Priorities and more
Priorities
"Never let things that matter the least get in the way of things that matter the most," Jim Rohn.
Benjamin Hardy refers to this saying, "don't let lesser goals get in the way of the important ones." Brian Tracy speaks about Eating that Frog. They are all talking about the same thing. Do what matters the most first, even though it is the most difficult. The most challenging task is the thing that is going to contribute to 80-90% of your revenue or your production or whatever metric you are measured by.
I have been working on a concept of E3cubed. We have Essential Functions - The things that only we can do, Essential Goals - The three most important goals you have, and Essential Priorities. What are the three items or Frogs that you need to be eating now that will move your EG3 closer to completion? That's it. It's as simple as that. If you can get clear on those and act on those and only those, you will succeed.
Do I need to say more on the subject? More than likely.
We need to do the same thing for every aspect of our life. It would be good to get a wheel of life or just a list of the categories you break your life into.
Business, Family and Friends, Environment, Personal Growth, etc.
Then go through each one and figure out your E3Cubed
Business: What are your essential functions. There are usually no more than three functions that you are good at but only three that will contribute to 80-90% of your bottom line. Delegate the rest to someone whose Essential Functions are those things that are not yours. Some people love doing what you don't and are excellent at it.
Then get clear on your Three Essential Goals, and then once you are working on those goals, you have your Three Essential Priorities.
So when you start each day or if you do this in the evening in preparation for the next day, you will know precisely what needs to be done and the priority which should be done.
Family - What are the Three Essential Functions that you have as a Parent as a Partner, and so on. What are three essential goals do you want to accomplish. What is the priority in which you want to achieve them?
The goals and the priorities will change continuously though the functions would be relatively constant. That is not to say that over time, they won't.
As for the rest of the categories try to expand your thinking to what your Essential Functions are. It is not a familiar way to think about our lives in other areas than business. That's because we have not gone through the process.
For example, I am not a DIY kind of person. So that will more than likely not be one of my essential functions. So I delegate those tasks to other professionals so that I can focus on my EF3.
As I am writing this article, I myself am going through the same process.
It is a challenge in other areas of your life to frame it this way. It will give me insight into what I am good at and what to focus on in different areas and delegate or delete everything else.
That is not to say that you can't be a spontaneous person and fly by the seat of your pants. Maybe that is your EF in certain areas of your life. Though I wonder how many of us have taken the time to stop and think about it. I know I haven't till now.
I invite and welcome comments about what you found out about yourselves while doing this exercise.
I will make sure to share my findings as I go through the process as well.
