Priority isn't plural
I am reading "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown and thinking about my Big Rocks. How to focus on the essential when I have seven core values? What is my main priority? Because, as McKeown points out, for several hundred years the word "priority" was only ever singular.
How will I spend my one wild and precious life, as Mary Oliver asks?
One idea that came to me yesterday was to make following my Google calendar be my priority, then putting together a Google calendar that is stocked with Big Rocks. I have been getting a bit closer to this. Arlene Moss has a coaching bit about setting up a shadow calendar (note: it's behind the firewall in the XYPN Academy section.) My assistant set up a template week. I already deliberately went through and added in excessive amounts of vacation time. I can do more with this. I'm working with a coach, Joy Oyler, who can help me with that, too.
Another note for myself: the tool which truly brings the essential into focus are George Kinder's Three Questions. When it comes down to it, our hours are limited. What do we REALLY want?
I am debating three opportunities. One is a party tomorrow. I am realizing it is the very definition of what isn't essential. I had already been marveling at the tone deafness. It's a Great Gatsby lawn party, a fundraiser for the United Way. I had been planning to dress up in a party dress and stuff my husband into his tux and go dance on the lawn because it sounds fun. But it also sounds horrifying. I have actually read The Great Gatsby and it wasn't actually about how much fun lawn parties are. This feels too me like suggesting we raise money for immigrants with a Sophie's Choice party. Dude. Read a book. I'm realizing that I can replace this with something more essential to my life. (Note: I don't mean skip it to be on FB, I mean skip it to do something in my Big Rocks.) Or, put it another way, I need to do what's in my calendar, and maybe that ought not to be in my calendar.
The second thing I am wondering about is to go visit my step dad for Father's Day. It requires a fair amount of effort on my part. I am inclined to say yes to this one. I can bunch up goals by listening to a book on tape. I've got a few purchased to Audiobooks that I could listen to if I run out of podcasts for six hours of driving.
The third opportunity I just received is to do a two day workshop. Actually, while I was writing this, the opportunity morphed and now I have two good options for where and how to do this. I've had the option to do this in the past and passed it up because the bang for the buck isn't there: if I spend $2K doing this I'll never make another $2K more because of it. In fact, I doubt I'll ever make anything more. It's not a great business move. But it fits in my Big Rocks in ways that I need to listen to. Last year I ran it through an ROI filter and turned it down. This time I think I'm going to do it. Now I have to decide between Philadelphia in October OR Miami in November. Philly in October sounds like the better plan. I will sit on this a bit before I commit. It's a big chunk of time and money.
Also, as I contemplate focusing, another business idea popped into my head nearly fully formed. I need to write that up while it's on my head and save it for another life. Or maybe to level up to in a few years. It's an interesting idea that involves selling a pre-packaged product, so I put it together once and it continues to make me money ever-after. It's a combination of ideas from several places and someone else may perceive me as having stolen their idea (about 1/5 of it comes from them), so I'll keep this one under my hat until for now. Maybe see if they want to collaborate. Someday.
Which reminds me: I have an idea for a not-for-profit to fix the world in ways I want it fixed. I could also do THAT. Is it a retirement business? A volunteer opportunity? A messiah complex? What's going on with me that I keep spinning out fully-formed ways of earning a living? I have one life. One wild and precious life. I need to get to what's essential.
How will I spend my one wild and precious life, as Mary Oliver asks?
One idea that came to me yesterday was to make following my Google calendar be my priority, then putting together a Google calendar that is stocked with Big Rocks. I have been getting a bit closer to this. Arlene Moss has a coaching bit about setting up a shadow calendar (note: it's behind the firewall in the XYPN Academy section.) My assistant set up a template week. I already deliberately went through and added in excessive amounts of vacation time. I can do more with this. I'm working with a coach, Joy Oyler, who can help me with that, too.
Another note for myself: the tool which truly brings the essential into focus are George Kinder's Three Questions. When it comes down to it, our hours are limited. What do we REALLY want?
I am debating three opportunities. One is a party tomorrow. I am realizing it is the very definition of what isn't essential. I had already been marveling at the tone deafness. It's a Great Gatsby lawn party, a fundraiser for the United Way. I had been planning to dress up in a party dress and stuff my husband into his tux and go dance on the lawn because it sounds fun. But it also sounds horrifying. I have actually read The Great Gatsby and it wasn't actually about how much fun lawn parties are. This feels too me like suggesting we raise money for immigrants with a Sophie's Choice party. Dude. Read a book. I'm realizing that I can replace this with something more essential to my life. (Note: I don't mean skip it to be on FB, I mean skip it to do something in my Big Rocks.) Or, put it another way, I need to do what's in my calendar, and maybe that ought not to be in my calendar.
The second thing I am wondering about is to go visit my step dad for Father's Day. It requires a fair amount of effort on my part. I am inclined to say yes to this one. I can bunch up goals by listening to a book on tape. I've got a few purchased to Audiobooks that I could listen to if I run out of podcasts for six hours of driving.
The third opportunity I just received is to do a two day workshop. Actually, while I was writing this, the opportunity morphed and now I have two good options for where and how to do this. I've had the option to do this in the past and passed it up because the bang for the buck isn't there: if I spend $2K doing this I'll never make another $2K more because of it. In fact, I doubt I'll ever make anything more. It's not a great business move. But it fits in my Big Rocks in ways that I need to listen to. Last year I ran it through an ROI filter and turned it down. This time I think I'm going to do it. Now I have to decide between Philadelphia in October OR Miami in November. Philly in October sounds like the better plan. I will sit on this a bit before I commit. It's a big chunk of time and money.
Also, as I contemplate focusing, another business idea popped into my head nearly fully formed. I need to write that up while it's on my head and save it for another life. Or maybe to level up to in a few years. It's an interesting idea that involves selling a pre-packaged product, so I put it together once and it continues to make me money ever-after. It's a combination of ideas from several places and someone else may perceive me as having stolen their idea (about 1/5 of it comes from them), so I'll keep this one under my hat until for now. Maybe see if they want to collaborate. Someday.
Which reminds me: I have an idea for a not-for-profit to fix the world in ways I want it fixed. I could also do THAT. Is it a retirement business? A volunteer opportunity? A messiah complex? What's going on with me that I keep spinning out fully-formed ways of earning a living? I have one life. One wild and precious life. I need to get to what's essential.