Do More by Doing Less
Posted by Cheri Kuhn on
Much has been written about setting goals and the tools and practices to help achieve those goals. At The Perfect Planner, it is our passion to help others develop a road map to unlock their full potential. Most people have set goals of some kind: either personal goals, goals at work, or goals for your business if you are an entrepreneur. Most people have too many goals; and often those goals are not written S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound)-if they are written down at all.
Why does any of this matter? It doesn’t if you have no desire to get more from your life or your business (or both). But if you want to get more; from your business, from your life, from your passions or hobbies; then this matters a great deal. If you want to get more done, you need to do less.
In EOS, we use the sticky term Rocks for our 90-day business priorities, our quarterly goals. Inevitably, the list of “most important things” that need to get done in a quarter is long. We know from many years of experience that it’s really hard and almost impossible to get 12 really important things done in the next 90 days (unless you go on vacation to accomplish your Rocks!). With much encouragement and cajoling, we strive to whittle that list down to a more manageable number (between 3-7; closer to 3).
Make these your priority! So often, we hear, “My Rocks seem like extra work on top of my regular work.” With perhaps more passion than is necessary, we reply with, “We just spent several hours determining that these were the MOST IMPORTANT priorities for the next 90 days to achieve your vision for this year and beyond. How can the most important things be the ‘extra work’? We encourage you to look at this ‘work’ through a different lens to help them clear some clutter from their day-to-day. What about you? Are there things you are doing that are not moving you towards your goals?
It is easy to miss the big picture when we are schlepping around in the weeds. But if you truly want to achieve great things, you must discipline yourself (and your team) to manage their priorities and eliminate some of the noise that interferes with your greater purpose.
When you are ready to get more done, just remember: less is more.
Why does any of this matter? It doesn’t if you have no desire to get more from your life or your business (or both). But if you want to get more; from your business, from your life, from your passions or hobbies; then this matters a great deal. If you want to get more done, you need to do less.
In EOS, we use the sticky term Rocks for our 90-day business priorities, our quarterly goals. Inevitably, the list of “most important things” that need to get done in a quarter is long. We know from many years of experience that it’s really hard and almost impossible to get 12 really important things done in the next 90 days (unless you go on vacation to accomplish your Rocks!). With much encouragement and cajoling, we strive to whittle that list down to a more manageable number (between 3-7; closer to 3).
Make these your priority! So often, we hear, “My Rocks seem like extra work on top of my regular work.” With perhaps more passion than is necessary, we reply with, “We just spent several hours determining that these were the MOST IMPORTANT priorities for the next 90 days to achieve your vision for this year and beyond. How can the most important things be the ‘extra work’? We encourage you to look at this ‘work’ through a different lens to help them clear some clutter from their day-to-day. What about you? Are there things you are doing that are not moving you towards your goals?
It is easy to miss the big picture when we are schlepping around in the weeds. But if you truly want to achieve great things, you must discipline yourself (and your team) to manage their priorities and eliminate some of the noise that interferes with your greater purpose.
When you are ready to get more done, just remember: less is more.