Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and Goala giving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellavaledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode six sixty three. Today we're talking about something
Speaker 2: every leader says they don't have enough of time, not money,
Speaker 2: not staff, not resources, just time. And here's the reality.
Speaker 2: Most leaders are not short on time. They're wasting it
Speaker 2: not because they're lazy, not because they don't care. It's
Speaker 2: because they're doing things the long way when there are faster, cleaner,
Speaker 2: smarter options sitting right in front of them. Technology is
Speaker 2: not the problem. The way we use it is. Let
Speaker 2: me give you a simple truth from the front lines.
Speaker 2: The leaders who learn to use tech shortcuts don't just
Speaker 2: save time. They create space, space to think, space to lead,
Speaker 2: space to actually be present instead of buried and busy work.
Speaker 2: And that's where leadership starts to change. So let's get
Speaker 2: into a few real shortcuts that will save you hours
Speaker 2: every week if you actually use them. First, stop typing
Speaker 2: everything from scratch, emails, reports, policies, meeting notes. You're rewriting
Speaker 2: the same things over and over again. That's not leadership,
Speaker 2: that's repetition. Build templates, save your most common responses. Create
Speaker 2: a folder of go to messages that you can tweak
Speaker 2: instead of rebuild from scratch. Whether it's onboarding emails, disciplinary
Speaker 2: follow ups, or meeting summaries, you should not be starting
Speaker 2: from zero every time. This one move alone will give
Speaker 2: you hours back every week. Second, use voice instead of keyboard.
Speaker 2: Most leaders type at about forty to sixty words per
Speaker 2: mint it. You speak at one hundred and twenty to
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty words per minut it, and that's
Speaker 2: a massive gap. Start dictating emails, notes, ideas, and even drafts.
Speaker 2: Most phones and computers already have this built in. You
Speaker 2: are literally talking your way to efficiency. And here's the bonus.
Speaker 2: Your tone comes through better. When you speak, Your communication
Speaker 2: becomes more human, more direct, and less robotic. Third, automate
Speaker 2: the repeatable stuff. If something happens more than once, it
Speaker 2: is a candidate for automation. Scheduling meetings, sending reminders, tracking tasks,
Speaker 2: onboarding new hires. These should not rely on your memory,
Speaker 2: they should rely on systems. Use shared calendars, auto reminders,
Speaker 2: task management tools, and simple workflows. Even something as basic
Speaker 2: as a recurring calendar event can eliminate mental clutter. Leaders
Speaker 2: who rely on memory get overwhelmed. Leaders who build systems
Speaker 2: stay in control. Fourth stop searching for things. If you're
Speaker 2: digging through emails, folders, or texts trying to find information,
Speaker 2: you are losing time and patience. Organize your digital workspace
Speaker 2: like you would your physical one clear folders, consistent naming,
Speaker 2: and one place for key documents. And here's the key
Speaker 2: stick to it. A messy system is worse than no system.
Speaker 2: Every time you can find something in seconds instead of minutes,
Speaker 2: you're stacking small wins that turn into big time savings. Fifth,
Speaker 2: use AI as an assistant, not a crutch. AI is
Speaker 2: not here to replace your leadership. It's here to speed
Speaker 2: up your execution. Use it to draft ideas, outline plan
Speaker 2: summarize information, and clean up communication. Then you step in
Speaker 2: and lead, You refine it, you make it yours. The
Speaker 2: shortcut is not letting AI think for you. The shortcut
Speaker 2: is letting IT do the heavy lifting so you can
Speaker 2: focus on decisions. Sixth, batch your work. Switching between tasks
Speaker 2: is one of the biggest time killers in leadership. Every
Speaker 2: time you bounce from email to meetings to reports to
Speaker 2: phone calls, you lose focus. Group similar tasks together, answer
Speaker 2: emails and blocks. Handle meetings in blocks, work on strategy
Speaker 2: in blocks. Technology makes this easier than ever. Calendar blocking,
Speaker 2: do not disturb settings, focused work modes. These are tools
Speaker 2: you should be using daily. Heaven cut unnecessary meetings. This
Speaker 2: one might sting a little bit. If a meeting can
Speaker 2: be an email, make it an email. If it can
Speaker 2: be a shared document, make it a document. If it
Speaker 2: needs to be a meeting, keep it tight and focused.
Speaker 2: Technology gives us endless ways to communicate. That doesn't mean
Speaker 2: we should use all of them all the time. Respect
Speaker 2: your time and your team's time. Now here's where this
Speaker 2: all comes together. Saving time is not about doing more,
Speaker 2: it's about removing what does not need to be done
Speaker 2: the hard way. And this is where leadership shows up,
Speaker 2: because when you stop wasting time, you can invest it
Speaker 2: where it matters, your people, your decisions, your culture. You
Speaker 2: can't lead well if you're buried in busy work. You
Speaker 2: can't be present if your day is filled with unnecessary friction.
Speaker 2: Technology is not going anywhere. It's only getting faster, smarter,
Speaker 2: and more embedded. Into everything we do. The question is
Speaker 2: not whether you will use it. The question is whether
Speaker 2: you will use it to lead better or stay stuck
Speaker 2: doing things the slow way. Your team is watching how
Speaker 2: you operate. If you're disorganized, reactive, and overwhelmed, they will
Speaker 2: follow that pattern. If you are efficient, clear, and intentional,
Speaker 2: they will follow that too. Leadership is not only what
Speaker 2: you say, it's how you work, and the leaders who
Speaker 2: win today are the ones who respect time enough to
Speaker 2: protect it. This entire philosophy aligns with the idea that
Speaker 2: leadership happens in small, intentional moments, not long drawn out processes.
Speaker 2: So here's your move today. Pick one shortcut from this
Speaker 2: episode and implement it before the day ends, not next week,
Speaker 2: not one thing, slow down today. Because leadership does not
Speaker 2: improve in theory, it improves in action. So if you
Speaker 2: want to become a better leader, do not look for
Speaker 2: more time. Start using the time you already have and
Speaker 2: make it better. Small changes in how you work will
Speaker 2: give you hours back every week, and those hours are
Speaker 2: where real leadership lives. This is where you connect, decide,
Speaker 2: and lead with intention. And if you want more free
Speaker 2: leadership resources, head over to Paulfloalito dot com. Click on
Speaker 2: free stuff. I have over twenty five free leadership documents
Speaker 2: you can download and start using today. This has been
Speaker 2: the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com