The 4-2-1 Founder Schedule

The perfect routine is a myth.

There is no daily formula you can repeat for infinite success. If there was one, everyone would be on it.

Life and business are complicated, intertwined, and dependent on billions of factors. Therefore, trying to create perfect order is pointless.

So, how do you crush it?

First, without a specific goal, there’s nothing to crush. And if you don’t have a goal, that’s fine. Start there.

And if your goal is business-related, success rests on three pillars:

1. Marketing / distribution

2. Product development / retention

3. Future planning / hiring / capital

As an early-stage founder, you’re most likely solo or have a tiny team. It’s nearly impossible to manage all three pillars simultaneously because you only have 24 hours in a day, and many advanced moves, like writing pillar content for SEO, require 3-4 days of dedication.

So how do you thrive?

I spent the last seven months building a distribution channel for my brand on 𝕏. To say I wasn’t addicted would be a lie. But I was dedicated and consistent, and I kept improving my 𝕏 game. The results: 1,000 followers. Not too bad.

Were the seven months spent on marketing wasted? No. But could I have spent my time better? I think so.

Being torn between product development, planning, and marketing made me compromise my daily focus. And if I just focused on marketing I would have achieved a better result but I would have neglected my other responsibilities.

So, from now on, I’m adopting a new system, the 4-2-1 system, built on three principles:

1. A week is 7 days

2. You cannot neglect any business pillar

3. Every incremental gain in focus creates exponential gains in results

4-2-1

The system is simple. You rank the business pillars (product, marketing, planning) by order of importance, then:

1. Set a big goal for the most critical pillar (e.g build a big feature, write pillar content, shoot an ad, etc.)

2. Set a maintenance goal for the second most crucial pillar (e.g re-engage your audience, refactor some code, shoot a podcast, etc.)

3. Design a day that keeps you at least thinking about the third pillar (e.g. long walk and journal, courses, joining some spaces to talk to peers or customers, etc.)

4. Spend 4 days focused on pillar 1

5. Spend 2 days focused on pillar 2

6. Spend 1 day focused on pillar 3

When you hit the big goal, reprioritize the pillars and repeat.

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