Dedicate Yourself to High-Payoff Activities
By Mark David
Originally published in
From the Field
January 2002
"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you
resolve."
-
Benjamin Franklin
Your "Top 20% Responsibilities" bring you 80% of your results.
Reflect on all of your responsibilities and identify those that
bring you the highest payoff. For example, if you are in sales,
prospecting is a Top 20% area of responsibility. If you don't
prospect, you will not produce the results needed for success. It's
easy to identify your Top 20% by asking yourself, "In which areas
would I be paid the highest hourly rate?"
The key to ruthless time management is spending the majority of
your time in high-payoff activities. The best way to be sure you
have the time necessary to consistently focus on your Top 20% each
day is to align your job description with your goals and your
Vision. Your job must consist of daily activities that allow you to
accomplish your Top 20% and avoid or eliminate time-wasters and
low-payoff activities. Self-Manager Principle #21* states: Align
your daily duties with your goals. Every task you perform should be
related to your long-term goals and Vision.
In the real world, days go by and we say to ourselves, "Where did
the day go? I didn't accomplish anything I planned. I got pulled
off track all day long." If we are not conscious of where we need
to focus our time, if we do not preplan our success, if we do not
discipline ourselves to focus on our Top 20%, then our Vision and
goals will be delayed year after year. Make this YOUR year! Focus
on your Top 20% each day, each hour, each minute.
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