(If you haven't read last week's post, take a moment to do so. It's important for the following.)
The Pareto Principle states that 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results. In other words, the majority of what you spend your time doing is not giving you the results you desire. This can be true in both our personal and professional lives. John Maxwell says, "You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything." But, we all can get stuck in patterns and habits that aren't best for our lives and work. We just keep making those buggy whips.
On most days you probably try to get a sense of what needs to be accomplished for that day. It may be an intuition or mental framework, while for others it's an actual to-do list. But, there's another list that may be even more important to make; a "not-to-do" list. Take a moment and respond to these questions and begin to build your "Not-to-do" list!
Based on the insight of your "why," what are the ways you spend your time and energy that are not giving you the results you would like?
What do you need to stop doing?
Name the first step to make that change?