She's That Founder: Business Strategy, Time Management and AI Magic for Impactful Female Leaders

080 | The Wednesday Panic Triage. How AI helped me to choose what matters in my business

• Dawn Andrews • Episode 80

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The panic is real.
Too many priorities, not enough time, and your brain is spinning instead of deciding.

This isn’t about doing it all, it’s about strategic triage: choosing what matters most so you can focus your energy where it counts. With AI as your thinking partner, you can cut through the overwhelm, sequence your priorities for maximum impact, and turn chaos into hours of focused wins.

In this episode of She’s That Founder, you’ll discover how to stop trying to do everything and start sequencing your priorities so you can make meaningful progress without burning out. You’ll see how AI can help you cut through emotional noise, spot the highest-impact tasks, and keep momentum when competing priorities threaten to pull you in every direction.

In this episode, you’ll learn…

  • How to use strategic triage to turn panic into a clear, doable action plan
  • The energy + ROI framework that keeps you from wasting focus on low-value tasks
  • Why AI can see patterns and sequences you can’t when emotions run high
  • How to reclaim momentum by choosing the right order — not just the right tasks

This episode at a glance:

[00:00] – The panic every founder knows
[01:45] – How emotional overload sabotages strategic thinking
[03:00] – Why AI is your best objective advisor in overwhelm
[05:15] – The energy + ROI priority map that made the difference
[07:00] – Money first, strategic assets second, creativity third, admin last
[09:30] – How each completed task fuels the next
[11:00] – The four-step strategic triage framework to use in your business

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:


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She's That Founder
080 | The Wednesday Panic Triage. How AI helped me to choose what matters in my business

So it's Wednesday morning in San Francisco, day three of my business retreat, and I'm having that moment. “Oh my God, I only have three days left. I'll never get everything done. What do I do?”

I've got four major things screaming for my attention, my AI for Founders Playbook moving it forward, banking podcast content from my hotel room, getting my money in order, and my invoices up to date.

 And dealing with a stack of papers that has been haunting my office for a year. Every single one feels urgent in their own way. Every single one feels important. My brain is doing that thing that spins through all the options without actually choosing any of them.

I am like a high 80 on the Vanderbilt ADD scale. So the struggle is real, and I hope this sounds familiar to you, but here's what happened. That changed everything instead of spiraling or trying to do everything at once. I asked AI to help me triage, not to do the work for me, but to think strategically when my emotions were running high.

What happened in the next 15 minutes gave me a framework that I will now use every time I'm overwhelmed, and it's probably going to save your business the next time you're drowning in competing priorities.

Let's get into it.

You are listening to She's that founder, the show that helps ambitious women stop drowning in decisions and start owning their CEO seat with some AI magic.

I'm Dawn Andrews, founder of Free Range Thinking, business Strategy Consulting, and if you've ever felt paralyzed by too many important things, demanding your attention, this episode is gonna give you the clarity that you need.

So let me paint you the full picture of what was happening in my head that Wednesday morning. First of all, I'd had a horrible night's sleep before tossing all over the place. I was thanking God for the king size bed and the fact that I was alone in it because I would have kung fu'd, anyone out of it.

I'm in this beautiful hotel room in San Francisco. I've got this incredible opportunity for focused work time and instead of feeling grateful and productive, I'm feeling that familiar founder anxiety. You know that feeling when you have limited time and unlimited things that should get done when everything feels equally important and equally urgent, and when your brain starts that exhausting cycle of “Maybe I should work on this, but wait, what about that?” It was a big swirl. So much so that even in my own mind, I was like, damn, girl. You got a lot going on up there. 

And here's specifically what was on my mental carousel. 

The AI for Founders playbook. Months of work partially built. Could be a major revenue driver if I just finish it. 

Podcast content, I'm behind on scripts. I want to create consistency for myself and for my audience, and I know that content drives everything marketing in my business.

Money management. Invoices to send, payments to collect, financial housekeeping that directly impacts cash flow. 

And then that big old paper stack. A year's worth of office clutter that I actually brought with me to San Francisco weighing on me both literally and metaphorically,

Each one had a compelling case for being the priority. Each one had real business impact, both short and long term, and each one was tied to either revenue, reputation, or peace of mind. And that's exactly the problem. When everything is important, nothing gets the focused attention it actually needs to move forward. And this is where most of us make the classic founder mistake. We try to do a little bit of everything and end up making real progress on nothing.

Or we pick based on what feels most urgent in the moment, which usually isn't what moves the business forward most. But what if you had an objective advisor who could look at your competing priorities without your emotional attachment, someone who could help you see patterns and trade-offs that you're too close to notice?

That's exactly what I discovered when I turned to AI for strategic triage. When your brain betrays you, AI stays objective.

So the first thing that I had to admit was that my emotional state was sabotaging my strategic thinking. When you're feeling that time pressure, that falling behind anxiety, your brain does not make good decisions.

It jumps between tasks, it overestimates the urgency of everything, and it underestimates your actual capacity. It kind of just squishes everything into one big ball.

So I opened ChatGPT, and I said, “it's Wednesday I have three days left in my retreat, and I'm starting to feel that, oh my God, what do I do? I'll never get it done Panic.” I've got four major things on my mind, and every single one will have a positive impact on me and the business thoughts on how I should approach the day?

Here's what blew my mind, AI immediately recognized what was happening, and it was very kind, actually. It said, you're not behind. You're in the middle of the magic. What you're feeling is a sign of momentum and not failure, which I needed to hear that part before I could hear anything else, so I appreciated that. And then it reframed everything. The goal isn't to finish everything. The goal is to set things up so that by Saturday morning you walk away feeling clearer, lighter in control of cash, and proud of real progress.

The force multiplier here, AI provided perspective when I was too emotionally invested to see it clearly. It separated the feeling of being behind from the reality of making strategic choices. But then it did something even better. It created a priority map for me based on energy and ROI, not just my emotional state.

 So this is the strategic triage framework that actually worked.

Ai, became my strategic advisor instead of just my cheerleader. It looked at those four competing priorities and said, “here's how I'd help you triage this based on energy and return on investment.”

Priority one, money first. Send invoices, follow up on unpaid ones. Why? First, because it's fast, tangible progress. And once cash is moving, so is your nervous system. Even one invoice sent equals power reclaimed. Time box, 45 minutes max. Do it before lunch. It even gave me the time window and I used my little ADD timer to track it. 

Priority two, AI for founders Playbook Progress. Pick one module to finalize. This is your future leverage tool. Move one piece closer to done and park the rest. It doesn't need to be finished to be powerful. Time box, 90 minutes of deep work. Again, ADD timer,

Priority Three. Podcast content banking. Choose your most energized idea and script it. You'll feel proud, seen, and aligned with your voice. Even one draft gets the machine moving again. Time box 60 to 90 minutes

Priority Four. The paper stack. Don't try to finish it. Your only goal, reduce the weight. Set a 25 minute timer, one pass, toss, scan, or do later pile.

Why now you've earned it and it's the emotional weight you've been carrying all year. It was so right on. I almost cried the genius of this framework. It wasn't just about business impact, it considered my energy, my emotional needs, and the psychological momentum each task would create money first, because financial clarity creates mental clarity, strategic assets. Second, because it builds long-term leverage, creative work. Third, while I still had good energy and administrative cleanup, last as a reward after the important stuff.

The force multiplier. ' Cause you know, I like a forcemultiplier.

AI helped me see that I didn't need to choose between important things. I needed to sequence them strategically. And that was the magic of having AI as an objective partner. And here's what really happened that changed my whole approach to overwhelm.

 AI gave me permission to be human while staying strategic and moving forward. It said you don't need to finish everything. “You just need to finish what matters today.”, and then it created a beautiful reframe. It was so good you guys. It just said, “What would future you thank you for doing today?” 

Instead of trying to solve my entire business in three days, I could focus on the choices that would have the biggest positive impact on me Monday morning.

AI also did something that my anxious brain couldn't do at that moment. It helped me see the real timeline. 45 minutes for money moves, 90 minutes for the AI module, 60 minutes for content, 25 minutes for papers. That's four hours of focus work to handle four major areas of my business, not the impossible mountain.

My Wednesday panic was making it seem like, the real breakthrough. Came when AI said, after you finish that one needle moving task, ride the wave with something lighter.

It understood momentum psychology that completing one important thing creates the energy for the next and the result. I followed the exact plan, money handled before lunch completed. 

Complete AI module built podcast content outlined, and now the next day recording it all. The paper stack reduced by about 50%, but more importantly, I felt like the strategic CEO that I am who makes intentional choices, not a reactive founder who gets pulled in every direction.

The force multiplier, AI provided objective strategic thinking when my emotions were running high. It separated what felt urgent from what was actually important. It gave me a framework I could trust instead of just spinning in my own anxiety and it did it in seconds. Something that would've taken me potentially hours to settle down into and solve for.  It's just the way I am. So it was great to have that support.

So if you're tired of feeling overwhelmed by competing priorities and want a system for strategic triage, the AI for Founders Playbook includes the framework I used on Wednesday. You'll get the priority mapping templates, the energy management system, and the prompts for when you're spinning in founder anxiety.

You can get on the wait list through the link in the show notes. And as soon as we drop it, you can start making strategic choices instead of reactive ones.

So I just wanna give you the behind the scenes of what this actually looked like in practice. Because knowing the framework is one thing, but using it when you're panicking is another. I started with money because AI was right. Nothing clears my head, like getting cash flow. I sent three invoices. I followed up on two overdue payments.

I organized my financial tracking, and by the time I was done, the anxious energy had shifted into productive energy. I felt like someone who handles business, not someone who avoids it.

Then the AI module, instead of trying to build the whole playbook, I focused on finishing one complete piece. The Unblock me, GPT, which was perfect since I was literally living in stuck energy. The podcast content work flowed, because I was writing the momentum from two wins. And by the time I got to the paper stack, it really did feel like a reward instead of a burden. It felt like a gift I was giving myself. 

Here's the key insight, each task built psychological momentum. For the next one. AI Understood that it's not just about business priorities, it's about how progress creates energy for more progress.

So if you're ready to stop spinning overwhelm and start making strategic choices and managing through panic, I've created a simple triage assessment that helps you prioritize when everything feels urgent. You'll find the link in the show notes so that you can start, thinking like a CEO instead of reacting like a founder.

Here's what I want you to take away from all this.

Overwhelm isn't a time management problem. It's a decision making problem when everything feels urgent and important. You need a framework for strategic triage, not another productivity hack, but a way to think clearly when your emotions are running high.

The shift you need to make is from I have to do everything to, I need to choose what matters most. Now.

Here is your strategic triage framework for the next time you're drowning in priorities. First, get the spinning out of your head, write down everything that's competing for your attention, and get it external so you can see it objectively, and you can share it with AI objectively.

Second, ask the strategic questions. What will move the business forward most? What will create psychological momentum? What will reduce emotional weight? And what's the fastest path to feeling in control?

Third, when you have those answers, sequence it based on energy and ROI. Not just importance, money moves when you're sharp, creative work, when you have good energy, administrative cleanup, when you're winding down.

And Fourth time box everything. Even if you don't finish it completely, give every priority a specific container so it doesn't expand and fill your entire day.

The goal isn't to eliminate those competing priorities because they're a sign that you're building something that matters. The goal is to choose strategically instead of reactively.

And AI can be your objective thinking partner. When your emotions are running high, it can help you see patterns you're too close to, and notice and suggest sequences that honor both your business needs and your human needs.

But the real power is in having a framework you can trust so that when that Wednesday panic hits or whatever day of the week is because it will, you have a system for getting clear instead of just spinning.

The AI for Founders Playbook gives you this complete strategic triage system, plus the prompts and tools for when you're overwhelmed. The priority mapping templates, and the energy management frameworks that turn anxiety into action.

You'll also get the Future you decision making tool that helps you choose based on long-term impact instead of short-term urgency. Get on the wait list for the AI for Founders Playbook, using the link in the show notes and then as soon as it drops, you can start making CEO level decisions, even when you're feeling founder level panic.

My sweet friend. Remember, you don't have to do everything. You just have to choose what matters most. And with the right framework, the choice becomes clear instead of overwhelming. Your business needs strategic leadership, not reactive scrambling. AI can help you provide that leadership, especially when your emotions are running high.

Stop spinning, start sequencing and watch how strategic choices create the momentum. That anxious spinning never could. We're wrapping it up. That's today's episode of She's That Founder. If this gave you a framework for your next overwhelm moment, share it with a founder friend who really needs to hear it.

And if you're ready to stop drowning in competing priorities and start making strategic choices, come join us in my private LinkedIn community, AI for founders.

Until next time, keep building something beautiful. And remember, you don't have to do everything. You just have to choose strategically. You got this. See you next time.