Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Fly Like An Eagle, Steve Miller Band
Let’s face it: time is money, especially in the world of financial advising. You already know that. But what you may not realize is how much bad time management is costing you. It’s not just about feeling overwhelmed or being too busy. It’s about missing out on the critical activities that grow your business and help you attract the kinds of clients you actually want.
Time is the only resource you can’t buy more of. However, how you manage it will make or break your business. If you spend your days putting out fires, chasing down leads, or getting buried in administrative work, you’re operating at a serious disadvantage. So, let’s dive into why your time management might be failing—and, more importantly, how to fix it.
You need to run your schedule with the same ruthless discipline you apply when managing investments. It’s time to audit, eliminate, and restructure so your time—and your business—start working like a high-performance machine. Here’s how you do it.
Conduct a Time Audit: Find Out Where Your Time Is Really Going
If you’re like most financial advisors, you probably think you’re using your time wisely. But here’s the real question: Do you really know where your time is going?
Most people have no clue. They think they’re working hard, but in reality, they’re just spinning their wheels, stuck in low-value activities that aren’t growing their business. This is why the first step to fixing your time management problem is conducting a time audit.
For a full week, track everything you do. Yes, everything. Whether it’s responding to emails, holding client meetings, scrolling through LinkedIn, or even making a coffee run. The goal is simple: you can’t fix what you don’t understand.
Use a tool like Toggl, or just jot it down on paper. The key is to be brutally honest with yourself. Once you gather the data, ask yourself: How many hours are you wasting on tasks that don’t drive your business forward? And how much of your time is devoted to high-value, revenue-generating activities like client acquisition or marketing strategy?
Most financial advisors are shocked to discover they’re hemorrhaging time on admin work or chasing non-urgent emails. These hidden time-wasters add up fast, and once you see the hard data, it’s impossible to ignore. That’s where the real work begins.
Eliminate Low-Value Tasks or Outsource Them: Stop Doing What Doesn’t Matter
Now that you know where your time is going, it’s time to get ruthless. You need to cut the fat. Most financial advisors spend far too much time on things that have zero impact on their bottom line.
Routine administrative work, responding to non-client emails, or even doing your own bookkeeping—these are low-value tasks that someone else should handle. If you’re still doing this stuff yourself, you’re not growing your business—you’re just stagnating.
Here’s the deal: you’re in the business of making smart investments, so start investing in the best place possible—your time. Delegate. Outsource. Automate. You don’t have to do it all. In fact, if you’re trying to run everything solo, you’re capping your growth.
You can easily outsource tasks like data entry, bookkeeping, or social media management to a virtual assistant or a specialized firm. There are companies out there that can handle these tasks at a fraction of the cost—both in terms of time and money. Use automation tools like HubSpot or Calendly to handle scheduling, follow-ups, and other repetitive tasks. These tools can do in minutes what could take you hours.
Here’s the kicker: Every hour you spend on low-value tasks is an hour stolen from high-value activities. Let’s be blunt: you’re too expensive to do admin work. You should be out there closing deals, building relationships, and crafting powerful marketing strategies—not playing office assistant.
Develop a Schedule that Prioritizes Growth: Make Time for What Matters
Now that you’ve trimmed the fat, it’s time to restructure your day like a true professional. Forget to-do lists or reactive scheduling. What you need is a strategic calendar that prioritizes the activities that drive business growth—like meeting prospects, developing marketing strategies, and networking.
Most financial advisors don’t lack discipline—they lack a system. And without a proper system in place, your day can get hijacked by urgent, yet unimportant tasks. That’s why time-blocking is essential.
You need to block time for your most critical activities and protect that time fiercely. Mornings are when most people are sharpest, so if marketing is your priority, schedule it then. Client meetings? Save them for the afternoons. The idea is to be proactive, not reactive about how you spend your day.
And don’t forget, your schedule should allow for flexibility. Unexpected client emergencies will happen—that’s life. But if you’ve set a solid foundation by blocking out time for key tasks, you’ll handle those distractions and still get your important work done.
A clear, well-structured schedule also reduces decision fatigue. You don’t have to spend energy constantly figuring out what to work on next. It’s already laid out. All you have to do is execute.
Why Time Management Matters: Focus on High-Value Activities
At this point, you might be asking yourself: Why should I care? Here’s why: A well-executed time management plan doesn’t just make you less busy—it makes you more productive.
The biggest difference between being busy and being effective is knowing where your time is going and focusing on high-value activities. Filling your calendar with tasks won’t grow your business. But focusing on client acquisition, developing marketing strategies, and deepening relationships will. That’s why time management is so crucial—it creates space for you to focus on what matters.
When you cut the fluff and zero in on high-value activities, you’ll not only have more time to build strong client relationships but also improve your marketing strategies and grow your network. More qualified leads. More sales. More revenue.
This isn’t just about feeling less stressed or getting more organized (although that happens, too). It’s about working smarter, not harder. And when you focus on what matters most, your marketing gets better, your client relationships grow stronger, and your business thrives.
What You Should Do Next: Focus on Results
So, how do you know which tasks deserve your time? The answer is simple: focus on what brings results. For financial advisors, that’s anything related to client acquisition and retention. Whether it’s developing a marketing strategy, hosting client events, or building a strong referral network, these are the activities that move the needle.
If the bulk of your time isn’t spent on these high-value tasks, you’re missing the point. Sure, administrative work needs to get done, but you shouldn’t be the one doing it. Your job is to grow your business—and that means laser focus on what actually delivers results.
Here’s one more tip: review your time allocation regularly. Just like you review financial statements, you should audit your time. What’s working? What’s not? Where are you getting bogged down? Adjust accordingly, and free up more hours for the business-building activities that matter.
Time Is Money—Use It Wisely
Time management isn’t just another productivity buzzword—it’s critical for your success. It’s what separates top earners from those constantly playing catch-up.
By taking these steps—auditing, eliminating, and restructuring—you’ll not only transform how you manage your day but also how you grow your business. You’ll be able to focus more on high-value tasks that move the needle, and you’ll see the results reflected in your bottom line. Make time management a priority, and you’ll unlock the full potential of your business.