Can you imagine a CEO telling their employees, “We don’t really have a strategy or vision, and we haven’t thought about our key priorities. We’ll just handle things as they come”?
It sounds ridiculous, right? So why do we often treat our personal lives this way?
In this video, I want to share one of the most important questions I regularly ask myself.
I’m currently in Brisbane, having just finished a session with 70 leaders from a global organisation. We discussed workload management, the daily flood of tasks, and prioritization. But instead of focusing on business priorities, I had them think about their personal priorities.
I asked them to consider their personal goals. Interestingly, a study I read long ago revealed that only 3% to 5% of people spend time thinking about what they want to achieve in their personal lives and turn those thoughts into written priorities. So, we did this exercise. I asked them to identify two or three things—whether projects or ongoing activities—that, if focused on over the next three months, would have a significant long-term impact on their lives. They wrote these down and shared them with the group.
This is such a profound exercise. Every quarter, I set my business priorities, but I also ask myself what personal priorities will have a lasting impact on my life. It takes me about half an hour each quarter to answer this question and write it down. I create what I call a compass plan, guiding my direction for the next quarter. This process gives me clarity and helps me organize and plan my weeks, ensuring I prioritize my personal goals and protect time for them.
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
In my journey training leaders, it’s not just about managing their workload, emails, or calendars. It’s about balancing work with an amazing personal life. The principles are the same for both.
So, my questions for you is this: What is one thing—just one—that, if you focused on it for the next three months, would have a significant long-term impact on your life?
I hope you have a wonderful day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
