Issue #102 • October 3rd, 2026

Hi Reader,

If you're reading this, I'm probably at Austin City Limits, dancing my socks off. Or, if the forecast is right, dancing in wet socks in the Zilker mud.

So how am I writing to you? Easy. I wrote it on Friday, after my talk at the SPARK event and a few follow-up coffees with attendees who were already putting the crystal and plastic idea to work. Then I scheduled it. Which is exactly what this issue is about: handing things off so you can show up for what matters. (The weather, by the way, is the ultimate plastic ball. I can't control it, so I'm not juggling it.)

THE IDEA: Crystal balls and plastic balls

Picture yourself juggling ten balls. Drop a plastic ball and it bounces. Drop a crystal ball and it shatters.

Your health, your family, customer trust and your strategy are crystal. Most of your inbox, calendar and to-do list is plastic.

The more balls you juggle, the more likely one falls, and you don't get to choose which one. So don't juggle better. Juggle fewer.

One founder couple I met with after SPARK told me they'd spent the whole week asking each other, "Is this crystal or plastic?" Their business sends private chefs into people's homes, so their brand is crystal. They screen every chef for attitude as much as skill. Shiny extras like DJs and meal prep? Plastic. They set them aside to stay focused. That one question is changing how they run their company.

The ball I dropped

At woom, I took 30 trips to Vienna in 18 months. I told myself every one was crystal. The business was growing, the numbers looked great, and I was running on empty.

What I didn't see was the crystal I was dropping at home. I was physically there for my kids, but not really present. My health slipped. Burnout came fast.

Looking back, I was holding on to plastic balls, like approvals, meetings and emails. And I let crystal ones fall because I never made room for them.

That's why I tell every founder I coach the same thing: you will almost always hire too late.

How to sort your balls

1. Eisenhower Matrix. Ask whether each task is urgent and whether it's important. Then do it, schedule it, delegate it or delete it.
2. Not-To-Do List. About 80% of your day creates very little value. The Not-To-Do List is where you decide what you'll simply stop doing. No handoff, no workaround. Just gone.

How I sort my own balls

Here's what this looks like in my life:

• I schedule my workouts. Health is crystal, so it goes on my calendar.
• I don't spend a lot of time with negative people. Protecting my energy is key for me.
• I don't clean the litter box. My daughter's job. The cat hasn't complained.
• I don't watch the news. At all. That one went straight on my Not-To-Do List. If it's truly important, someone will tell me.

One crystal ball scheduled, one plastic ball delegated, two deleted for good. Each change freed up time and a lot of mental energy for what matters. And my daughter is learning responsibility along the way, so everybody wins.

YOUR 60-SECOND MOVE

Open your calendar right now. Find one meeting or task this week that's plastic, and delete it or hand it off. Then block one hour for a crystal ball you've been neglecting.

Hit reply and tell me which plastic ball you dropped. I read every response.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a crystal ball on the dance floor I need to protect. Rain or shine.

Mathias Ihlenfeld | Entrepreneur | Coach | Advisor

P.S. Next up: my panel at the Business Transitions Summit. On Tuesday, October 6, I'm leading a breakout session called "Bootstrapped to the Exit: What It Really Takes to Build, Grow, and Sell a Business" at the Charles Schwab campus in the Domain. As the Austin Regional Cohort Leader for Birthing of Giants, I'll be joined by two fellow Birthing of Giants graduates, Marc Bacher and Chelle Neff, for an honest conversation about bootstrapping, scaling and selling.

P.P.S. On October 8, I'm sharing my Germany to Texas story with two German Accelerator cohorts at STATION Austin at 2pm, alongside German Consul General Kai Hennig. No slides, no highlight reel. Just pure inspiration for 20 founders during their journey.

​LinkedIn • Instagram • Website​

You're receiving this because you subscribed to by Mathias.