đźš© Tactical Memo 016: Too Much To Do, Not Enough Time
Justin Bateh
September 25, 2025
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Read time: 6 minutes
Welcome to Tactical Memo, my newsletter where I share frameworks, strategies, and hard-earned lessons for leaders navigating complex environments.
If you’re looking for my cheat sheets and deep-dive guides, the vault is linked at the bottom of this email.
The Briefing: Today’s Focus
Why You Always Feel Overloaded
The Rule: Time Is Won by Subtraction, Not Addition
A Tactical Playbook: How to Cut Through Overload Without Burning Out
What’s Happening: General Updates
A Reader’s Question: Escaping the Trap of “Always Behind”
Why?
This October’s cohort will be the final one at the current price.
Because:
The course has earned incredible reviews (4.8/5).
Demand keeps growing as past cohorts fill quickly.
I’ve also added numerous new updates, including more templates, AI workflows, case studies, and leadership playbooks.
Starting in November, tuition increases to reflect the expanded value and proven results.
But if you enroll now, you lock in the price for the October 6–31 cohort, and you’ll never pay more. Plus, you get lifetime access and free retakes, so you’ll always benefit from future updates at today’s price.
This is the lowest price you’ll ever see for the AI-Powered Project Management course. Doors close soon, and once they do, the price goes up.
Why You Always Feel Overloaded
You probably think you are overloaded because you need to be more efficient. So you chase faster email, better apps, or new task systems.
The problem is not efficiency. The problem is structure.
Work expands without limit. The more you finish, the more people give you.
Everything looks urgent. Without filters, the noise drowns the signal.
Trade-offs are never forced. If you never say no, the system will bury you.
You cannot win by running faster. You only win by doing less, more deliberately.
The Rule: Time Is Won by Subtraction, Not Addition
You will never create more hours. The only path is cutting what does not matter and defending space for what does.
The people who scale are not the ones with the best hacks. They are the ones who subtract ruthlessly.
A Tactical Playbook: How to Cut Through Overload Without Burning Out
Step 1. Cut Your Task List in Half in 10 Minutes
Open your task list right now.
Set a timer for 10 minutes.
For each item, ask: If I never did this, would it matter in 90 days?
Delete every “no.” Move all “maybe” to a folder called Backlog – Review Later.
You just cleared dead weight.
Step 2. Write Your Top 3 Outcomes on a Sticky Note
Grab a sticky note or open a blank doc.
Write the three outcomes that, if achieved this week, would make the week a win.
Tape it to your laptop or keep it open as your first tab.
Every task now has to pass the test: does it drive one of these three? If not, cut it.
Step 3. Time-Box Your Calendar Today
Open your calendar.
Block two 90–minute chunks this week.
Label them with your outcomes (example: “Board Deck – Draft”).
Treat them like meetings with your boss. Non-negotiable.
You just created guaranteed progress on what matters most.
Step 4. Declare a Daily Power Hour
Choose your peak focus hour.
Block it every day this week as Power Hour.
Tell your team: “This is my protected hour. Urgent only.”
Five hours a week of your best energy now belongs to your highest leverage work.
Step 5. Run the Friday Purge Ritual
Every Friday at 4 PM, open your task list.
Highlight anything you carried forward for two weeks.
Delete it or schedule it. If it cannot earn a calendar slot, it is gone.
This prevents your list from bloating again.
Before We Get To The Next Reader’s Question, Let’s Talk About What’s Happening – General Updates
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The Briefing: Reader’s Question
Q: “I start every week optimistic, but by Wednesday I’m already behind. My task list is exploding, meetings keep eating my time, and I go home feeling like I worked all day but accomplished nothing. I’ve tried apps, checklists, and even time blocking, but nothing sticks. Is this just what leadership feels like, or is there actually a way to keep up?”
A: What you are experiencing is not a personal failing. It is what happens when you let the system decide your priorities for you. If you do not take control, you will always feel behind.
Here is how I would reset:
Archive Your Whole List. Move every single task into a folder called Backlog – Review Later. Start clean.
Rebuild With Ten Items. Pull only ten tasks back into your active list. These should directly map to your three weekly outcomes.
Kill Meeting Bloat. Decline or delegate any meeting that does not directly connect to one of your outcomes. Send a written update instead.
Set Up Your Power Hour. Block one hour tomorrow morning for your single most important task. Protect it like oxygen.
Check Forward, Not Backward. Each night, plan only tomorrow’s 3 most important tasks. Stop staring at the entire mountain.
Your work will always be demanding, but it should not feel like drowning. Once you subtract the noise, your energy and clarity return almost overnight.
Cheat Sheet Vault
p.s… As promised, click below for my free cheat sheet and infographic vault. I’ve added 7 new ones this week.
Until next time,
Justin
✍️ From the Desk of Justin Bateh, PhD
Real-world tactics. No fluff. Just what works.
