Do What Matters Most

Key idea 1

Improve your time management by focusing on your top priorities.

This is a recount from one of the writers, who previously served as a US air force pilot. During a standard training flight, all appeared normal until he executed a 180-degree turn. At that moment, an alert from the cockpit’s system drew his focus. While he was attending to the controls, another jet unexpectedly intersected his course.

The two aircraft were flying at speeds of 1000 mph, narrowly avoiding a collision by less than 100 feet as they soared through the air.

In the debriefing, both pilots cited being preoccupied with the numerous tasks within their own cockpits as the reason for not seeing the other jet, illustrating a phenomenon called task saturation. This occurs when a pilot is so inundated with tasks that they find it challenging to absorb all the external information, leading to potentially hazardous oversights. This issue is prevalent not just in aviation but also in professional environments.

The main takeaway is: Enhance your time management by focusing on your top priorities.

Chances are, you’re not a combat pilot, but it’s likely you’ve faced task saturation in everyday situations. This occurs when there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. According to a survey mentioned by the authors, 68% of managers identified their biggest hurdle as concentrating on their main priorities, and 80% lacked a structured method for organizing their time.

The authors devised a straightforward method for better time management, inspired by airforce practices. Pilots are taught to concentrate on essential indicators, termed primary instruments, which provide crucial information like airspeed or altitude. Prioritizing these is vital for survival in a jet. Similarly, by learning to prioritize effectively in your work environment, you can conquer task saturation.

The “Do What Matters Most” approach involves cultivating three key habits: creating a personal vision statement, establishing yearly objectives for both your work and personal life, and organizing your upcoming week ahead of time.

However, similar to how the author required a debrief to evaluate his flight, you also need to take a moment to step back before beginning to prioritize, as will be discussed in the subsequent key idea.

Key idea 2

Begin by evaluating your current methods and how you handle your priorities.

Amy, who climbed the ranks at American Express to become a senior director, found herself struggling with feelings of being overwhelmed and frustrated shortly after starting her new role. Despite her pride in her professional accomplishments, she noticed her relationships with her husband and daughter were deteriorating.

After participating in the authors’ “do what matters most” presentation at a conference, Amy came to understand that mere motivation was insufficient. By the presentation’s conclusion, she grasped an essential insight: while her ambition to enhance her performance and productivity was commendable, it was crucial for her to reevaluate and reorder her priorities.

The main takeaway is: Begin by evaluating your current methods and how you prioritize your tasks and goals.

To change how you handle your priorities, you first need to understand your present situation. How? By categorizing your daily tasks using the “do what matters most” framework.

This framework organizes your daily tasks into four groups. The first group consists of tasks that are both urgent and very important, while the second includes tasks that are important but not urgent. The remaining two groups cover tasks that are less critical: those that seem urgent but aren’t important, and those that are neither urgent nor important.

For instance, delaying the task of booking flights and accommodations for an important business trip until just a few days before departure would make this task fall into the first category. Individuals who constantly operate in this category might enjoy the thrill of working under pressure, but they often find themselves in a constant state of emergency management, which can eventually result in burnout.

Suppose you arrange the flight reservations weeks in advance. This action falls into the second category, characterized by low stress yet retaining high importance. By organizing your tasks in advance, you reduce stress on your body, which, in turn, enhances productivity. The remaining two categories encompass activities ranging from non-essential meetings to procrastination.

Consider: What portion of my day is allocated to each category?

The authors suggest that merely 25% of your daily tasks should be both high in stress and priority. Meanwhile, 70% of your time ought to be dedicated to tasks that are important yet low in stress.

Regarding the less critical tasks, you should aim to allocate just 5 to 15 percent of your time to them. However, it’s common for people to end up focusing more on these areas than they should. This doesn’t have to be the norm.

Key idea 3

Acquaint yourself with your main priorities by crafting a vision for each role you play in life.

Imagine you’re planning to construct your ideal home. Before drafting a budget or architectural plans, ignite your creativity. Visualize the location of the house, its size, and the number of bedrooms it will include.

Similarly, in your journey to self-improvement, envisioning your ideal self is essential. Only by visualizing the person you aspire to become can you chart the path to achieving your goals. This clear sense of direction is termed your personal vision – a vivid portrayal of your desired destination.

The core idea is to understand your priorities by developing a clear vision for each aspect of your life.

Initiating your personal vision begins with determining your top priorities. To do this, set aside some dedicated time and choose your preferred writing tools, be it traditional pen and paper or a digital spreadsheet.

Start by contemplating these queries: Two decades into the future, what achievements do you hope to have secured? In what ways do you aspire to enhance your life or contribute to your community? Which traits in others do you hold in high regard?

Now, with this list before you, consider the various roles you play in life. Each day, we assume multiple identities – whether as a parent, partner, manager, employee, or even in moments of self-care, focusing on maintaining our health and well-being.

List five to seven roles that you identify with. Beneath each role, describe your vision for it, employing the present tense to enhance the sense of reality. For instance, you might write, “I am a leader who motivates my team to excel,” under manager, or “I am committed to a healthy lifestyle,” under self-care, or perhaps “I am someone who supports and encourages my friends,” under friendships.

You’ll recognize that your vision is correctly formulated if it stirs up a mix of feelings within you. You should experience both enthusiasm and a slight sense of unease. This occurs because your vision is designed to encourage your development, guiding you towards your true priorities.

Key idea 4

To enhance productivity, establish yearly objectives that are quantifiable and attainable.

One evening, while a father was staying up late to work, having missed another family dinner, his little boy approached him and inquired, “Dad, how much money do you make in an hour?” Upon hearing his father say, “$40,” the boy asked, “Could I borrow $20?”

Annoyed by the interruption, the father harshly told his son to go to sleep. However, upon hearing soft cries coming from the bedroom, he felt remorseful and walked up to his son’s bed to give him $20.

The child, smiling, pulled out his piggy bank from beneath his bed and gathered all his savings. After counting it, he presented the cash to his father, saying, “Now that I have $40, can I buy an hour of your time?”

This poignant story underscores the importance of prioritizing the most significant aspects of our lives, emphasizing that establishing yearly objectives in both our careers and personal lives is an effective strategy for achieving this focus.

Here’s the essential takeaway: Enhance your efficiency and results by establishing yearly objectives that are both quantifiable and attainable.

Recall the personal vision you crafted for each role you play in life? It’s now time to lay out a roadmap to make those visions come to life, using goal-setting as your strategy. The authors advise formulating goals to reach by year’s end, unless you’re reading this near the end of the year, in which case, planning for the new year post-Christmas is perfectly acceptable.

Start by listing your roles as you did while developing your vision, but now assign annual goals to each. A good method to ensure these goals are practical is by applying the SMART criteria, which means the goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

For instance, if your objective is to improve your fitness, you might set a SMART goal like this: “Lower my resting heart rate to 66 beats per minute by the end of August.”

After establishing your vision and goals, make sure to display them prominently—like on your desk or next to your bathroom mirror. This ensures they’re always within view, allowing you to consult them, whether consciously or subconsciously.

We’re approaching the final stage of the program, which involves formulating an action plan. This next crucial concept introduces what the authors term pre-weekly planning.

Key idea 5

Improve your time management with the pre-weekly planning method.

Prior to every flight, pilots engage in pre-flight planning, a detailed preparation that can last up to ten hours. This process includes studying the destination and weather forecasts, mapping out the flight path, and ensuring the aircraft is in a condition fit for flight.

Consider the consequences if a pilot chose to forego this preparation even just one time. Chaos and disarray would inevitably ensue.

Similarly, just as meticulous pre-flight planning is indispensable for pilots to maintain order, pre-week planning is crucial for anyone looking to keep their life on track and manageable.

The essential takeaway is to enhance your time management through the application of a pre-weekly planning strategy.

By establishing a routine of organizing your week ahead of time, you’re positioning yourself to effectively bring your personal vision to life. While you might already use daily task lists or reminder notes for immediate duties, adopting a pre-week planning approach elevates this process. It encourages regular reflection on what’s truly important, allowing you to prioritize and allocate time to these significant tasks each week.

The specific tools you choose for this task, whether a physical notebook or a digital device, are not as important as engaging in the planning process itself.

Dedicate between 20 to 45 minutes each week to plan ahead, selecting a consistent time that works for you, such as late in the week on Friday afternoon or during the weekend, to carry out this planning ritual.

Make sure not to postpone this task until Monday morning. The aim is to get a head start by planning your week ahead of its beginning, allowing you the perspective needed to overview the entire week comprehensively.

As the week wraps up and you’re ready to plan ahead, start by reflecting on your personal vision and goals. Ensure you have them documented. Then, consider actions you can undertake in the upcoming week to progress towards these objectives.

Occasionally, you might find there’s nothing immediate you can do toward your goal. For example, if you’re aiming to host a networking event by October 1st and it’s currently February, it might be too early to take specific actions. However, if it’s April, you could start drafting a guest list or sending out preliminary RSVP emails.

The key is to assign a specific time and date to all the tasks you plan to accomplish. By doing this, you’ll transform ambiguous intentions into concrete steps.

Key idea 6

Allocate a designated time for every task listed in your pre-week planning.

John, a high-ranking official at PepsiCo with years of experience, participated in the “do what matters most” seminar led by the authors. In the session focused on creating visions, within the capacity of being a parent, he set a straightforward objective: To make a call to his son.

When inquired about the reason, John disclosed that he hadn’t communicated with his son for seven years following a dispute. Consequently, the authors encouraged John to set a timeline for accomplishing his goal. This led to the establishment of a specific target: to reach out to his son by making a call at 7 pm on Wednesday.

Half a year later, during a subsequent workshop, John shared that he had achieved his objective. From the initial phone conversation onwards, he and his son had been talking every week and had even formed a newfound friendship.

John’s story illustrates a couple of key points: Identifying your priorities is an essential initial move, yet what truly impacts change is setting specific times for your objectives.

The essential takeaway is this: For every task on your pre-week planning list, assign a definite time slot.

You’re aware that objectives ought to be quantifiable and have deadlines. Additionally, your pre-weekly planning ought to be precise. Assign a specific time and date to every task.

For instance, if you aim to mentor more junior staff by month’s end, you could plan something like this in your calendar: “Tuesday at 2pm, extend mentorship offer to Sue.”

The authors assure that scheduling by itself can boost your productivity by 50 to 80 percent over the course of a year.

Pre-week planning is also highly effective for teams. However, it’s important to note: just because a department plans together doesn’t mean individuals should skip their personal planning routines.

As a team leader, encourage each team member to embrace the three key practices we’ve covered: creating a personal vision, establishing annual goals, and engaging in pre-week planning.

After everyone has incorporated these practices into their routines, organize a weekly all-hands meeting on Monday mornings. This meeting will allow the entire team to synchronize their plans for the week.

Dedicating yourself and maintaining a routine with goal-setting and pre-week planning will eventually become instinctive. You’ll discover that adhering to your vision and organizing your priorities clearly boosts your productivity. Moreover, this approach will also significantly reduce your stress levels.

Final summary

This book’s central theme is that enhancing productivity and performance is achievable by mastering the art of prioritizing essential tasks. Begin by defining a personal vision and establishing yearly objectives for every aspect of your life, whether it’s your career or personal affairs. To increase the likelihood of fulfilling these objectives, plan weekly tasks that align with your goals.

Practical tip: Start each day by assessing your priorities. While planning your week in advance is beneficial, enhancing your productivity further involves establishing a morning routine. Spend a few moments each morning, even before getting out of bed, to go through your day’s tasks and pinpoint the two or three most crucial ones. Kicking off your day with this mindset can boost your motivation and sharpen your focus.