Why 'Getting Sh*t Done' is Destroying Your Brand's Potential.

Investing in personal branding and dedicating time to your business's branding is single-handedly the best use of your time. The problem is that we allow non-important but urgent tasks to take over our day and productivity, constantly allowing for an excuse to start tomorrow or next week. Why do we make excuses for what matters most to the long-term success of our businesses and careers?

The biggest challenge in my journey to content creation and managing a full-time agency was shifting my mindset around time management and task prioritization. In today’s article, I'll share the time management hack that changed how I approach time—and, ultimately, my life.

The key to success in branding often lies in how well you manage your time and prioritize your brand's messaging. By rethinking your approach to time management, you can ensure that your brand survives and thrives in a competitive marketplace.

Branding is one of those things that business owners understand as fundamentally important, yet it's easy to push off the priority list because the rewards aren’t immediate. Daily fires, ongoing client calls, and pressing tasks can take days, weeks, or months away from planning initiatives that could shape your brand’s future.

The book that changed my approach to time management is "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. In this book, Stephen introduces the Four Quadrants of Time Management—a great tool for time management and prioritization. 

The Four Quadrants of the Time Management Matrix.

• Quadrant 1: Urgent and important.

• Quadrant 2: Not urgent yet important.

• Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important.

• Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important.

When reading this book, the biggest thing I pushed into quadrant 3 was my personal brand. I adopted this model to prioritize what matters most in my business. By using this approach to time management, I’m still able to get all the critical tasks done—actually, I get more done because I’m not wasting time on things that can be delegated to my team. This quadrant tool effectively allows me to work smarter, not harder.

This is how we approach the Four Quadrant Matrix.

• Quadrant 1: Urgent and important. → DO 

• Quadrant 2: Not urgent yet important. → PLAN

• Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important. → DELEGATE

• Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important. → ELIMINATE

We're all busy, and our never-ending task list often causes us to focus on urgent tasks, leaving little room for what truly matters - building and maintaining a solid brand that stands out. The mindset shift to prioritize personal branding is the most challenging thing for CEOs to overcome. We all have the same hours in a day, and the key to success is how you use your time to outdo your competition. We're now in an age where faceless businesses are no longer successful. If you are your brand, the reality is that you have to create content for your brand to help it stand out. Pretty packaging and nice graphics are no longer enough. You have to provide value, and the best way to provide true value is by sharing your expertise, knowledge, and experience online.

Most people’s days are dictated by what they believe are quadrant-one tasks without realizing that many of the immediate, urgent tasks consuming their time are jobs that should be delegated or eliminated. While you focus on resolving immediate crises that alleviate short-term issues, you miss out on long-term impacts because the 'good enough' problems never get addressed. 

While it may seem that urgent tasks from Quadrant 1 drive your days, the truth is that many of those tasks belong in Quadrants 3 and 4—they should be delegated or eliminated altogether. By constantly addressing immediate crises, you might alleviate short-term pain, but you’re missing out on the long-term gains that come from tackling the important but not urgent tasks that build a sustainable brand.

Dan Martell’s Buy Back Your Time dives deep into this concept, helping to distinguish between what truly demands your attention and what doesn’t. I’m not here to minimize the stress you face daily, but as a CEO, it’s your responsibility to grip those tasks and use your time wisely. This approach isn’t about doing more—it's about doing what matters. The reality is, it's easier to get done the annoying easy task, so you feel like you are ‘getting sh*t done.’ The problem with this mindset is that the things that matter most—like creating content, investing in your personal brand, or growing your business—often get pushed aside and never get done.

Consider this: You might think your outdated website is just fine or that your lack of a social media presence isn’t a big deal because you still get referrals. Maybe you believe you can delay investing in your personal brand because you're too busy this quarter. But the real question is, what opportunities are you missing because of this mindset? 

Focusing solely on today’s sales pressures might get you through the next quarter, but it won’t set you up for the future. Filling your schedule with immediate tasks creates a false sense of productivity. At the same time, the more profound work—refining your brand, strategizing, and setting your company up for long-term success—gets sidelined.

This is where the connection between opportunity cost and time prioritization becomes clear. Neglecting foundational aspects of your business, like your brand and online presence, in favour of short-term wins limits your long-term potential. While some marketing efforts deliver immediate results, if you only chase quick wins, you'll miss out on the sustainable growth that comes from investing in your brand. 

Think of it this way: Immediate marketing might get you a few quick wins today, but long-term branding efforts position you as a leader. You can’t measure the ROI of being a recognized expert overnight—it’s the accumulation of consistent effort over time. Creating content, building your brand, and establishing yourself as an authority are investments that pay off in the long run, even if they don’t deliver instant gratification.

Many CEOs spend their days putting out fires, but this reactive approach carries a hefty cost. If you’re constantly in crisis mode, you’re sacrificing the important, not urgent, work that could propel your business forward. The daily grind of meetings, emails, and client demands may feel essential, but they can distract your focus from the big-picture work that ensures your brand’s longevity. Perpetually living in this mode allows your competition to surpass you and create a massive divide that's hard to catch up to. The issue then becomes closing the gap. I've had countless people reach out for help because they got too far behind - the problem at this stage is that their business is often hurting so much that they can’t afford the facelift needed to get ahead. So, take a moment to reflect. How are you truly prioritizing your time? Could adopting the four-quadrant matrix be the game-changer your business needs? If this shift in thinking brings you clarity and increased productivity, I’d love to hear about your experience.

Thanks for reading,

Camille