Savage Delegation of Energy-Drains
List the 10 things that drain you most and swear never to do them again.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 74%
Asprey frames ADHD as an entrepreneurial superpower whose cost is that certain low-value tasks drain a disproportionate amount of energy. His system is blunt: identify the top 10 tasks that suck your energy the most — paying bills, taking out the trash, laundry — and make a sacred, permanent commitment never to do them again, hiring them out instead. Counterintuitively, he says to offload the hated low-value chores before hiring for prestige roles like head of marketing, because doing so frees so much energy that you then make far better high-value hires. The underlying logic ties back to his broader claim that your company is a direct reflection of your energy.
Origin
Asprey draws this from his own ADHD and from coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs at his Business of Biohacking event, observing that the ones who thrive ruthlessly delegate their energy-draining tasks.
Core principles
- 01With ADHD-style wiring, certain low-value tasks cost a disproportionate amount of energy, so eliminate them entirely.
- 02Identify the top 10 tasks that suck your energy most and make a sacred commitment never to do them again.
- 03Hire out the things you hate first — before hiring for glamorous roles — because it frees the most energy.
- 04Doing your own laundry (unless you love it) is among the lowest-value uses of an entrepreneur's time.
- 05Freeing energy from drains makes you better at the high-value hires and decisions that follow.
How to run it
- 1
Inventory your energy drains
Identify the top 10 tasks that suck the most energy out of you — bills, trash, laundry, or whatever is personally costly.
Pro tip The drains are different for everyone; judge by energy cost, not by how trivial the task looks.
- 2
Make a sacred commitment
Vow never to do those tasks again in your life because they are not worth your energy.
Pro tip Frame it as a non-negotiable rule, not a preference you'll revisit.
Watch out Doing your own laundry, unless you love it, is one of the lowest-value uses of your time.
- 3
Hire out the hated tasks first
Bring in someone to handle the draining chores before you hire for prestige roles, because freeing that energy comes first.
Pro tip You might think you need a head of marketing, but first you need someone to wash your socks.
- 4
Reinvest the freed energy
Channel the reclaimed energy and attention into the high-value work and hires only you can do well.
Pro tip With drains gone, you'll pick the right marketing lead instead of a rushed one.
In the wild
Asprey argues that instead of first hiring a head of marketing, an entrepreneur should hire someone to wash their socks and handle hated chores, because the freed energy leads to a better marketing hire.
→ Offloading drains first produces more freedom and better subsequent hiring decisions.
The host describes having someone do her laundry every Friday so she never worries about it and can focus on making money and doing fun things.
→ She reclaims focus and energy for high-value work, illustrating the principle in action.
Common mistakes
Hiring for prestige before offloading drains
Bringing in glamorous roles first while still doing your own chores leaves your energy depleted and your high-value hiring decisions worse.
Powering through low-value chores
Forcing yourself through energy-draining tasks you could delegate wastes the disproportionate energy they cost your ADHD wiring.
Is it for you?
Best for
ADHD-leaning entrepreneurs who lose disproportionate energy to mundane chores.
Not ideal for
Those who genuinely enjoy the tasks in question or can't yet afford to delegate.
From the transcript
“Identify the top 10 things that suck your energy the most... and just make a sacred commitment to yourself that you are never going to…”
“Be absolutely savage about hiring people to do the stuff you hate. You do that first.”
“If you do your own laundry and you're an entrepreneur, you are doing it wrong unless you have a laundry fetish.”
From the episode
Dave Asprey: The Business of Biohacking
Dave Asprey