I'm wasting my efforts
Am I doing the right things?
Some days are tough.
It’s the days when everything collapses on you, and the incoming tasks overwhelm the mind.
The house you cleaned five minutes ago now looks like a tornado ran through it.
And the Tornado is a chorus of everyone around you
who seem content - no - excited to force you back a step or two.
Am I doing the right thing?
In these moments of exhaustion, one voice overrides everything else and tells you you’re not enough.
It tells you that you are wasting your efforts.
But are you?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You are responsible for a lot, and family, society, and your workplace expect you to perform - at all times.
And the multitude of expectations that you put on yourself. And the self-expectation is the most unreasonable of them all. It’s never satisfied. Never content. It doesn’t rest.
So, what do you do?
In his book, “Effortless” (link to Amazon), Greg McKeown explores this same challenge, and frames it as a simple question -
What could happen in your life if the easy but pointless things became harder, and the essential things became easier?The Pareto principle tells us that there is an essential few, and trivial many - that 20% of our effort represents 80% (or more) of our results. What would your life be like if you only focused on the critical 20 percent?
or stated differently - what would you change if you knew that 80% of the things you were working on were not helping you achieve the results you were after?
Would you change?
Here’s your Opportunity
To answer the question, “Am I working on the right things?” You must have clarity on your goals and vision.
We provide templates to help you write your vision and plans to capture your essential 20%.
Our Vision / Mission / Values template can help you define and align yourself to a foundation that will improve your aligned decision-making.
Our 2024 planning will help you align your important tasks and plan the next few months, days, and hours so that you can cross off the most important things.
We aim to help you become your best self and lead others to be their best self. By focusing on the essential few items, you can drive significant change over a long period of time.
The Five Questions
Five questions must be answered daily, representing a core set of opportunities to define or redefine our identity.
Because they cut through most of the protections that we build up.
1. Am I doing the right things?
2. Are my contributions valuable?
3. Am I empowered to be effective?
4. Are my actions aligned with essential goals?
5. Do I find purpose and fulfillment? Your journey to how you answer these questions matters. Because you matter. We want to inspire and help you find confidence and clarity through the most challenging times. We’re here for you.
-Your friends at OutsmartChaos.
Your Takeaway
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