You’re Not Lazy. You’re Maxed Out.

You aren’t struggling because you lack skills or motivation. You’re just out of bandwidth.

And before you say, “No, no, I just need to work harder,” let me stop you right there.

More hours won’t fix this. More caffeine won’t fix this. A better system will.

I Learned This the Hard Way.

Picture this: I’m sitting in my “RV Office” (aka, on my bed with a lap desk and an aching back because lumbar support isn’t a thing when you live on the road). I’m on a business audit call with a coach, looking at my calendar, my income, and my lack of available hours to scale.

And then… I burst into tears.

It wasn’t because I hated my work. It wasn’t because I wasn’t good at it. It was because no matter how much effort I poured in, I wasn’t making enough money for it to be worth it.

I chose change.

I had two choices:
1️⃣ Keep grinding, hoping someday it would magically get better (spoiler: it wouldn’t).
2️⃣ Change how I worked—because adding more work hours was not an option.

Here’s What Actually Helped Me Scale Without Losing My Mind.

Raising My Rates

Yes, I lost some clients who didn’t want to pay more. But I gained better clients and finally got paid what I was worth. (PSA: If your clients only work with you because you’re “affordable,” they’re not your ideal clients.)

• Why This Works: When you price yourself too low, you attract bargain hunters who expect the world for pennies. When you price yourself appropriately, you attract committed, high-value clients who respect your expertise and don’t nickel-and-dime you.

If raising rates feels terrifying, start with one service and test the waters. You’ll be surprised how many people say “yes” without hesitation.

But here’s the pitfall: Don’t say yes to just anyone because they’ll pay your new rates. Pricing yourself right is only half the battle—you also need to work with clients and on projects that genuinely energize you. If you’re waking up dreading your work, no amount of money will make it worth it.

Choose clients who align with your values, excite you, and make the work fulfilling. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a different kind of burnout—the one where you’re well-paid but miserable.

Block Scheduling

No more “just a quick reply” to client messages that derailed my entire day. I set dedicated time blocks for deep work, admin tasks, and client communication so I stopped feeling like I was always working.

• Why This Works: The constant ping-pong between tasks is killing your productivity. Your brain needs focus time to do its best work. If you’re still answering client emails at all hours, try setting a client response window (e.g., “I reply to all emails between 2-4 PM daily”). You’ll regain control of your schedule and clients will still get great service.

An added bonus? You’re forced to be realistic about deadlines. No more casually promising, “I’ll have that done by Friday,” only to realize you don’t actually have an open time block to do it. Now, you check your actual availability before committing. I use Reclaim (an AI tool) that automatically schedules my tasks based on my priorities and scheduled meetings so I never overpromise and underdeliver.

Systemizing Everything

If I repeated a task more than twice (client onboarding, podcast production, email sequences), I turned it into a repeatable system. This made it 10x easier when I finally hired a VA.

• Why This Works: Without systems, every task feels urgent and overwhelming. When you document your repeatable processes, you eliminate decision fatigue and free up mental space for big-picture thinking. If you’re not ready to hire yet, start by recording short Loom videos of Zoom clips of your most common tasks (your future you will thank you).

Just a Heads Up: SOPs Are Not the Same as Systems!

Too many entrepreneurs have random SOPs (details on how to complete a specific task) but lack a true system—a series of interconnected tasks that actually move the business forward.

Start building a system by first outlining the entire process from start to completion. Then determine which tasks can be automated and set them up first. Next, identify what can be delegated and create an SOP to train someone else. Finally, figure out how AI can help you get things done faster (e.g., using ChatGPT Tasks to automatically research prospects before sales calls and generate a brief report so you’re better prepared).

Remember that you won’t get the system perfect the first time. Gutters don’t show their leaks until there’s a major rainstorm, right? Systems will likely need to be tweaked as you increase their volume of usage and that’s okay. It’s part of the process.

Speaking of AI & Automation…

I recently set up this little beauty:

• Fathom (AI notetaker) –Takes meeting notes for me.
• Trello (Project Management Tool) – Keeps track of all the To Do’s for my business.
• Reclaim (AI calendar manager) Auto-schedules my tasks based on their priority level and due date into my calendar.
• Zapier Automation Connects all three: Action items from my Fathom calls go straight to my Trello board and then are put on into my available working hours on my calendar.

• Why This Works: AI doesn’t replace human effort, it removes the manual work that eats up your day. Think of AI as a highly efficient assistant that never takes a sick day. Every time you use AI + automation to get stuff done, you free up minutes in your day…and those minutes add up fast.

But here’s the thing, there are so many AI tools out there, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Much like when you’re building systems, don’t try to implement everything at once. Instead, identify one major time-sucking task and specifically search for an AI tool that handles that problem well.

Personally, I think everyone should start with ChatGPT (because it’s the OG of AI and does way more than just create content). It can help you with things like research, customer responses, brainstorming, and even automating workflows.

It just so happens that I have a completely FREE 15-minute training called the Entrepreneur’s AI Roadmap that shows you exactly how to leverage AI for your business. Grab it here: http://www.alisonleighsimmons.com/roadmap

Shifting My Business Model

Instead of relying only on 1:1 services, I added a group program to scale without trading time for money. This became an obvious next step after I noticed the same problems coming up repeatedly with my clients and in conversations with other entrepreneurs during networking.

I realized that rather than solving the same issues over and over on a one-to-one basis, I could teach them to fish rather than doing the fishing for them. Creating a group program allowed me to empower more entrepreneurs at once, giving them the tools to implement solutions on their own while freeing up my own time to focus on higher-level business growth.

• Why This Works: The 1:1 model has a ceiling—there are only so many hours in a day. When you add a group offer, you serve more clients at once, increase revenue, and free up your time.

Not sure where to start? Package your most frequently asked advice into a mini-course or a 4-week group coaching program. The goal is to stop being the bottleneck in your business.

Final Thoughts

These weren’t overnight changes, but once I stopped treating my business like a freelancer hustle and started running it like a real business, everything shifted.

Take a deep breath and start somewhere. It doesn’t have to be all at once. Maybe your first step is as simple as establishing working hours and resetting expectations with clients. Maybe it’s signing up for a training program to learn how to use AI effectively in your business (I happen to know of one called Be Your Own Boss Better Bootcamp that I hear is pretty great😉). Or maybe it’s investing in a coach who can guide you in revamping your entire business model.

It’s not about tackling everything today. It’s about choosing one thing to change right now and committing to it. Small shifts add up to big transformations.

Your Weekly Challenge: Audit Your Calendar Like a CEO.

“Work smarter, not harder” is useless advice unless you know how to do it. So let’s make it actionable:

• 1 Start tracking your actual work hours. If you’re not doing this, START.
• 2 Determine your real hourly rate. Take your monthly income and divide it by your total hours worked. Shocked? Thought so.
• 3 Identify your biggest time suck.
• 4 Decide if you can use AI, automation, or delegation to eliminate or streamline it.