Tag Archives: priorities

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Say Yes to Your Goals

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We’re a few weeks into January. It’s that point where you’ve probably already encountered a few hurdles to the goals you set yourself at the start of the year.

full focus planner Michael Hyatt

 

Don’t beat yourself up. Life will throw an excess of demands and distractions at us as we pursue our goals. We must relentlessly say ‘Yes’ to our goals if we are to hope to be able to say ’No’ to everything that isn’t of equal importance.

To do that, we need a way to ensure that even when things get (sometimes unavoidably) in the way or we drift off track, our goals, and the larger purpose driving them, never slip too far from our attention.

A tool I have found incredibly helpful in equipping me to do just that is the Full Focus Planner from Michael Hyatt. That’s why I want to give you the chance to win one!

Here are three simple ways anyone can keep saying ‘Yes’ to their goals, and how the Full Focus Planner helps me do that –

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Why you might be making more progress than you think

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I came to the end of a week recently, and I felt as though, even though I had given it my all, there was still so much not done.

progress

Maybe you know the feeling.

Maybe you’ve recently finished off a week, or even the year, and felt as thought there was so much more you would have liked to have accomplished.

But then I realised something.

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The Battle for Your Goals

and the most powerful defence you can create

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You’re probably familiar with the story of the big rocks, the pebbles and the sand in the vase. A teacher stands up in front of the class and fills a glass vase with big rocks. ‘Is it full?’ he asks. ‘Yes’, the class answers. Then he pours in small pebbles, which fill up the cracks between the big rocks. ‘Is it full now?’. ‘Yes’, they answer. Finally, he pours in a bag of sand, the grains making their way into the tiny gaps that remain.

goals

The principle in the story is that if you start with the sand, it will fill the vase completely, leaving no room for the big rocks. Starting with the big rocks and then moving onto smaller things is the only way to get all the elements in. This, of course, is an analogy for starting with the ‘big rocks’ in the way we plan and live out our lives – the things that really matter to us – and then allowing the smaller things that matter less to fit around them.

It’s a classic story that gets used again and again, because the principle is true. Being deliberate about the most important goals and values in our lives is the only way to ensure we give them the time and energy they deserve. 

Ultimately, it’s a story about getting what you want. What you really want. 

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Do you have a Reboot List?

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Sometimes life knocks us around a bit. When that happens, often the life-giving routines and disciplines that normally feature in our days and weeks get a bit off-track, and we can look around one day and realise – we need a bit of a reboot.

reboot list

Enter – the Reboot List.

My reboot list comes out when I realise that things just feel a bit off, and I need to reorient around some key points of reference – around the things that I know set me up for the best kind of week, and life.

Here’s what’s on my reboot list:

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Less but Better: Life by Design

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When I surveyed readers of this blog, one of the strongest themes that emerged was a desire for greater clarity in your lives. So what kind of deliberate experiments might help along that journey?

Well, recently I’ve been mulling on the phrase “Less but better”.

It’s the credo and book title of German designer Dieter Rams, famous for his minimalist approach to design and an influence on the design aesthetic of Apple.

You may have seen a video spoof that was created a number of years ago re-imagining Apple packaging in the Microsoft packaging style of the time. It demonstrates beautifully the merit of the ‘less but better’ principle in design.

 

Of course, it’s not just in design that Rams’ credo is worth consideration. The deliberate design of our lives should also prompt us to consider the ways in which ‘less but better’ might be worth implementation. 

In my own life, I’ve been experimenting with designing a life of greater clarity by pursuing ‘less but better’…