The Subtraction Method: how Sabri Suby protects his time and focus (Part 1)

What if the secret to getting more done was to stop doing things?

Sabri Suby, founder of King Kong, one of Australia's fastest-growing digital agencies and a shark on the most recent season of Shark Tank Australia, has built his entire work philosophy around subtraction. He audits every hour of his week, limits meetings to two days, and has trained his "fixer" to keep the outside world from ever reaching him.

In part one of our two-part conversation, I sit down with Sabri to get inside the full system, including his Kings Audit process, his deep work routine, and the Dream Day exercise that keeps him from chasing shiny new objects.

Sabri and I discuss:

• The Kings Audit: how to find exactly where your time is going and calculate the true cost of low-value tasks
• Why Sabri only takes meetings on Mondays and Fridays, and how he keeps them to 15-minute increments
• How he trained his "fixer" to act as a gatekeeper, screening requests before they ever reach him
• How to protect your most valuable hours
• How to automate your personal life so your time at home is genuinely high quality
• Shiny object syndrome: why most businesses stall because they chase too many things
• The Dream Day exercise for getting clear on your goals before saying yes to anything
• Why "no" is Sabri's default answer, and the framework he uses for decisions that aren't a clear yes or no

Key quotes

"The way that you focus is through subtraction. It's not by addition."

"New levels have new devils. A lot of the time, to get to that new level, you're gonna have to give away something that you really, really love."

Connect with Sabri Suby on Instagram and LinkedIn and check out KingKong.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

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Credits: Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

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