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This lesson I want to talk about your most important task.
Your Most Important Task
Your most important task is often a biggie.
- it is something you need to focus on or deal with
- maybe you need to write
- maybe it’s difficult
- you may have fear around it
- you procrastinate
I get it. We all have those tasks on the to-do list or in the inbox that we need to face. My recommended method:
- Create a space in your morning. This is your most important task and you are going to do it. Designate a chunk of your first hour to get some of it done.
- Start small. Do 10-15 minutes every morning. Chip away and get a chunk of it done.
Your most important task will have a big impact on your life. You have all heard of the Pereto Principle that is the 80/20 rule. So, 20% of your tasks have 80% of the impact. Focus more on taking care of the 20% that has the highest impact. Let’s say you have 20 tasks. Now take the 20% of 20, which is 4. Of those 4 tasks, take the 20% and you will get 1. That one single task has a bigger impact on my life that the top 3 of the 4. Focus on the 1. The 20% of the 20%. The numbers are just ideas. We are focusing on the small fraction that has the largest impact. Then you do the next task that has the highest impact. Focus on the big ones first.
The rest of your day is the medium tasks. Get as many of those done as you can. If you push them back to the next day, that is okay. There may be a time when the medium task becomes a big impact task. You don’t have to get the entire 20 today. Let go of that.
If you get the high-impact ones done, we are doing great! Of course, having a backlog is not the most fun feeling in the world, but we can’t finish the entire backlog today. We can’t even finish it in the next 2-3 days. There is always going to be a backlog. That is the nature of to-do lists. You never get to the bottom, it is revolving. Focus on the highest ones in your most important hours. Later on you can get to as many of the lower ones as you can.
Have a hard line. It is easy to push off the most important task. Have a hard line where you do your most important task after one of the easier ones. The whole goal is to just get started. Just start. If I am going to write a blog post, I just need to write down the first few words. That is all you focus on. Just focus on the 5% of that most important task, which is the first movement of that task. What is the smallest movement you can do to get going?
Clear away the clutter and distractions. Clear away the desk. Clear the computer desktop. It is easy to get caught up in the online distraction.
Narrow it down to one thing. Put yourself into that task with presence and with joy. Be fully grateful and enjoy that most important task.
Be sure to do your final check-in.