The Two Greatest Questions To Ask Yourself To Stop The Crazy!

Now that things are starting to open up with the release and people getting vaccinated as we move towards herd immunity do you go back to the crazy that you were living before COVID? I don’t know about you, but this past year was a huge reset for me. It was hard at the beginning because in some areas I was starting to gain some traction but overall, it was good as I look back. Some of you may be in the boat of losing jobs or having your income reduced because of the lock down last year. It was hard to be shut in, but I believe it was good to have that time to pause and reflect. I hope many of you were able to do that and, in that time, take the situation and evaluate what was important.

There were two sides of the lock down that came forth which was some people found that they accomplished more while others found there were too many distractions working from home. Whichever camp you are in life continued and there were still things that needed to get done. Maybe you had some things added because you were at home which made your to do list grow. This was a problem because let’s say you had 50 items on that to do list how do you prioritize 50 items. Your spouse or partner has a list of priorities and your place of business has their priorities. Working from home often this boundary is not as well defined. And of course, they are all urgent!

You and I are mere humans and cannot accomplish 50 urgent tasks so what can you do? We humanly can’t prioritize 50 tasks so ultimately this is the wrong question. I heard a saying that if you try to catch two rabbits you will not catch either. Does this sound like what is happening in your life?

So, what is wrong with having 50 priorities? Just like chasing 2 rabbits if you have to many priorities you will accomplish none or very few. The ones that you do will often not be done as well because of the lack of concentration with the distractions of the thought of the rest of your list. I would even say the things that you do accomplish may even be at the detriment of your mental health. It can lead to more mental health issues such as frustrations that will not help you be in a good place. What I find in the confusion of too many things to do I become overwhelmed and are prone to making mistakes which then add to the weight of trying to do more and more but continue to spin my wheels.

In your overwhelm, whether you have 2 priorities or many, I would like to suggest two thoughts. The first is to take a moment to pause and the second is to ask these two questions.

1. Which priority am I going to act on right now?

This is the first and often the hardest question to answer. With everyone pulling at you it is imperative that you first answer this question and then give it the focus it deserves. Here is where the pause helps because it will give you an opportunity to think about which priority will provide the most value. There could be competing values and decisions when you try to answer this question. I have found that understanding where you are headed which starts with the understanding of what you desire your legacy to be. Too often we get lost in the weeds and do the easy things which means we get to tick that item off our list but ultimately do not have the greatest impact on our lives and future. I have a great exercise that can help you figure out what your legacy can be and how to begin living that out today. Click the button at the bottom of the page to set up your free consultation and learn more. Ultimately you need to make a decision and concentrate on it seeing it through to completion.

2. How do I make the most progress I can on that priority with the time i have available right now?

This second question revolves around focus and lessening distractions. I love the book Deep Work by Cal Newport because it has a good overview of what deep work is and how to get in the zone! That pause is helpful here as well because it puts your priorities into a hierarchy to help understand the long-term benefit and value as well as the awareness of what time you have available to accomplish a given task. IT also will give you a chance to stop and evaluate your surroundings and give you a way to evaluate what might hold you back from accomplishing that task. Things like availability to social media, others interrupting you as well as the simple noise that could draw your attention away from the task at hand.

What I would encourage you to do is make the decision and then to act on the decision with all the focus and attention that you will need to get that task done.

INTENTION

One last note is to think about intention! This is a heart question which is not easily answered. This is where some accountability and coaching might be something to think about. I equate this to New Years resolutions. What they often are just intentions but don’t have the teeth to be actual goals or projects to attack for the year. The phrase “I would like” is attached to a New Year’s resolution while a SMART goal with dates and metrics is truly a priority.

To be fare I have often had good intentions but have not had the resolution to see my goals through. To have someone who will hold you accountable is a great place to start. Is it easy, NO! Is it going to take work, YES! Don’t let intention hold you back from accomplishing more this year. We are a ¼ of the way through the year. Let’s see how far you can get when the year is done. Click on the button below to get on my calendar for a zero-pressure consultation today. 

You have greatness within you!