a $1M–$6M business, there’s a good chance your calendar isn’t helping you—it’s hurting you.

I see it all the time: business owners stuck in back‑to‑back meetings, putting out fires that aren’t theirs to fight, and solving everyone else’s emergencies because they haven’t built the processes or guardrails to step back.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re always available, your team will let you keep solving their problems. But when you step away and create the right guardrails, you’ll find something surprising—the company doesn’t burn down.

It’s time to take back control. Here are five proven steps I’ve used for nearly a decade to help business owners reclaim their time and lead with clarity.

1. Turn Off Your Notifications

This may sound small, but it’s the most powerful first step.

Stop letting your phone and inbox control your attention. Turn off email notifications. Turn off social media pings. In fact, I haven’t had work email on my phone for nearly 10 years—and nothing has burned down.

Emergencies? Real ones get a phone call or a text. Everything else can wait until you’re ready to deal with it.

2. Audit Your Week

Pull up last week’s calendar and be brutally honest.

• Which meetings actually needed you there?

• Which ones could someone else have handled?

• Which ones were simply a waste of time?

If a meeting has more than 15 people in it, you almost certainly don’t need to be there. And if it has more than four? Question it.

3. Block the Non‑Negotiables

Before you let your calendar fill with other people’s priorities, schedule your non-negotiables first.

• Time for creative work

• In‑person connection with your team

• Personal priorities (family, health, thinking time)

This creates the foundation for a workweek where you lead proactively instead of just reacting to whatever hits your inbox.

4. Set Guardrails

Decide what your workday looks like—and stick to it.

I have two kids (with a third on the way), so when I close my laptop at the end of the day, I’m done. Unless it’s a true revenue‑impacting emergency, work stays at work.

Set boundaries for when you start, when you end, and how you engage. Your business will adapt—and your team will rise to the challenge.

5. Institute “Kill Zones”

This is one of my favorite tactics: identify the meetings and tasks that simply don’t need to exist—and kill them.

Sometimes you’ll need to temporarily over‑deliver (for example, running daily updates for 30 days after a key resignation) but then phase those things out.

The more you eliminate unnecessary noise, the more space you create for real leadership.

The Unexpected Truth

The more meetings you decline, the more gets done.

When you take your hands off every small problem, you create space for your team to figure it out—and they often rise to the occasion in ways you didn’t expect.

Try It

If you’re ready to reclaim your time, step out of the chaos, and lead with clarity, my 4‑week Leadership Reset program was built for you.

It’s designed to help business owners like you reset your calendar, restructure your schedule, and lead your company (and your life) with intention.

👉Learn more about Leadership Reset here

5 Myths About One-on-Ones That Are Hurting Your Business (And How to Fix Them)

Here’s an unpopular truth: there’s one meeting you can’t afford to skip—your one-on-ones with your direct reports.

I work with business owners from $1M to $6M in revenue (and have led teams in organizations up to $700M). No matter the size, I see the same pattern: owners either avoid one-on-ones altogether or run them in a way that does more harm than good.

If that’s you, you’re not alone. But the good news? One-on-ones don’t have to be awkward, draining, or pointless. Done right, they are one of the most powerful tools you have for building alignment, surfacing unseen friction, and growing your team.

Let’s break down the 5 biggest myths I see around one-on-ones—and how to fix them.

Myth #1: One-on-Ones Are Just for Troubleshooting Problems

Many owners treat one-on-ones as a disciplinary meeting. If every one-on-one feels like a “course correction,” your direct reports will dread them—and eventually shut down.

The truth: One-on-ones are about more than fixing problems. They’re a safe space for employees to share ideas, voice frustrations, and align on the bigger mission. Your goal isn’t to lecture—it’s to listen, coach, and build trust.

Myth #2: They Take Away From “Real Work”

I hear this a lot: “I don’t have time for one-on-ones. I need to focus on the business.”

Here’s the problem: one-on-ones are working on the business.
Think of them like sharpening the axe before chopping wood. You can swing harder all day, but unless you take the time to sharpen your tools—your people—you’ll burn out and stall progress.

Even a short, structured one-on-one re-centers your team and reduces costly misalignments.

Myth #3: You Don’t Need Them If You Talk to Your Team Daily

Owners of small teams often think, “I see my people every day. Why schedule another meeting?”

But casual check-ins aren’t the same as intentional conversations.
When you’re in the daily grind, you only talk about what’s urgent. One-on-ones create space for what’s important—career development, feedback, and solving long-term issues.

Myth #4: They’re Just for Status Updates

If your one-on-ones feel like a glorified “report out,” you’re doing them wrong.

Your job isn’t to get updates—it’s to unblock your people.
Ask better questions. Shift from “What are you working on?” to:

• “Where are you stuck?”

• “What’s working well for you?”

• “How’s your team doing?”

This turns your one-on-ones into coaching sessions that drive real change.

Myth #5: They’re Too Formal for Small Teams

Some owners think structured one-on-ones are only for big corporations. That’s false.

Even if you lead a team of two, these conversations matter.
I’ve done them with global directors, local managers, and even contractors overseas. Why? Because everyone—no matter their role—has stakeholders, challenges, and growth goals worth discussing.

The Bonus Myth: “I Don’t Need a Structure”

Unstructured one-on-ones often turn into awkward small talk—or worse, gripe sessions.

Structure creates clarity. I use a simple framework with three questions:

1. What’s been working well for you this week?

2. Are there any pain points or blocks I can help you remove?

3. How’s your team doing?

That’s it. Three questions. Simple, repeatable, and transformative.

The Bottom Line

When done right, one-on-ones sharpen your team, uncover hidden problems, and boost alignment. They’re not optional—they’re a non-negotiable part of leading well.

Want help mastering one-on-ones and leading with clarity?

My Leadership Reset program is designed for founders and executives who feel stuck in the day-to-day grind. Together, we’ll create the structure, rhythm, and focus you need to scale without burning out.

👉 Start Your Leadership Reset Here

AI Turned 9 Years of My Journals Into a Book Outline—and Wrote the First Draft

Based on your journals (2016–2025), here’s what rises to the surface as a book you should write—because it’s the one only you can write, and it integrates your faith, business acumen, emotional growth, leadership trials, and spiritual awakening.

📘 Book Premise

Title: The Middle Is the Mountain: Building a Life of Leadership, Faith, and Discipline When Nobody's Watching

Subtitle: How One Man’s Journals Through Divorce, Debt, Duty, and Discipline Became a Map for Christian Leadership in a Chaotic World

Premise:
The modern Christian man doesn’t fail from lack of ambition—but from drowning in ambiguity, isolation, and half-finished starts. This book follows the raw, personal transformation of a man moving from scattered striving to aligned, integrated leadership—across fatherhood, business, calling, and faith.

✍️ Who This Book Is For

• Men in their 30s–50s who have tasted success but feel spiritually dry and emotionally unanchored

• Christian entrepreneurs seeking clarity of calling, structure, and deeper integrity

• Men secretly journaling, self-reflecting, or asking, “Is this all there is?”

🧱 STRUCTURE / OUTLINE

PART I: COLLAPSE & CLARITY
What You Lose When You’re Not Aligned—and What You Learn When You Hit Bottom

1. The Divorce, the Debt, and the Couch

2. All the Wrong Hustles

3. False Starts and Hollow Wins

4. The Voice Beneath the Worry

PART II: ORDER & CHAOS
Living Between Discipline and Drift
5. Getting Fit Again, Then Not
6. Women, Fatherhood, and the Cost of Being Distracted
7. Serving Two Masters: The Corporate Job and the Calling
8. One Hundred Days of Doing the Thing

PART III: THE LONG OBEDIENCE
What Happens When You Don’t Quit
9. Finding Your Mission in the Mundane
10. Building a Brand While Raising a Family
11. Saying No to Good Things
12. Finding God in Business, Discipline, and Podcast Mics

PART IV: THE MAN WHO LEADS
Becoming the Man You Were Trying to Find
13. Leadership Is Not What You Thought
14. Anchored in Christ, Not Algorithms
15. You Don’t Need Permission
16. Finish What You Started—Because They’re Watching

Epilogue: What I Know Now That I Didn’t Know Then

📝 FIRST DRAFT — INTRODUCTION

Introduction: The Middle Is the Mountain

I didn’t set out to write this book. I set out to survive.

Somewhere between my second divorce and my seventh attempt to build a business that would “finally give me freedom,” I realized I had become the very thing I used to hate: a man with potential—but no peace.

I had a daughter I rarely saw. I was living in borrowed bedrooms, typing journal entries on old laptops about what I’d do once things settled down. I chased commission checks, chased girls, chased clarity. And I kept writing, because something in me hoped that one day I’d look back and it would all make sense.

This book is that look back.

Over nine years of journaling, I recorded everything:

• The desperation of trying to get back on my feet

• The ache of wanting to be a better man, but not knowing how

• The love and chaos of raising kids, making money, and not losing yourself

• The slow, unsexy grind of transformation

There is no “overnight success” in these pages. There is no step-by-step framework for instant peace.

But there is a pattern.
And that pattern is this: when you don’t quit, God starts to work.

In the journals you’ll read excerpts from, I said “I love you” to myself nearly every day. Not because I always meant it—but because I needed to mean it. I needed to hear it from someone. And if no one else was going to say it, I would.

This book is written for the men still in the middle.
Still journaling.
Still trying.
Still asking if they’re crazy for believing life can be richer than this.

You’re not crazy. You’re just climbing.

The middle is not a holding pattern.
The middle is the mountain.

And if you keep hiking, you will summit.

I love you.

—Chad

Initial Reactions

• Dang man. Some of this stuff hits freaking home!

• Also, dang man. Some of this stuff is specific, and it [clap] hits [clap] home [clap]

• Finally, I think I’m going to write this book.

I asked ChatGPT how I could save this progress and continue writing this book with it. You can see those instructions here.

Your Calendar Isn’t Full. It’s Broken.

Most business owners I talk to think their problem is lack of time.

“I just need to get more efficient.”
“If I could hire one more person…”
“Once this project is over…”

But the truth is, time isn’t your problem: your calendar is.

And not because it’s full. Because it’s broken.

You’re Not Managing a Calendar—It’s Managing You

Here’s the test: open your calendar right now; or think about your schedule for next week.

How much of it reflects what you actually want? Your priorities? The things that increase revenue or build up your personal life?

How much of it is:

• Noisy meetings to fix what others broke?

• Calls from your team waiting for you to make decisions for them?

• Commitments you didn’t want to make?

For most business owners, their schedule doesn’t look like leadership. It looks like a scramble. Backed into a corner, up against the ropes, ducking punches and doing whatever you can to get your own jabs out.

A Christian Brothers Franchise Owner I met yesterday said, “I’m in the thick of it pretty much every day of my life.”

That’s why they’re exhausted. That’s why they’re starting to resent the very thing they built.

The Hidden Cost of a Hijacked Calendar

A reactive calendar doesn’t just cost you time. It costs you clarity and sabotages your ability and credibility to lead. You spend most of your day leaking out focus.

You lose the margin to think deeply, to lead intentionally.

It costs you presence. You come home barely there and mentally gone.

It costs you integrity. If your schedule doesn’t reflect your convictions—if your kids, your health, your faith are always pushed to “later”—then you’re living fractured, successful on paper but misaligned in reality.

And most owners don’t even know what to call this. They think it’s “hustle.”

It’s not hustle. It’s a hijacked life.

Taking Back Your Calendar

How do you fix it?

1. Turn OFF Notifications: I know this sounds terrifying. You’ll live and your business will live. Our goal is to create an intentional work space were we go to it and start leading. Not where we constantly bleed attention and worry.

2. Audit Last Week: Look at every block on your calendar. Was it actually impacting revenue? Was it a task that belonged to the owner? If not, cut it or delegate it.

3. Block the Non-Negotiables First: Make it a habit to NOT go into emails for the first two hours of the day. Spend time with your managers, and hear things in person. Also add blocks for faith, family, and fitness. If they don’t get done first, they’ll get bumped to never.

4. Put Guard Rails Up: Fit your work into 8-10 hours per day. Work during those 8-10 hours. And when they’re up, leave it on the desk! I’ve run worldwide operations multiple times. The work is always there for you tomorrow.

5. Institute Kill Zones: Identify meetings or tasks that simply don’t need to exist. Say no. Cancel them. Tell your senior leaders to work out get-well plans and present them to you in batches.

Unexpected Truth: The more you decline tasks and meetings as an owner, the more your teams get done...without you gripping hold of it.

This isn’t about squeezing more into your days. It’s about building a week that actually reflects who you are and what matters.

If your days feel out of control, you don’t need more hours.
You need ownership.

Because until you take back your calendar, you’re not leading a business.
You’re being dragged behind one.

Want to take control of this again? Start your Leadership Reset today.