How Hiring an Executive Assistant Can Help You Escape Your Inbox and Reclaim Your Time

The Big Picture on Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant:

• • By hiring a well-trained executive assistant to manage your inbox, you can eliminate the constant distraction of emails and focus on high-value tasks that drive your business forward. Professionals like real estate syndication attorney Mauricio Rauld have completely stepped away from their inboxes, relying on assistants to filter, respond, and organize messages efficiently.
  • Success in email delegation isn’t just about hiring an assistant; it’s about creating clear processes and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). A skilled executive assistant should understand your priorities and voice well enough to manage communications proactively. 
  • Inspired by Dan Martell’s book Buy Back Your Time, the concept of the “buyback rate” highlights that high-earning professionals should delegate tasks that don’t justify their hourly worth. Instead of spending hours managing emails, investing in a capable assistant allows you to focus on strategic decisions, business growth, and meaningful work.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, email can easily become a never-ending to-do list — not for yourself, but for everyone else. Many professionals, business owners, and real estate investors find themselves drowning in their inboxes, spending countless hours sorting through messages, responding to requests, and getting distracted from the work that actually moves their business forward. One solution gaining popularity among high-level entrepreneurs is hiring an executive assistant to take over email management completely.

Buy Back Your Time

This approach, popularized by Dan Martell in his book Buy Back Your Time, offers a game-changing way to reclaim your time and mental energy. Real estate syndication attorney Mauricio Rauld is one professional who’s fully embraced this strategy. 

For over a year, Mauricio has completely stepped away from his email inbox. Instead, his executive assistant handles everything — from filtering spam and organizing important messages to responding on his behalf and flagging only the most critical items for his review. By removing himself from the constant pull of email, Mauricio has freed up hours each day to focus on high-value work and strategic decisions.

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The key to success with this method is having a well-trained, dedicated assistant who doesn’t just act as a task-taker, but as a true extension of you. This isn’t about hiring a basic virtual assistant to check your inbox a few times a day. 

It’s about onboarding someone who understands your priorities, your voice, and your business so well that they can proactively manage your communications without constant supervision. Over time, your assistant can develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for handling recurring types of emails — ensuring consistency, professionalism, and efficiency.

Organize, Organize, Organize

One of the most effective tactics Mauricio and other productivity-minded professionals use is creating email folders to categorize incoming messages. For example, routine updates, newsletters, and deal alerts can automatically be filed into designated folders, which the assistant can review and sort later.

Important but non-urgent messages can go into a “Review” folder, which Mauricio and his assistant review together during their daily check-ins. By batching these reviews into a single, focused session, Mauricio avoids the constant context-switching that plagues so many professionals throughout their day.

This system doesn’t just apply to email — it extends to calendar management, text message responses, and even travel arrangements. Mauricio’s assistant knows his preferences for flights, hotels, and seating arrangements, so scheduling travel is handled seamlessly without his involvement. 

Even podcast appearances and media requests follow a clear process, allowing his assistant to vet opportunities, gather necessary information, and schedule interviews — all without requiring his direct input.

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The Buyback Rate Explained

The underlying principle behind this delegation strategy is understanding your “Buyback Rate.” As Dan Martell explains, your buyback rate is the hourly rate at which it makes financial sense to delegate a task to someone else. 

For high-earning professionals, spending hours managing email is a poor use of time, especially when a well-trained assistant can do it better, faster, and cheaper.

At first glance, completely giving up control of your inbox might seem uncomfortable or even impossible. But as Mauricio’s experience shows, with the right assistant and processes in place, stepping away from your email can be one of the most powerful productivity upgrades you can make. 

Not only does it save time, but it allows you to focus on the deep work that truly drives your business forward — from closing deals to building relationships and refining your long-term strategy.

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Final Thoughts

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your inbox and ready to break free from email overload, consider following Mauricio’s lead. Start by hiring a skilled executive assistant, developing clear processes and SOPs, and gradually stepping back as your assistant takes ownership of your communication flow.

With the right support, you can buy back your time and transform the way you work — all while ensuring nothing important slips through the cracks.