Do your big goals take the joy out of your daily life?
Do you feel like you’re wasting time if you’re not powering through your to-do list?
Are you distracted by streaming media, like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter?
Are you postponing when to start because you don’t know where you’ll end up?
The space between the small tasks and the big goals is the sweet spot. It’s where you savor the moment (the now), while you say no to things that don’t matter and yes to the things that do.
To get off the Busyness Bandwagon, stay out of Infinity Pools, and make time for what matters, you choose your highlight for the day. Then apply laser focus, energize and reflect.
The Busyness Bandwagon is the culture of constant busyness. In the high tech, modern world, busyness is a status symbol – the busier you are, the more in demand you are, and the more successful you become. That’s the common belief.
Infinity Pools are apps, services and products that have infinite content and are always on. There’s social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; video streaming like YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime, and web browsers like Safari, Google Chrome, and Bing, which give you 24/7 access to information around the world. You can dip back into Infinity Pools at any time to find fresh content. There’s always more water in the pool.
In episode 18 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:
1. Why it’s important to get off the Busyness Bandwagon and avoid Infinity Pools
2. Four steps to repeat daily to make time for what matters –
- Highlight – choose your highlight of the day (i.e. identify the one big thing to do today, which ideally will take 60 to 90 minutes)
- Laser – beat distractions like social media, email and news feeds (i.e. find laser mode to focus on the big thing)
- Energize – build energy in your body and brain (i.e. have the energy to do the big thing)
- Reflect – decide which tactics you want to keep, drop or tweak (i.e. determine what worked and what didn’t work in making time for the big thing)
3. Three strategies to choose your highlight –
- Urgency – what’s the most pressing thing I have to do today?
- Satisfaction – which highlight will bring me the most satisfaction?
- Joy – when I reflect on today, what will bring me the most joy?
4. Tactics to build laser focus, recharge your body and brain, and reflect on your day to decide on what to do tomorrow
Resources cited:
- Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky, Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
- The Incrementalist podcast, Ep. 16, Hack Back Email
To listen to episode 18, Make Time for Daily Highlights, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.
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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps.
