Advice from a billionaire

One of my investors sold a billion dollar company. When I had the chance to speak with him, I asked him what his most important advice was for success. He said focus.

Honestly, my first thought was "what the hell does that even mean?". But the more I suffered while building my company, I started to understand the meaning of focus better.

Today, I wanted to share a tool that helps me focus and get shit done.

Below is the time management matrix from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Each section explained:

Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important (Crises & Necessities)

• What it is: Problems, looming deadlines, and emergencies that demand immediate attention.
• Examples: Contract submission deadline, product launch day, issue with supply chain.

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent & Important (Quality & Leadership)

• What it is: Activities that contribute to long-term value, growth, and prevention, even though they lack a ticking clock.
• Examples: Strategic actions, relationship building, exercise, personal development.

Quadrant 3: Urgent & Not Important (Deception)

• What it is: Tasks that feel loud and pressing because they matter to someone else, but they do not advance your own core goals.
• Examples: Work that can be done by others, unnecessary meetings, interruptions.

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent & Not Important (Waste)

• What it is: Mindless activities that offer pure escape or zero value.
• Example: Hours spent on social media brainrot.

How it helps you focus

Everyday you have a long list of tasks to do, work and personal. This framework helps sort those tasks into priority; make sure time is dedicated towards getting Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 items done. Try to avoid Quadrant 3. Eliminate Quadrant 4.

Over time this becomes a natural habit, an automatic mindset. Focus on what matters and your efforts will compound.