I’m not sure what I’m going through right now, it can’t be midlife crisis unless I’m going to live well past 120. So I’ve started to take a real hard look at the virtues of simplifying my life.
The more chaotic the world becomes, the more interested I am in slowing things down and gaining a little more control over my day-to-day existence. As a result, I’ve started to look at areas of my life where I can simplify. I’ve discovered two things so far: In order to simplify my life, I need to identify those things which are most important to me, and second, to start minimizing time and effort I spend on all the rest. If you’re with me so far, let me share with you the Cliff Notes version of my plan.
Step 1. Limit the Number of Goals
I have a tendency to get a little carried away with the number of things I think I can accomplish in a calendar year. What I’ve decided to do for the remainder of this year is to pick no more than five goals I can accomplish which will make a significant improvement in my personal and professional life.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’ve put a lot of time into thinking this through. I started with a brain-dump. I just listed all the things I wanted to accomplish this year. After I completed the list, I forced myself to consider the five things that would have the greatest positive impact on my personal life and my career.
There are lots of things I’d like to do in the year ahead. But the more important question is: What are the three or four most important things I need to do to benefit my life, my family and my career? Talk about a reality check! I’d highly recommend you give this little exercise a try.
Step 2. Stay Focused
I know from personal experience, and from four decades of studying performance improvement, that the primary reason we don’t enjoy more accomplishments and achieve truly important goals is due to lack of focus.
We live in the Information Age. In fact, we live in the too much information age. In a world of instant everything, it’s all too easy to get caught up in “the I’ve got to stay stay current on…well everything” trap. The key is to accept the fact that you really don’t have to know everything – about everything.
But what you do need to stay focused on are the most important things, and there aren’t very many of those. Our long-term success will depend on our daily focus. My strategy is not to prioritize my schedule but to schedule my priorities. Just as I minimized the number of goals I intend to accomplish this year, I want to minimize the number of tasks I intend to accomplish each day. I want to limit my focus to no more than three specific activities which, when completed, will move me toward the accomplishment of my primary goals. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.
Step 3. Establish Routines
I think the most effective way to stay focused is to establish routines. Airline pilots do this before every flight. Notice I said EVERY flight, not just some flights or on those flights where it’s convenient. Pilots do a pre-flight checklist before each and every flight. This routine alone is probably the single greatest factor in airline safety.
To that point, I intend to establish morning and evening routines in order to keep myself focused on those daily activities which will lead to accomplishing my annual goals.
In the evening, I’ll review each day’s plan and each day’s level of success and achievement. I’ll adjust what needs to be adjusted and eliminate what needs to be eliminated. I’ll also develop my plan for tomorrow.
My morning routine will focus on getting the day off to a good start. I’ll awake knowing my day has a plan and a purpose. That alone should motivate me to get up and get after it. I’ll include a good breakfast and some productive reading before I check my email – which can become a black hole for productivity. I also intend to knock off one of my daily goals before I check any email.
GETTING MORE WITH LES means simplifying and staying focused. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I’d love to hear from you if you decide to simplify your life as well. We’ll take this little journey together and see if we can’t make the simple – sustainable.
Tags: business, focus, focused, goals, planning, routine, simplify
