Not all work is worth the same effort and time. The $10K framework, created by Khe Hy of RadReads, sorts your tasks by how much long-term value they create, so you can spend more time on the few things that move your business and less on the busywork that feels productive but isn't.
What Is "$10k Work"?
Khe Hy scores tasks on two axes: how much skill they take and how much leverage they create.
That gives four buckets, from $10 work (low skill, low leverage, like manual data entry) up to $10K work (high skill, high leverage, like setting strategy, building key relationships, or hiring new people).
The goal is to notice how much of your week disappears into busywork.
The $10k Matrix
Plot skill against leverage and you get four squares: low skill and high leverage is $100 work; high skill and high leverage is $10K work; low skill and low leverage is $10 work; high skill and low leverage is $1,000 work. Most CEOs we work with are surprised by how little of their calendar is actually $10K once they look honestly.
How It All Fits Together
Khe Hy stacks the system as a pyramid: $10K task management at the base, then projects and domains, then habits and goals, and $10K questions at the top, the bigger questions like "Am I playing the right game?" Day-to-day execution sits at the bottom, and the questions that decide whether it matters sit at the top.
How to Make It Stick: Do Weekly Reviews
The engine of the framework is a short weekly review, kept to about 25 minutes, so it actually happens.
It moves through four quadrants:
- Time and task audit (look back): How much $10K work did I do? What was my single most impactful activity? Which tasks have gone stale?
- Journaling (reflect): Where did I get stuck? Where did I come alive? Who got my best energy?
- Planning and prioritization (look forward): Block five units of $10K work or thinking time on the calendar. If you could only work two hours a day, what would you do?
- Vision (the long view): Are my goals still the right ones? How would I spend my time if money weren't the question?
How to Run Your Own $10k Review
Set a 25-minute timer once a week and work the four quadrants in order. Keep it short on purpose: a review you'll repeat beats a thorough one you abandon.
Where to Go Next
If carving out time for high-leverage work is hard because you're buried in operations, that's often a sign you need senior help without a full-time cost. Talk to our Team to book a free 30-minute Scalability Audit.
The $10K framework and the weekly review are Khe Hy's (RadReads).
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