How to Identify Your Most Profitable Business Activities

What if I told you the task you’re procrastinating on right now could actually be the smartest business decision you’ve made all week?

Or that the social media post you’re stressing about might actually be costing you money instead of making it?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Most entrepreneurs spend up to 80% of their time on activities that generate less than 20% of their revenue.

I know this because I used to be the queen of that backward business model… until one rainy afternoon changed everything.

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Prefer to listen? Check out episode 54 of the podcast.

The Day Everything Shifted

A few years ago, I found myself in the classic entrepreneur situation:

Working all the hours
Juggling a million tasks
Feeling like I was sprinting on a hamster wheel that never stopped

I was creating new courses, posting on social media, writing daily emails, hosting a weekly Facebook Live show, and chasing every shiny new marketing trend.

Talk about exhausting.

Then one afternoon, I sat down with my notebook and a cup of tea and decided to drill down into what was actually moving the needle in my business.

What I discovered was shocking:

Just three activities were generating about 80% of my revenue
Meanwhile, I was spending most of my time on things that barely made a dent

That’s when I decided to change my approach. And today, I’m going to walk you through exactly how to find your own profit sweet spots.

By the end of this post, you’ll have a step-by-step process to identify profitable business activities. That way you can prioritize and focus on the tasks that truly power your business forward. . .without working more hours.

Most entrepreneurs spend 80% of their time on tasks that make 20% of revenue.

Step 1: Understand What “Profitable” Really Means

When I say “profitable activities,” I’m not just talking about tasks that bring in money. I’m talking about the specific actions that generate the highest return on your invested time, energy, and resources.

For solo business owners, this distinction is crucial.

You’re the CEO, the marketer, the content creator, and customer support. All rolled into one. Your hours are limited. And not all revenue-generating activities are created equal.

Here’s a quick example:

You spend 10 hours a week maintaining a low-ticket offer that brings in $500 a month
You spend 5 hours a week on your membership program, which generates $2,500 a month

The membership program is the clear ROI winner.

When you understand which activities multiply your efforts instead of just adding to them, you escape the “busy but broke” trap that so many entrepreneurs fall into.

Step 2: List Every Single Activity You Do

Grab a notebook (yes, a physical one if you like) and brain dump every single thing you do in your business:

Creating content
Responding to emails
Coaching clients
Updating plugins
Formatting your newsletter
“Researching” on Instagram

When I first did this, I counted over 30 different activities I was doing regularly. No wonder I felt scattered.

Pro tip: Track your activities for an entire week to get the full picture.
Set a timer to go off every hour during your workday. When it dings, jot down exactly what you’ve been doing. After a week, you’ll have an honest map of where your time is going.

Step 3: Circle Only the Direct Revenue Generators

Go through your list and circle only the activities that directly lead to revenue.

Creating a course you sell? Yes.
Tweaking button colors on your sales page? Probably not.

Here’s a personal example:

For a long time, I spent hours each week creating beautifully branded Instagram graphics. I told myself it was “marketing,” but when I looked at my analytics, almost no sales (or even leads) were coming from Instagram.

Meanwhile, Pinterest, which is so much easier imo, was delivering consistent leads every single day.

It’s like pruning a tree. When you cut back the branches that aren’t producing fruit, you give more energy to the ones that are.

Step 4: Calculate Your ROI for Each Activity

Now it’s time to see which of those circled tasks are truly your profit superstars.

Here’s my simple ROI formula:

Take the revenue generated by the activity over the last 90 days
Divide that by the hours you spent on that activity
The result is your dollars per hour for that task

When I did this, I found:

My weekly podcast took about 8 hours per episode and generated about $1,200/month → ~$37/hour
My email newsletter took 5 hours/week and generated about $3,000/month → ~$150/hour

I didn’t stop the podcast (because I love it and it builds connection), but I did start prioritizing my email list and streamlining the podcast workflow.

Step 5: Apply the 80/20 Rule

The Pareto Principle (the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts) is startlingly accurate in business.

One of my students, a web designer, realized that:

Custom website projects = 70% of her time, 30% of her income
Template shop = minimal effort, 70% of her income

She pivoted to focus on templates and only took custom work at premium rates, and was able to increase her income and reducing her working hours.

Step 6: Categorize Your Activities

Once you’ve run the numbers, sort your activities into three buckets:

Power Activities – Your highest ROI tasks that directly drive revenue
Support Activities – These help your Power Activities succeed but don’t directly generate sales
Drain Activities – Low or no return on your time

Your goal: Spend at least 60% of your working time on Power Activities.

Step 7: Track and Optimize

I’m a systems girl at heart, so here’s how I track and refine my profitable activities:

Time tracking tools:

Toggl (my longtime go-to)
Clockify (my current favorite)

Simple financial tracking:

Spreadsheet with columns for Activity, Hours Spent, Revenue, and Hourly ROI

Track consistently for 2–4 weeks. It doesn’t need to be perfect. The goal is clarity, not perfection.

Step 8: Protect Time for High-ROI Work

It’s one thing to know your profit drivers… it’s another to actually work on them consistently.

Here’s what works for me:

Time Blocking: Schedule non-negotiable blocks for Power Activities. No email, no social media.
Batching: Write a week’s worth of emails in one sitting to cut down on task-switching.
Power Blocks: Every morning, I spend 2 hours on my most important project for the week (this is always a Power Activity.

These small but intentional systems make the difference between “busy” and “profitable.”

Step 9: Use a Not-To-Do List

We all know what we should be doing, but it’s easy to drift into busywork.

That’s why I keep a Not-To-Do List. This is a list of activities I’ve committed to either eliminating, delegating, or severely limiting.

Mine includes:

Accepting unsolicited appointment requests
Trying to master every new social platform

Every time I’m tempted, I remind myself: Not worth it.

Step 10: Keep Yourself Accountable

If you’re self-motivated, you can check in with yourself. But if you need extra accountability, share your Power Activities with a business buddy or mastermind group who will check in with you.

Your Action Plan to Identify Profitable Business Activities

Here’s what I want you to do today:

Start tracking every business activity for one week
Schedule a 60-minute audit to categorize your tasks into Power, Support, and Drain
Run the ROI test
Create a focus plan to spend more time on Power Activities and eliminate the Drains

You’ll be amazed at how quickly your revenue can grow, without adding more hours to your week.

5 Smart Moves That Boost Your Bottom Line

Final Thought:
Your time is your most valuable business resource. Protect it, invest it wisely, and watch your results multiply. One of the best ways to make sure you’re spending it on your Power Activities is to plan it before the week even starts.

Ready to make that happen?
Grab my free Time Blocking Template — the exact tool I use to schedule my highest-ROI tasks so they actually get done. It’s simple, customizable, and will help you protect time for the work that really moves the needle.

And if you want to go deeper, check out Take Action Club, where I walk you step-by-step through creating systems that drive revenue without burnout.