Priority Shipping

We have to stop saying we don’t have the time.

We have time.

We don’t have it as a priority.

If we did, we’d accomplish it. It’d be the first thing we check off the list.

Often, the thing that is most important to us might also scare the hell out of us. So, we find reasons not to do it. We push it aside. We say we’ll get it done tomorrow.

Most of the other stuff on our list isn’t of high priority. It can wait.

We have to stop putting our dreams on hold for another day. For the time when we feel ready. We’ll never be fully ready. We’ll always have doubts. We’ll always question the path forward.

We have to start anyways.

Put all of the other shit aside for a moment.

Accept what is truly important and spend time on that, every day, even if it is just for a few moments. Advancing it forward, at a slow speed, adds up over a long time horizon.

But we never move off the starting line if we don’t actually start.

Priority Shipping2022-11-21T21:05:13-04:00

Less But Better

Today I deleted over 30 apps from my phone.

They weren’t serving me anymore.

They were weighing me down.

A lot of life is like that.

We sign up for things because we’re scared to say no, we hoard things because we think we might need them, and we bottle up old feelings thinking they are benefitting us.

In Greg McKeown’s bestselling book, “Essentialism” his main thesis is this…

“Less but better”

How can we all apply this in our lives?

Eliminate things that are unnecessary and prioritize the things that bring us fulfillment.

Hang out with fewer people but have deeper relationships with them.
Commit to fewer projects but become a master at those few.
Focus on fewer thoughts but expand on the most worthy ones.

Priority is not supposed to be plural.

We need to stop overwhelming our plates with more than we can handle.

Try “less but better” and see how we do.

It might be one of the most freeing things we’ve ever given priority to.

Less But Better2022-11-09T18:30:09-04:00

Indistractable

We all have things in the category of “easy to do” but we choose not to do them. It’s not that we don’t want to do them, what it comes down to is the priority assignment we put on that thing to actually do it.

Whether that is to take 10 minutes to go for a walk, read a book, meditate, sit in thought, etc, or other things like; sitting and talking with your spouse in the morning, reading a book to your child before bed, sending a note to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, etc.

It’s not that it isn’t easy. It is extremely easy. What is difficult is putting it ahead of other “time wasters” that are urgent but not important. What is difficult is creating a daily habit. What is difficult is changing who we are now with who we want to become.

Those are the things that are difficult.

If we can put all the things we do up for debate on their priority level we might be able to better filter out the urgent and not important and sprinkle in the more fulfilling and long-lasting.

It might not be easy but we can be damn sure it is worth it.

Indistractable2022-07-31T13:16:03-04:00

Consistency = Patterns / Priority

People are consistent. It’s hard to argue that. 

They may be consistently inconsistent but that’s still being consistent. 

Mostly, the word consistency gets spoken about in a positive light. “Someone is consistent with doing X.”

However, we can be consistent at being rude, consistent at never returning messages, consistent at showing up late for every meeting, etc. 

I created a simple formula to articulate it more and how to determine if we can change it or not.

Consistency = patterns / priority 

What patterns have we established that are tried and true and won’t change without a ton of work? Think about what our friends or colleagues are “known” for. What labels can we put on them? Those are their patterns. 

What are we known for?

Now, people can change. It’s true. And that is where priority comes in. The patterns never change until the priority level rises. 

Once we can reprioritize what is important then we have the opportunity to alter our patterns and build consistency with new habits or routines. 

That’s the only way it works. 

It starts from the inside. From the belief that we can change and we want to change. Whatever the motivator it generally won’t matter until we make the tough decision to prioritize first. 

When it has more priority it gets done. It gets focused on. There is a chance it can change. 

But, let’s not forget. Consistency isn’t always good if it’s for the wrong things. If we prioritize things that are unhealthy or detrimental to our life then it can work in the other direction as well. 

We have to continually focus on managing our priority list and making the most important things higher. We have to build better routines and habits off of those priorities. We have to be consistently good at sticking to those newly formed habits to create change.

That change can build a new foundation for us. One we can build consistent patterns off of going forward.

By creating this avenue for change, we have a better chance to become the person we want to become and it can help us change the “labels” that society puts on us, especially if we don’t agree with them.

Consistency = Patterns / Priority2022-06-01T15:49:02-04:00

Less Than Or Equal To

Imagine a world where we have less than what we have today.

What could be taken away to still make us feel like we have enough to have a happy life?
What can we do without?

Even more important to ask is if we had less than we have today would we be grateful for everything we have today? Would we complain about that little thing that didn’t go exactly perfect? Would we overthink things that are out of our control? Would we respect the people around us that have differing opinions and leave them be?

In a world where we’re always thinking more more more, have we ever stopped and considered what if we had less?

Less Than Or Equal To2022-04-22T20:05:23-04:00

Important Versus Urgent

What is the most important thing on your to-do list that you want to complete today?

Shut everything else down and put some focused effort to get it off your list as soon as you can. The longer you wait into the day the more distractions appear that prevent you from finishing this critical work. Urgent items that tend to not even be important will creep up. Time will be robbed from your day.

Once that critical task is complete you’ll feel energized and that a huge weight was taken off your shoulders. This will improve your attitude and motivate you to tackle other important tasks.

Don’t let “Tomorrow” become your crutch as to why something never got completed today.

Important Versus Urgent2022-04-11T19:17:59-04:00

When Was The Last Time You Quit?

priority

When was the last time you quit something?

Like realized it wasn’t fitting into your life and just quit it.

We all want to do more. Workout more. Make a few more calls. Spend more time with family. If you’re not doing more its said that you are falling behind or missing out.

But at what cost?

When was the last time we prioritized our day/week and analyzed the things that are distractions versus the things that are actually helping us grow or are important to us?

I believe this is one of the most ultimate struggles we have inside ourselves. We want to do everything and be everywhere. We stretch ourselves too thin.

Whether it’s wasted activities that are “time robbers” or giving our time to others who simply don’t respect it, there are a lot of applications to this question.

Something I’ve continued to ponder when it comes to prioritizing my time and efforts because I was doing so many things at surface level and feeling like I was just treading water. It wasn’t until I realized that I needed to go deeper into only a few of them and “quit” the others that I started to gain momentum.

By the way, it wasn’t easy, nothing ever is.

So, Here is how I prioritize some things now…

  1. My son
  2. Sleep
  3. Crossfit/Fitness
  4. Nutrition
  5. Full-Time Job
  6. Podcast/Children’s Books

And the list goes on….

There are a lot of balls to juggle and only so much time available. So let’s take a step back so I can share a bit more of how I found time.

For the longest time, my Sundays were filled with NFL Football all day long. As a huge 49ers fan (still disappointed in our Super Bowl loss!) I never missed a game. And I didn’t miss others, either. I played fantasy football, used to bet on games, and wanted to “enjoy” my Sunday. And that’s fine if you choose to do this. But for me, it wasn’t cutting it.

My son was growing, and it was a priority to be there with him and for him.

I started the Just Get Started Podcast and wanted to spend time editing it for the following week.

I also had business ideas I wanted to work on and test out.

And I was getting into CrossFit and had lofty goals of strength and weight gains.

Oh, and another HUGE priority of mine is sleep. I am a firm believer in all of the sleep research out there that you need a minimum of 7 hours per night of actual sleep, not just laying in bed.

So when I started to add it all up it made sense. Remove as much of the Sports/TV that I could while still allowing myself enough to satisfy those “cravings”. And that’s what I did. I only watched my 49ers and occasionally a game or two here and there if they were on a bye or played the primetime game. I also took out almost all TV watching during the week and spend that time with my son before bed and then work on some projects after.

As I’ve built this habit, it’s been amazing how I’ve trimmed even further without even noticing. I don’t have the NFL Sunday Ticket not so I can only watch my 49ers when they are on Primetime slots. I have taken out almost all weekly TV watching as well besides catching a few shows I like to watch like Shark Tank or Westworld. Since these are streamed, I can watch whenever I want so I am in more control.

Again, you may decide to do something different but it first starts with your priority list. What is most important in your life to focus on. Do those things first and if you are running into trouble with time available then you have to look farther down the list to what you are doing that is causing the problem. Although it may be fun or cool to do, you may have to make the sacrifice because, in order to grow and evolve and be fulfilled, you have to be focusing on the things that are most important.

Figure that out and I am confident you’ll free up a lot of wasted time and be much happier each and every day.

Carpe Diem,

Brian

When Was The Last Time You Quit?2021-03-19T10:42:27-04:00
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