How Time Tracking Revealed Hidden Work

How many times have you told yourself that podcast will only take an hour to record? Or that client proposal? Just thirty minutes, right? Here's the uncomfortable truth every solopreneur needs to face: you're lying to yourself about how long things actually take. And that lie is keeping you trapped in operator mode instead of scaling to owner mode.

The problem isn't that you're bad at time management; it's that you've never truly measured what your workflows actually require. That's where today's guest comes in with a revelation that changed everything about how he runs his business.

Rich Brooks discovered that his "one-hour" podcast actually consumed three full hours of his time. But instead of throwing in the towel, he used AI to map every minute of that process and create systems that handle the heavy lifting. As the founder of Flyte New Media and host of The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast with over 600 episodes, Rich has mastered the art of turning time-intensive processes into AI-powered efficiency machines. He's the perfect guide to help you stop underestimating your workflows and start building systems that actually scale.

The AI Hat Podcast host Mike Allton asked Rich Brooks about:

✨ Time Truth-Telling: Discover how to accurately track where your hours really go and why most solopreneurs underestimate by 200%.

✨ AI Workflow Mapping: Learn Rich's proven process for identifying time drains and building custom AI assistants to handle repetitive tasks.

✨ Scale Without Staff: See exactly how one conversation becomes ten pieces of content through systematic AI integration.

Learn more about Rich Brooks

• Connect with Rich Brooks on LinkedIn

Resources & Brands mentioned in this episode

• Flyte New Media
• Agents of Change
• Scalability Audit
• Fathom
• Descript
• AI Solopreneur OS Community
• Notion
• AI-Powered Blueprint for Solopreneurs

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Winning with Quality Over Quantity

00:19 AI-Powered Proposal Writing

02:17 Introducing The AI Hat Podcast

02:40 The Reality of Time Management for Solopreneurs

03:09 Guest Introduction: Rich Brooks

04:31 Revelation: The True Time Cost of Podcasting

07:39 Time Tracking and Workflow Optimization

10:12 Automating Podcast Production with AI

10:42 Using Text Expander for Efficiency

12:34 Integrating AI in Podcast Production

16:38 SEO and AI: Enhancing Podcast Visibility

25:28 Evaluating AI-Generated Content

26:42 Comparing Major LLMs: Chat GPT, Gemini, and Claude

27:05 Customizing AI for Your Needs

27:34 SEO and Content Repurposing Strategies

30:09 AI in Proposal Writing

33:24 Recording and Utilizing Client Calls

34:14 LinkedIn Newsletters and AI Integration

36:19 Creating Accurate AI Voice Docs

3:56 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

45:55 Conclusion and Resources

SHOW TRANSCRIPT & NOTES: https://theaihat.com/stop-lying-to-yourself-how-ai-reveals-your-real-time-investment/

Feeling stuck on the solopreneur hamster wheel? Diagnose your biggest bottleneck in just 15 minutes with my free Scalability Audit. Download it now at: https://theaihat.com/download/scalability/

Produced and Hosted by Mike Allton, founder of The AI Hat. He's a Business Systems Strategist who helps overworked solopreneurs and creators stop being employees in their own businesses. After building his own successful solo ventures for over a decade, Mike now teaches entrepreneurs how to build AI-powered operational systems that reclaim their time and allow them to finally scale.

Interested in being a guest? We're looking for experts who help solopreneurs build better, more scalable businesses. Reach out to Mike to learn more.

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