Do Less With More Focus

Lately, my mantra has been, “Do less with more focus”.  Normally, my to-do list is quite long and impossible to accomplish in a day.  Nevertheless I’m tempted to try to do everything. In following my mantra, every morning I prioritize the top three most important tasks of the day and focus on those.

What doesn’t make it to my top three is maintained on a backburner list. If time permits, I may get to them but they are not a priority. These items may find their way into the top three list later in the week.

I’ve noticed three main benefits from following this mantra:

1.       I’m more likely to complete all top three tasks

2.       I don’t rush or overlook key steps – this maintains my organization and quality standards

3.       I feel accomplished at the end of the work day

Prioritization is a key to success. Intentionally limiting your daily to-do list to three items takes vigilance.  It forces me to reevaluate every task and its importance. It makes me focus on what really needs to be done. The paradox of doing less with more focus is that I get more done. By the end of the week I find that I crossed more off my to-do list than in prior weeks when I tried to do it all.

After work as I reflect upon my day I typically notice that I accomplished all my priorities and feel on top of my game.