The hours need a job

Suppose you do find ten hours a week. What happens to them? For many people the answer is more admin. The inbox fills up again, a new task appears, and the week feels just as full.

The 2026 Chamber and Ipsos survey shows where people tend to put the time they save. Most of those who saved time put it towards more or higher-quality work, or towards learning and planning. But a meaningful share used it to avoid overtime, or for breaks and personal tasks. None of those choices is wrong. If growth is the goal, though, the choice is worth making on purpose.

Before you free up any time, decide where it goes. Pick one or two of these:

• Follow up every open quote within 48 hours.
• Call back past customers once a quarter.
• Answer every new enquiry within an hour.
• Ask every happy customer for a review or referral.
• Spend one hour a week on visibility, such as filming or posting.
• Go home on time. This counts too.

Put the chosen work in your calendar before you automate anything. A block that is already booked tends to survive the week, and an empty afternoon tends to fill up with whatever is loudest.

If you got five hours back next week, what would you do with them, and would you be able to say so by Friday?