If everything is a priority then nothing is. I sat in hundreds of meetings in the twenty years I spent in the corporate world where we discussed our need to focus.

The irony is we developed new areas for focus at each meeting, but we never eliminated a thing from our to do list. We just kept adding and adding and adding….

Mr. Miagi told young Daniel to “Focus, Danielson.  Focus.”  I heard it and believed!  But the question that The Karate Kid did not answer was – How?

Diffusion of Effort versus Focus

Focus requires elimination.  Acquiring and maintaining focus through elimination is a discipline.

Elimination is a discipline the most productive people have.  It is a discipline that underperforming yet talented people need to cultivate.  The same can be said for businesses as well.

Establishing Priorities

We all need to prioritize our lives. Few people will argue with that sentiment. At best, anyone failing to effectively prioritize will have mediocre results.  At worst, they will have a life full of failures and missed opportunities.

I am not writing this to convince anyone they need to have priorities.  If you are reading this and you are floating through life without any goals, please email me privately so we can discuss this–no charge for that coaching session!

This post is for those of us who see the need to set priorities and goals.  The issue is not recognition of the need for priorities.  The issue for us tends to be successful follow-through.

How Many Priorities?

Periodically, I look in the mirror and realize I am sliding towards a life of mediocrity.  I have allowed my to do list to grow to unrealistic lengths.  My priorities are still on that list, but they are drowning among less important items. 

Interestingly, I was probably better at keeping my teams focused on their priorities than I was on doing it for myself.  We started with a long list and pared it down to just a few items at each meeting.

I thought I was helping my team when I would narrow our priorities to 3-5 per quarter.  I knew we were ahead of the curve.  Many of my peers and competitors walked out of meetings with 10-15 goals.

I Wasn’t Right.  I Was Just Less Wrong!

Well the Covey Group did a study that showed I wasn’t right.  I was just less wrong than those other leaders.

Covey evaluated the number of goals people established versus the number that were actually accomplished.  They found that the number of goals a person or organization sets is inversely proportional to the number they actually achieve.

Eliminating Priorities

Sometimes I find I started with an unrealistically long list.  Other times the issue is a new opportunity that I don’t want to miss out on.  So my list grows. Either way, I must discipline myself to begin eliminating.

Old Priorities

If I have too many priorities, I must be disciplined in eliminating the good ones in favor of keeping the best ones.  The question I need to ask myself is:

“What one or two things will have the biggest impact?”

(On my life, my family or my team- depending on the setting)

Impact is the key!  I need to discipline myself to answer these questions:

• What will be the magnitude of the impact if I accomplish this goal?
• What is the worst that will happen if I do not accomplish the goal?
• What will make the biggest difference on my life, for my family or for my team if it gets accomplished?

If it does not rank in the top two, it is not my priority!  It may be a good goal to have, but it is not my best one.

New Priorities

Once I have established a set of goals or priorities, I must be disciplined in avoiding “goal creep.”  Personally, this is my downfall.  I can get excited over a lot of new and shiny strategies.  I can convince myself very easily to expand my priority list.

They seem to all have promise.  They make sense and others are implementing them.  I want to innovate and jump on things so I don’t miss out.

This discipline of elimination requires me to evaluate the new opportunity versus the priorities I have already established.

Question:  Is this new opportunity better than what is already on my list?

Answer:  No.  Then it is not a priority.

Answer:  Yes.  Then I must eliminate one of the other priorities before I begin to work on the new opportunity.

The idea that I can maintain focus by adding something else to my to do list is a fallacy.  Focus can not occur through the defusion of effort.  If I truly want to focus, I must brutally evaluate every new opportunity in comparison to my established goals.

The Bottom Line:

To achieve our goals the key for many of us is the discipline of elimination.  I know that when I turn off the radio, my cell phone, and my email, I can write a blog in half the time it takes me to write one otherwise.

Why?  The Discipline of Elimination works.  When I write, I know my priority so I eliminate the good in favor of the best.  I have a singular focus, and therefore I am more productive.

I have tried it the other way and my results were underwhelming.  I am sure you have had that same experience at some point personally, at work or in your family.

I can’t make everything a priority and expect to get anything done.   Whether it is a daily to do list, a quarterly business plan, or a family five year plan, focusing on the priorities requires elimination.

For me, the real goal is to eliminate stagnation and mediocrity.  If I am to do this, I must eliminate the good goals in my life in favor of the best.

Question:

What part of the discipline of elimination can you implement with yourself, at work, or with your family?