Our Best Self Podcast: Episode 001
Do you often feel like you have no time for everything you want to achieve and accomplish? I know I have in the past, and it has taken a lot of trial and error to find methods that have helped me juggle all aspects of life.
My life involves (at this moment):
- Being a Father
- Full time job
- Coaching athletes at night and weekends
- Charity work — building a hospital in Rwanda currently
- Publishing my ideas through writing, social posts, and now podcasts
- My health — working daily to maximize my longest quality life possible
Everyone has different priorities, and within every item of my list above I too have sub-areas that I am equally juggling.
Being a Father means managing my daughter’s mental health, helping her find joy in various activities (gymnastics, swimming, reading, etc..), and navigating the evil the world has in it.
At my job I have various projects that are super important and a global team I care very much about. Achieving success here means our customers win, by association I feel pride in our work having an impact, and my team + colleagues grow intellectually in meaningful ways together.
Juggling requires knowing what matters most
One habit I repeat daily is to repeat what matters the most for each of my priorities. Literally list what are the core areas (that same list above is written everyday), and what are my intentions for each. This takes about 3 minutes.
Then I write in my intentions — what is the most important area I can focus on today that’ll improve that item. This isn’t really a task but a concept. For instance, today I wrote for my Job “Making my leadership stronger, and #2 Improving the lives of my team”.
This allows me to see where I need to go for the day and gives permission to work outside the classic task lists. Too often we see tasks as the goal, but in fact it is achieving the intention.
I do this for every item on my list — every day. Somedays I repeat, somedays I forget items, and other days new ones appear. What is interesting is if the new ones stay or oldies remain absent. There is a signal here worth personally assessing.
Your top 5 for the day
In the end of my morning session I create FIVE must does. These are pulled directly from list based on the intentions. These are the must, not should list. These get done before all else, and when you do — you have WON THE DAY.
Andy Frissella and other successful leaders today follow this same advice (note some have a top 3, others top 5, and some top 10). In the end, pick something and stick with it. This is YOUR system, but have one that enables you to stay on point to your goals.
Win the day
Build momentum, by confirming your focus and then completing top 5.
Life happens, so be sure your top 5 are done ASAP. Speed matters more than anything here, because 100% completion at 80% quality is better than nothing. As a personal rule, I do not allow escapisms until my top 5 are completed (that may mean when I am home at 9pm, that I get my list done and then I enjoy a book, watch a show, or eat dinner).
If 5 is too much, start with 3 and then build up over a few weeks. We are in control. Our contribution and value to the world depends on us building a process that supports a discipline that fits our personality. You are in control to change the world, even if that world begins in your close sphere of family and friends.
Go on, we need you to!
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About Me
I am a father, study of human behavior, strategist, cybersecurity veteran, and a coach and mentor on a journey to give more than I receive everyday. I lead teams globally, build products, and daily an executive for a leading company where I serve the largest companies in the world using the largest cloud deployments in the world impacting the financial services, healthcare, and fintech industries. I provide these publications and content through my media agency to deliver insights and advantages. Mindset, mental strength, mentorship, personal improvement, health, fitness, and humanist ideas are drawn from personal research and practice. Everything read and heard is my original works and my own perspective. All rights reserved for noted authors and sources. I produce research and strategy, as well as provide advisory services that include inquiries, briefings, consulting projects, and presentations on published findings as well as bespoke speaking engagements where I often keynote at conferences, seminars, and roundtables annually.