Every day is faced with a rather simple choice.
Do I spend most of my time addressing #1 thing, which is bigger and more complicated? Or do I pick off a bunch of the smaller things?
Here’s what I know… eventually you’re going to have to address #1 thing.
- You can put it off.
- You can work around it.
- You can pretend it doesn’t exist.
- You can kick the can down the road to avoid it.
- You can pass the buck to someone else.
- You can pretend it doesn’t exist.
But it’s still there. The big, flashing #1 thing that you have to do.
If not today… Tomorrow? If not tomorrow, than when?
It’s not like #1 thing goes away. It just gets bigger, more obnoxious, and the time it would have taken is now compounded by the fact that you’ve procrastinated on it. The mental tax on #1 thing now increased the cost on your attention.
This is why I don’t really like “task lists” and things like that. Instead, I like to think of things in how big they are and work on the biggest, most important #1 thing right now, when I have the most capacity to make the biggest impact I can. Then, with that out of the way, I can cruise through #2 – #13 a lot easier.
Instead of task lists, here’s what helps me
Instead of thinking about task lists– ultimately I find this to be a waste of my time and energy– more a drain on my energy and focus rather than feeding it. I believe energy and focus will lead to your best work, not pressure and priority. (And sure as heck not external pressures, external pressure just makes me want to avoid things.)
Instead, I think about when I can offer my best ability to focus and energy right now. Most weeks, I think I have the most energy and the greatest focus on a Monday. So that’s my big day for productivity. I think I have the most energy and focus on being creative late at night. So that’s when I block out time for creativity. On and on… I match the “when” of my #1 things to where I can best focus and have the energy I need to complete them. Simply putting them in a priority list won’t lead to my best work any more than painting my office will lead to me being better at golf.
Think about #1 thing. What’s the best time to give your best energy and focus to it?
Leave a Reply