Busy.
We're always busy.
Our to-do list is never ending. Our schedule is never slowing down. We've got a number of things we'd love to do "when we're not as busy."
But busy doesn't always mean we're making progress. Sometimes, we're busy running in circles.
I was "always" busy with projects and work I believed I had to be doing. Yet, after weeks of doing it, I saw that the work wasn't actually helping me move closer to my goals.
It was actually keeping me busy, which kept me from my goals.
One thing I started doing is using a version of a Competitor Scorecard that I talk about in my book. If you've read it, I highly recommend you download the Scorecard here and use.
If you haven't, here's an exercise to try this week:
- Write down your priorities. Work goal. Family goal. Side hustle goal. Etc. List them off 1-5
- Review your entire to-do list. Everything you think you need to get done.
- Rewrite your entire to-do list from what it is now, into one that matches your priorities. If Work Goal A is the top priority now, make sure the first few steps on your to-do list support it.
- Now, here's the trick, at the end of each day, write down the 3 most important action steps you can take tomorrow to make progress. (Notice I said make progress, not complete. Most of us fail to even take a step toward finishing the work each day. Our goal is a constant move forward).
- Do the work.
Keeping our daily focus list (3 items) short, gives us a sharp target to aim at each day. We both have a lot more work we can be doing, but our main priority is to get our priorities handled first, and then worry about the rest.
For more info on this exercise, watch this training video I made.
You could be the best rower in the entire world, but if you're rowing the wrong direction, it doesn't matter.
Don't let busy be the reason you miss your goals.
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One simple way to be more effective with staying focused on your priorities is to write them down every day. We specifically created a section for this in our Win Your Next Journal found here.