OK, we've set our goals, we know what we want – where do we start? At any moment of time we have an almost unlimited number of actions we can do that will bring us smaller or bigger results depending on the action.
After some consideration we can always identify the ones with the biggest output. Yes we can – we are just not used to operate this way. Narrowing it down You probably know the famous Pareto principle 80/20 that states: 20% of actions bring us 80% of results What it really tells us is that most of the actions we do are unimportant. They may seem urgent and pressing but they will not bring us the most results. I like the approach I read in the book "The ONE Thing" that takes this principle even further asking: "Out of those 20% actions what are the 20% that will bring us the most?" That's going deep but it doesn't stop there. Later it goes: "Out of those few important actions what is the 1 thing that will bring us the most results?" To give you an example imagine we have 100 actions we can do that in total will bring us 100 $. We don't know which ones will bring us more or less but applying Pareto principle we get: Out of those 100 actions we have 20 actions that will give us 80$. (80% of 100$) Narrowing it down further we know that of those 20 actions we have 5 that will bring us 64$ (80% of 80$) And finally out of 5 we have just 1 that alone will bring us 51,2$ (80% of 64$) Isn't it amazing that only 1 thing you do will bring you more than a half of the benefits? The law may not always work but imagine that it does. Wouldn't it be important to find this one thing and focus on doing it? This would save you the time, mental resources and reduce your stress. Of course, other staff doesn't go away but when you know this one thing brings you more than 50% of the benefits the rest can wait. Applying the principle This was my biggest outcome from the book and I was eager to apply it to my life. I figured that if in every area of our life we can find that thing and focus on it the whole life would be transformed. So I asked myself the question from the book: What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it the rest will become easier or unnecessary? Then I transformed the question and applying it into different areas I got: What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it I would be transformed? What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it my love relationships would blossom? What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it I would start creating the most value? What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it my relationships with parents would get better? What is the 1 thing I can start doing that is by doing it I would start earning money? I wrote down 5 bullet points under each of the questions and later narrowed it down to just one. Doing this will help me concentrate on a thing that beats down all the others. It can be as simple as having a weekly Skype call with my parents or as big as doing the thing you fear the most. But as long as you spend some time focusing on this 1 thing the results will follow. Don't trust me – try for yourself. Ask the question: What is the one thing I can start doing that is by doing it my … will get much better? And then consistently focus your attention on this 1 thing. You'll see it working. Do it often and in different areas and your life will take an upward curve. Do it always and leave behind hundreds of people still trying to master all at once. Less is more. And the lesser the better.
Comments
|