I’m listening to ‘The One Thing‘ by Gary Keller and this concept hit me over the head.
For years, there was no plural for the word priority. This makes sense. If you have more than one priority the multiple things on your list are no longer your ONE priority.
I was talking to a colleague today, (we are holidaying at the same campground), on our morning walk we discussed how some days our jobs are such that the 3-5 things we started the day wanting to prioritize remain undone at the end of our day. Other people’s priorities (and problems) get in the way of our own daily accomplishments.
Keller states, “Purpose without priority is powerless.”
Priority, not priorities.
If I were to start my day planning and scheduling to accomplish my one priority, what would that look like? How successful would I be, compared to trying to divide my day between the many things on my ‘To Do’ list? Yes, those things still need to get done, but are all of them a, or my, priority? If I had a daily focus on my one priority for the day, would that change my sense of purpose on those days when things generally get in the way of what I intend to do?
Will the daily act of determining my one priority change my ability to plan and execute?
What’s my one priority for today?
As someone who works in support, it can be frustrating to lose any semblance of the ‘one thing’ that is the focus of each day as others dictate your ‘to do’ list. However, I think that it is a useful framework to centre each day.
Another approach I stumbled upon recently via Oliver Burkeman was keeping a ‘done list’ to celebrate the fact that you do actually get a lot done each and every day.
Both of these perspectives are worth some reflection… thanks as always for sharing your wisdom (and the wisdom of others you collect so well) Aaron!
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