How to prioritize your life correctly

[Brother]

In the modern world, people have too many things to do and have too many opportunities. In addition to virtual attacks, an incessant stream of work and personal requests, we are daily faced with a choice: which of our hobbies to spend time on, what projects to do, where to go to study. But is it possible to change the rhythm of life today? The author of the book "Essentialism" Greg McKeon is sure that yes - for this you need to become an essentialist.

Stop and think calmly. Ask yourself a few questions.

1. Are you satisfied with your job? Do you like the tasks that you solve every day? Are you really doing what is important to you, and not just important, but more important than anything else?

If in doubt, list the alternatives. Let there be as many as you like, but you should choose only one, maximum two. It's not an easy decision, but it's impossible to succeed by splattering over a dozen “priority” cases. Look not for good opportunities, but great ones.

2. How often do you answer “yes” to requests from colleagues and acquaintances? How many times do you mentally curse everyone who is wasting your time? Time for your family or hobby.

Learn to refuse others, even if you feel uncomfortable. You don't want to waste your life on other people's business, do you? The freedom is worth enduring a few minutes of discomfort.

3. Do you have a place where you can meditate alone without being distracted by Twitter and Facebook?

It must necessarily be in a person who seeks to live consciously. Sometimes you need to be alone with your thoughts in order to "reboot", to finally finish a project or to make an important decision.

4. Are you too serious? When was the last time you played?

Recent research by scientists has shown that the human brain develops during play, becomes more creative and adapts more easily to new conditions. If you want to learn how to see many alternatives, be able to analyze and make choices (all this is characteristic of essentialists), then start playing. By the way, the game is also a magic cure for stress.

5. How much sleep do you get? Think you can get more done if you shorten your sleep time?

But good sleep is essential for your body. If you systematically spend nights at work, then sooner or later you will lose the ability to concentrate, become less attentive, forget what it means to think clearly. What kind of success can we talk about then? Take the advice of the Essentialists: bet on your health, you can't go wrong.

6. Have you ever given up on a job as soon as you realized its futility?

Most people fail to do this. As a rule, it is difficult for us to admit a mistake and abandon a project in which we have already invested a lot of effort and money. Essentialists are much wiser and bolder: they can stop in time to do something more rewarding.

Essentialism teaches us to live not how others want from us, but how we ourselves want. a small reminder for the aspiring essentialist.

Try starting tomorrow to slow down and do less, but better - you will like it. Verified by Steve Jobs, Leo Tolstoy, Michael Jordan, Warren Buffett and many more.

 

[Tomcat]

How to make life easier with Pareto's Law​

Not all tasks are created equal​

I learned about Pareto's law in my economics class.

This law states that 20% of the effort gives 80% of the result.

The teacher gave us examples that helped us figure out what they mean:

1. Only 20% of the richest people control 80% of the world's income.
2. 20% of patients account for 80% of healthcare costs.
3. In epidemiology, 20% of those infected are the cause of 80% of infections.
4. Among criminals, 20% are responsible for 80% of crimes.
5. About 80% of the company's sales come from 20% of customers.

I was impressed that such a simple wording could carry such a deep meaning.
I first saw this principle in action in my first few months at work. Noticing that I was having a hard time prioritizing time and attention, my manager suggested focusing on the five largest channel partners (I was responsible for 35 in total) and temporarily postponing the rest - these five partners accounted for about 75-80% of my sales.

Much time has passed since then. I have analyzed many cases from my life in which this law works - for example:

1. Only a few tasks performed at work have the greatest impact on productivity.
2. I spend most of my food money in a few specific restaurants.
3. By analyzing the time spent , I see that most of the time is spent on a few specific occupations. (For example, watching comedy shows on YouTube and Netflix.)
4. I communicate a little, but 80% of the time devoted to communication falls on 20% of people.
5. I have 5-6 suits, but most of the time I wear one or two.

Take a closer look, and you will see how similar scenarios play out around you: the greatest result in our life is given by a small number of factors and actions (although the ratio is not always 80 to 20). Such activities can be called highly productive .
They are like a universal key to many doors in our life. By understanding this, you can learn to better control the achievement of the desired results and simplify your life.
Different priorities are constantly fighting for our attention, so using Pareto's Law will make life a lot easier.
This principle can be used in all areas - let's see how you can use it to improve your own performance at work.

1. Define Highly Productive Tasks​

The first step is the most important: every job and every position has several highly productive activities. For example, in sales, this will typically be looking for leads, meeting with them, and working on proposals. For the physical therapist, this will include collecting the patient's medical history, observing how exercises are performed, and documenting progress.
Make a list of 3-4 highly productive activities for yourself. The best way to do this is to list all of your responsibilities, and then imagine that you can only do one task a day - which one will be most useful from the point of view of your manager and yourself? This is the most productive task. And if you could add two more, which would you choose? .. So you've got a list of the three most productive activities.
This method is based on the prioritization described by Brian Tracy, author of Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Brian says that 90% of the value you bring to your company comes from completing these three core goals.

2. Analyze the time spent on these tasks​

After making a list of highly productive tasks, analyze how much time you spend on them - and be prepared for unpleasant discoveries. After the first such analysis, I realized that I spend no more than 40-50% of my time on these tasks.
Most of my time was spent on less efficient work. Here are the main reasons why this happened in my case (it will probably be true for many others as well):

1. Highly productive tasks did not provide instant gratification, while less efficient ones did.
2. Highly productive tasks were difficult (such as finding leads) and the likelihood of failure was high.
3. Over time, they became monotonous, boring.

If you are honest with yourself, you can understand a lot about where your time is going.

3. Add these tasks to your calendar​

Highly productive tasks should form the backbone of the work schedule. Add them to your calendar and plan your day so that they spend most of your time and alternate with less important work.
This will help you both focus on what is important, and avoid monotony - by alternating high and low productivity tasks.
Try not to tackle several things at once. And if you have to, then let them be low-productivity tasks - and by no means highly productive ones. Otherwise, the result will be careless, and it will take more time for them. When working on high-performing tasks, eliminate all distractions.

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4. Control yourself and make adjustments​

If you have added a task to your calendar, this does not mean that you will definitely be doing it. Therefore, it is very important to regularly check that you are really spending enough time on high-performing tasks.
If you deviate from the schedule, it's okay, this happens even with the best of the best. Just adjust your schedule and tasks for next week. After weeks and months of such rechecking and adjustments, you will have an optimal, convenient schedule that prioritizes highly productive tasks.
Introspection is not good for everyone. Ask a family member, friend, or colleague to monitor you.
Pareto's law is universal. The sooner we understand this and begin to look at what is happening around us through the prism of the 80/20 ratio, the better.