Focus on what matters

I am currently involved with several social movements, teaching two classes at Georgetown University, leading my company through a critical phase of how to upscale, and involved with many different projects. I still make time to spend quality time with my two daughters and wife. When I share my responsibilities with others, they always ask me the same question: How do you manage it all!? 

The secret is that you have to focus on what matters. You have to focus on what brings the highest value in each situation. And let go of the stuff that takes time but is not essential.

💡E​​xample: If I have a workshop or a class to design, I put almost all of my time into designing the learning experience the participants will have - that is what will deliver the highest value to them. On the other side, I spend very little time on making my PowerPoint presentation super fancy. Because that is not that important really. If I have to write a report for a client about the program/workshop, I will not focus on that too much either. That is not what I do best, that is not where I add value. It doesn't matter that much to the client or me! What matters is when participants share their feedback that this is the best course/workshop they took and that it was useful to them! And that is what matters.

🔍 You have to learn how to distinguish what really matters.

Whatever you do, you have to think about what delivers the highest value for the people I’m working with? What is the essence of this work?

Essence is the key concept. Think about a knife that you need to cut stuff. What is the essence of the knife? The handle? Its shape? No, it’s the sharpens of its blade. The handle and its shape should be good enough so that you can hold it, but if the blade is not sharp, the knife loses its core purpose.

🔥 Perfectionism is the enemy of excellence

Once you clarify the essence of your work, your next meeting, an event you are planning, your workshop, class …the next step is to become comfortable with not being perfect in aspects that are not important!

In my view, perfectionism is the enemy of excellence. If everything needs to be perfect, then everything is important, and nothing is really important. The time you are spending on making everything perfect is the time you are NOT spending on making the essential parts even better.

In my example of preparing for a workshop, instead of spending 2 hours on making an amazing presentation which will add just a bit of extra value, I would use only 30 minutes for the presentation and spend an additional 1.5 hours on the workshop experience - how can I get more creative with the exercises, simulations, be more precise in my teaching, etc. That's where more value is!

✊ Until next time, do what matters!

📚Book Recommendation 

Here is an amazing book that further argues the idea of focusing on what matters: "Essentialism - The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown. Here are three key points from the book:

• The Essence of Essentialism: It’s about doing less, but better. Focus only on the most important tasks and commitments, and say no to everything else. McKeown emphasizes that by concentrating on what truly matters, we can achieve more meaningful results.

• Prioritization: Distinguish between the many trivial tasks we encounter daily and the few truly important ones. McKeown encourages readers to constantly evaluate their priorities to ensure they focus on what is essential.

• The Discipline of Saying No: A key aspect of essentialism is the ability to say no to non-essential tasks and demands. This discipline helps to ensure that time and energy are not wasted on what is unimportant.

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