If you’re a first-time manager, you’ve probably said it this week: I don’t have time.
In my conversation with leadership coach Jen Recla, we unpacked why leaders feel constantly behind — and how to reclaim time, energy, and attention without sacrificing results or family.
This stand-alone guide is built only from the episode transcript. It’s direct, skimmable, and packed with New Manager Tips you can use today. SEO terms are woven in naturally for leaders searching for Coaching for Managers, How to Be a Better Manager, How to Delegate, How to Lead Effective Team Meetings, and more.
The real problem isn’t your calendar — it’s your relationship with time
Leaders often treat time like an enemy (scarce, controlling, always in charge). Shift to what Gay Hendricks calls an “Einsteinian” view: you are the source of how time is used. Priorities create time; excuses drain it.
Quick reframe you can use:
- Instead of “I don’t have time,” say “It’s not a priority right now.”
- If that stings, good — you just found a clarity gap.
Keywords: Coaching for Managers, How to Be a Better Manager, New Manager Tips.
Step 1: Decide what actually matters (personally and as a team)
Your priorities won’t match everyone else’s — and that’s okay. As a leader, your job is to:
- Name your top outcomes for the week
- Align the team on a shared goal (so urgency doesn’t run the show)
- Say priorities out loud to remove guilt and set boundaries (“I’m taking PTO this week with my family”)
Keywords: Team Dynamics, How to Build Trust as a Manager.
Step 2: Make the contributor-to-leader shift
You were promoted because you were great at the work. Now the work changed.
Divide your role into three buckets:
- Technician (hands-on) — 20%
- Management (day-to-day ops)
- Leadership (people, vision, stakeholders) — ~80%
What to do next:
- List your “technician” tasks; delegate or drop what no longer serves the team
- Keep a small slice of hands-on work that energizes you (and an occasional unglamorous task to show you’ll pitch in)
- Ask: “Am I adding value by being in this meeting — or could this be a growth opportunity for someone on my team”
Step 3: Cut meeting bloat without losing visibility
Meetings are the biggest time sink for new managers.
Use this quick filter:
- Purpose: What decision or deliverable will exist afterward
- Presence: Do I need to be here, or can 1 representative attend
- Pass-off: Who can I brief or who can brief me in 5 minutes
Pair with a short internal recap structure: owner, outcome, deadline. That’s how to run effective team meetings without the calendar creep.
Step 4: Boundaries are real self-care
Spa days are nice; boundaries are better. Sustained success requires:
- Setting, keeping, and communicating limits
- Protecting focused work blocks
- Saying no to misaligned work (or yes, with a trade-off)
Say it simply: “I can do that, and it means X will move to next week.”
This models healthy workload navigation for your team.
Step 5: Spot burnout before it blows up
Burnout is chronic stress over time — not one tough week. Watch for:
- More mistakes, slower answers, rising irritability
- Cameras off when they’re usually on, shorter emails with sharper tone
- More sick days, constant fatigue, “I’m fine” but not fine
- At home: snapping at kids, misplacing things, running on empty
Leaders: check in during weekly one-on-ones as humans first. Build rapport so you actually notice the change.
Keywords: How to Handle Conflict at Work as a Manager, Team Dynamics.
Step 6: Put people where they thrive (Working Genius helps)
Spending most of your time on work that frustrates you leads to burnout.
Spending more time where you get joy and energy increases resilience and results.
Use assessments like Working Genius to map the work: who should ideate, discern, galvanize, enable, or finish. If you or a direct report lives in the wrong slice too long, performance and energy will tank.
A 30-day plan to reclaim your week
Week 1: Clarify
- Write your top 3 outcomes for the next two weeks
- Share the team’s one shared goal in writing
- Block two 90-minute focus windows on your calendar (and defend them)
Week 2: Reduce
- Audit all meetings; remove yourself from 2 that don’t need you
- Send a “one-rep rule”: one rep attends cross-team meetings and briefs the rest
- Say no (or “yes, later”) to at least one misaligned request
Week 3: Reassign
- List your technician tasks; delegate two to stretch a team member
- Keep one energizing hands-on task for yourself (20% max)
Week 4: Restore
- Re-state your boundaries to stakeholders
- Hold 1:1s focused on bandwidth, energy drivers, and supports
- Move one frustrating task off each person’s plate (including yours)
Books we mentioned (for deeper practice)
- First Things First (Covey) — priority mindset
- Getting Things Done (Allen) — practical systems
- Real Self-Care (Pooja Lakshmin) — boundaries as self-care
- Buy Back Your Time (Dan Martell), Atomic Habits (James Clear), Better Than Before (Gretchen Rubin), The Compound Effect (Darren Hardy) — habit/operating upgrades
- The Big Leap (Gay Hendricks) — “Einsteinian time” mindset
For first-time managers: what this unlocks
When you prioritize clearly, trim meetings, delegate technician work, and enforce boundaries, you create psychological safety and mental bandwidth. You’ll run better 1:1s, reduce rework, and model follow-through — the foundation of How to Hold Employees Accountable and How to Build Trust as a Manager.
Next episode: Jen returns to show you how to build psychological safety through feedback — the everyday skill that keeps teams engaged and performing.
