You’re Not Overloaded. You’re Under-Leveraged - Jonathan Swanson

Most high-performing individuals feel a constant tension between their ambition and the hours available in the day. The common diagnosis is that we are overloaded—burdened by too many tasks, too many emails, and too many demands. However, the reality is often different: you aren’t overloaded; you are under-leveraged.

Jonathan Swanson, founder of Athena, developed this philosophy after beginning his career in the White House. Working alongside the President’s economic advisors, he observed the Executive Assistants who supported the most powerful people on the planet. These weren't just schedule managers; they were deeply trusted partners who managed the emotional and psychological bandwidth of the President. This experience sparked a realization: true productivity isn't about working faster, but about building a system of leverage that allows you to focus solely on high-value aspirations.

Key Takeaways

• Time is the ultimate currency: Unlike money or material goods, time is a non-renewable asset. The ultimate goal of success should be time sovereignty, not just wealth accumulation.
• Delegation requires a psychological shift: The biggest hurdles to leverage are not financial but emotional—specifically pride (thinking you do it better) and guilt (feeling bad about having others serve you).
• There are distinct levels of delegation: You can start with zero-cost solutions like trading favors with friends or using AI, before graduating to paid virtual assistants or a Chief of Staff.
• Ambition scales with leverage: As you offload the urgent but monotonous tasks of life, your capacity to pursue higher-order goals expands.
• Context is king: Effective delegation isn't just assigning tasks; it is "exporting your algorithm" so your team understands not just what to do, but how you think.

The Philosophy of Time and Leverage

Society often conditions us to view success through the accumulation of assets—cars, houses, and status. However, the most successful individuals view time as their primary asset. When you trade money for time, you are buying back your life. This can feel uncomfortable because the value exchange is stark; paying someone to clean your house or manage your inbox can feel like a luxury or a sign of laziness to those who haven't made the mental shift.

Swanson argues that we must look at the data of our lives. If you spend hours on low-leverage tasks like scheduling, booking travel, or waiting on hold, you are effectively capping your own potential. The goal is cognitive offloading. Just as inflammation damages the body, chronic "to-do" lists impair the mind. By removing the cognitive weight of maintenance tasks, you free up mental energy for creativity and strategy.

"The real goal is to control your time and that's what we all want more of. It's the only non-renewable asset. You can't get more of it... ultimately time is all we've got and it should be treated as the most fundamental thing in the world."

The Hierarchy of Delegation

Many people believe they cannot afford leverage, but delegation exists on a spectrum. You do not need a billionaire’s budget to begin reclaiming your time.

Level Zero to Level One: Low Cost

At the entry level, leverage is free. This involves "group work" with friends or family—for example, rotating babysitting duties or dinner party planning. Level One involves utilizing AI tools like ChatGPT ($20/month) to act as a coach or a basic digital assistant. These tools can handle accountability checks, drafting, and basic research.

Level Two and Beyond: The Human Element

As resources allow, you can upgrade to transactional assistance via platforms like Upwork, and eventually to managed services like Athena or dedicated in-person executive assistants. The ultimate level, seen in the ultra-wealthy, is a "platoon" of support staff including Chiefs of Staff and specialized aides.

From Tasks to Clairvoyance

The maturity of a delegation partnership evolves through four distinct stages:

1. Task Delegation: "Buy these flowers." This is the simplest but least powerful form.
2. Process Delegation: "Here is how I choose gifts for my wife; please follow this method." You are teaching the assistant your process.
3. Goal Delegation: "I want to improve my relationship with my spouse; please architect my calendar to ensure date nights happen."
4. Clairvoyant Delegation: The nirvana of assistance. The partner knows you so well that tasks are completed before you even ask.

Overcoming the Psychological Blockers

The primary reason people fail to leverage help is not a lack of money, but a lack of psychological readiness. Swanson identifies several "sins" or blockers that prevent effective delegation.

The Sin of Pride

The belief that "I can do it better and faster" is often true for the first iteration. You are the best person to send that specific email or plan that specific trip. However, this is a trap. While you are faster today, you cannot scale yourself. You must be willing to endure a period of inefficiency to build long-term capacity.

The Sin of Guilt

Many struggle with the idea of having someone "serve" them. Swanson suggests reframing this dynamic. By hiring an assistant, you are providing a job, income, and professional growth to someone else. It is a partnership, not a servitude.

"I like to reframe that and say delegation is your way of gifting to someone else. You're giving them a job. You're giving them income. Like the more we hire, the more we delegate. We literally just putting money in other people's pockets."

The Sin of Secrecy

To get true leverage, you must open up the "black box" of your life. If you hide your inbox, your calendar, or your financial details, an assistant cannot effectively support you. Trust takes time to build, but high-leverage delegators eventually share almost everything with their Executive Assistants.

Tactics for High-Performance Delegation

Once you have overcome the psychological hurdles, the mechanics of delegation determine your success. The most common mistake is vague instruction. To replicate your output, you must export your context.

Exporting Your Algorithm

Don't just ask for a result; explain your thinking. If you want a dinner party planned, explain who you invite, why you invite them, the atmosphere you prefer, and the outcome you desire. You are essentially programming your assistant with your personal algorithm. Over time, they learn to simulate your decision-making process.

Feedback Loops

Feedback must be radical, frequent, and specific. Saying "good job" is not helpful. Saying, "I liked how you handled that vendor, but next time, please prioritize speed over cost," provides actionable data that refines the partnership. This investment in training pays compound interest over years.

Delegating by Voice

One of the most effective tactical shifts is moving from typing to voice notes. Humans speak 3-5 times faster than they type. Using voice allows you to dump context, nuance, and emotion into a message while walking or between meetings, making the act of delegation feel less arduous.

Ambition, AI, and the Future

There is a counterintuitive relationship between leverage and ambition. We tend to think people get leverage because they are ambitious. In reality, leverage often creates ambition. When you are drowning in urgent, low-value tasks, your horizon narrows to the next 24 hours. When you offload the drudgery, you create the mental space to dream bigger.

As we look to the future, AI will play a massive role, but likely not as a replacement for human assistants. Swanson envisions a hybrid model where humans provide the high-touch "User Experience" and empathy, while AI runs the backend, automating routine tasks and increasing the human's capacity. The future belongs to those who can integrate both human and machine intelligence to maximize their impact.

Conclusion

History is written by the "greats," but behind almost every historical figure—from Caesar to Churchill to the Wright Brothers—was a team of assistants and support staff. The "Great Man" theory often omits the infrastructure that made greatness possible. You do not need to be a head of state to deserve support.

Start small. Identify the "pain" in your life—the monotonous tasks that drain your willpower—and find a way to offload them. Whether through a family trade, an AI tool, or a professional executive assistant, increasing your leverage is the only way to escape the trap of being overloaded and unlock your true potential.