Finding the true north for your actions
The essentials, I’m sure you’ve heard of them. There is a strong reason why we call them that. They are the needle movers that push us forward towards our unique true North! So often these essential routines feel like mundane acts of life, but in the long run, those are the actions that truly deliver the results!
I used to go to the gym a lot in my distant past, so let’s look at the example from that world. Today when you walk into any well-equipped Gym you will find neatly organized machines, air-conditioned room with mirrors and fancy water stations + a host of other visual effects and inspirational pictures. They are there just to keep you pumping more of that iron!
Gym time was often so distracting that I used to just walk around the room reading magazines and do people watching more than actually lifting those weights.
Some of the Gyms may also have this very basic looking separate room with blank wooden deck, few dumbbell bars, a bench and a space to do squats.
When it comes to building your physical strength, there are only very few moves that truly define your overall results. Taking into consideration a physical performance as a whole; agility, power, speed, explosive strength and flexibility, there are three moves that give you the biggest bang for the buck. These absolute true essentials are Squat, Bench-press and a Dead lift!
That’s it! You don’t need those fancy machines and extra hocus bogus to get the results.
Not to Do lists
Single task focus is hyper important in today’s Western world. We have to distraction proof our lives and be able to fully focus on the actions that deliver the results.
There’s this idea of “Not to Do” list. It goes against the positive psychology movement, but I feel that it becomes apparent to be able to concentrate and direct our attention to those few simple action steps that you are the best on.
Having a Not to do list allows you to better define the actual To Do list. This method allows to have more focus towards those Essentials as a byproduct.
20 of the 20
I have written about the Pareto’s 80/2o principle before here. It says that 80% of our results come from the 20% of our actions. Once you identified the most important tasks, you still might have anything between 3-5 or even more items on the list.
By further downsizing that list, taking the 20% of that 20% you will end up with 4% of the original 100% of the tasks. This might sound too much of an elimination, but these few “ToDo’s” are the ones that are your real essentials. That heading on your compass that points you to the true North!
Scheduling the essentials
When you find out your 4% list, then and only then put them down on your calendar with a red marker pen and give them a time frame for completion!
Parkinson’s Law dictates that
“work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”
This means that your task(s) will expand like a gas that enters an empty space!
Do you truly want to leverage your scheduling and calendar use? If yes, then mark those Essentials for your most productive time zones of the day! For most of us, those pockets of extra productive flow fall between 8-11 am. Find out your ideal times when your mind is alert and physically you are at your peak state of the day!
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Bottom Line: Essentials are actions that we all need to pay more attention to. Especially in today’s world where distractions are running far and wide! First, find out your most effective needle turners. Then focus on those the very first thing when at your mental, emotional and physical peak states!
