When I work with leaders, I always challenge them on how they prioritise. The usual way people choose what they should focus on is by asking, “When is it due?”
Deadlines tend to dominate our thinking. If you have two tasks – one due now and another in three weeks – most of us start with the one due now.
During the Work Smarter Live Better training, I challenge this and suggest to first prioritise by impact. The crucial question is: “What has the most long-term impact?” It’s about looking at everything on your plate and asking which task will truly make a difference in the long run.
In today’s video, I want to share another simple but powerful question that can help you prioritise and make tough decisions.
Prioritising by impact is absolutely key. However, I would like to suggest another layer to this question, inspired by a book I read a few years ago, recommended to me by a client. The book is called “4000 Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman.
The title is based on the average human lifespan, which is about 4000 weeks. There’s even a website where you can input your age and get a poster showing how many weeks you have left. It’s quite confronting, but it drives home the message that life is a series of decisions.
Oliver’s book challenges us to face tough decisions head-on, whether they’re at work or in our personal lives. We’ve all become pretty good at procrastinating on these tough choices, finding excuses to avoid them. Oliver recommends a simple question to cut through the procrastination: “Does this choice diminish me or enlarge me?”
If a choice diminishes you, deep down, you know it’s not the right one. Picture yourself a few weeks, months, or even years from now – you’ll feel diminished by this decision.
If a choice enlarges you, even if it’s tough one, you’ll feel it will help you grow and choose the right path when you look back in the future.
This idea adds an important layer to the concept of long-term impact. It’s not just about what has an impact, but whether that impact will help you grow or hold you back.
I can reflect on some of the major decisions I’ve had to make, and these decisions had significant impacts. Often, I procrastinated on these choices for weeks or months. I wish I had challenged myself earlier with the question: “Does this diminish me or enlarge me?”
So, my question to you is: What tough decision are you procrastinating on right now? What choices are you finding excuses to avoid? It’s time to bite the bullet and ask yourself, “Will this diminish me long-term, or will it enlarge me?”
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip.
I hope this helps you navigate your tough decisions and prioritise what truly matters.
Have a lovely day!
A bientôt,
Cyril
