What My Breakfast Has to Do With Running a Business

½ cup oats.

½ cup yogurt.

½ cup blueberries.

½ cup milk.

2 tsp chia seeds.

That's my breakfast.

Every weekday.

For the past 10+ years.

Every Sunday, I prepare five identical containers for Monday through Friday. In the morning, I add a handful of almonds.

It got me through my PhD. It got me through building my first business. Now, it gets me through building my second.

Why? Because it eliminates one decision from my day.

Many founders struggle with growth because they are suffering from decision fatigue. When you are forced to make hundreds of micro-choices every single day, your brain simply runs out of gas.

I learned this the hard way while running my first business. I was drowning in the weeds, trying to touch every single detail, until I realized something had to change.

That's what led me to build a simple framework I now use with clients: the CEO Time Protection Filter.

It takes less than 30 seconds to use.

You take any task on your plate, like reviewing a marketing plan, and run it across three specific baseline questions.

The filter takes your answers and instantly drops the task into one of three operational buckets:

1.) CEO-Only 2.) Delegate 3.) Should Not Exist

It is a completely free tool I keep on my website. If you are currently dreading a meeting or feeling paralyzed by a choice, run it through the filter. Three questions, 30 seconds, and you get your clarity back.

Link to the tool here.

What's one small decision you've eliminated from your daily routine that gives you more energy for the decisions that matter most?