So You Think Everything Matters Equally? Think Again
One Of The Six Lies That Stand Between You And Your Success
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Like I mentioned in my previous article, Equality is a worthy ideal we like to follow. But in real life, not everything is equal.
No two students are the same.
No two cappuccinos will taste the same.
No two men or women are the same.
Neither are men and women equal.
Same way, not everything that comes into your radar is equally essential.
This is where we fail and make our lives miserable.
We believe that everything that's on our plate is necessary and therefore must be done. This results in us being "overbooked, overextended and overcommitted".
Since we lack a clear vision of what's important and a clear decision-making process, we end up going for comfortable options.
Instead of working on the presentation's content, we spend hours finding the right pictures to go with it.
Instead of writing that chapter right away, we push it till the very last moment, thinking we'll write it when we are in the right mindset.
Opting for this path makes progress, and success eludes us.
It's this lack of making an intentional choice that runs our day and lives in the wrong directions. Here we are not dictating how we would like our day to go. Instead, we are letting other things and people decide it for us.
"When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn't actually move us any closer to success."
Success isn't won by who does the most, but that is precisely what we do every day.
The Dilemma Of The To-Do
The to-do list is a great tool to help us keep track of everything we need to get done. But when we let it run wild for pages, it bullies us and crushes us. But we still stick with it and feel obligated to check all the boxes because, after all, it's a list that we made.
A to-do list is simply a list of all the random things that we need to get done. There's no hierarchy to the list. There's no intention behind the list other than getting it done. Instead of calling it a to-do list, we should call it a survival list. It's just a list of activities you need to perform to ensure a smooth flow to the day. What it doesn't do is make each day count towards a successful life.
To make sure to eventually experience a successful life, you need a success list. A list that is infused with intention and action.
What's the difference between a to-do list and a success list?
A to-do list is long, whereas a success list is short.
A to-do list will pull you in a million directions. A success list will aim you towards a specific goal in one particular direction.
A to-do list is all over the place. A success list is organised and in the order which will inch you closer to your goal, one step at a time.
"If a list isn't built around success, then that's not where it takes you. If your to-do list contains everything, then it's probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go."
Pareto To The Rescue
One way or the other, you must have heard of Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Principle.
What it means is 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts.
This further means, "the majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do."
It is by using this principle we can turn our to-do list into a success list.
Start by writing your to-do list as you usually write.
Once done, look through your list and identify the tasks which you should do to progress. This is your success list.
Keep analysing and narrowing down your list until you're left with ONE task. This is the top task on your success list.
Now that you have the ONE task you should be doing, work on this until you're done with it for the day.
What you're doing here is -
a) going small - having just one task that you can manage
b) therefore, you're focusing on the most essential task that matters the most
c) which results in you going deep, helping you get into the flow and create better results
d) which means saying "not now," "later," or "never" to anything else until you're done with this task
e) therefore helping you not fall into the trap of the "check off" game - checking things off the list makes it look like success but not.
"The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest."
- Bob Hawke
This is why it is more important to make sure you listen carefully and act accordingly.
(I recommend reading The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan which inspired this article.)
You might also want to read -
The Six Lies That Stand Between You And Your Success
So You Think You Can Multitask? Think Again
So You Think You Can Have A Disciplined Life? Think Again
So You Think You Have Willpower On Speed-Dial? Think Again
So You Think You Can Have Balanced Life? Think Again
So You Think Going Big Will Hurt You? Think Again