3183: [Part 2] To Accomplish Big Things: Think Big but Act Small by Jay Harrington of Life and Whim

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily episode 3183

[00:00:03] To accomplish big things think big but act small part 2 by Jay Harrington of lifeandwim.com

[00:00:11] And I'm Justin Malik

[00:00:12] Happy Friday. Welcome to the old podcast the OLD podcast Optimal Living Daily where I read to you like a big ongoing

[00:00:20] Audiobook, but from many different authors and today being a continuation from yesterday

[00:00:25] So I'd recommend listening to yesterday's episode first

[00:00:28] But if you're all caught up, let's get right to part 2 and start optimizing your life to accomplish big things

[00:00:39] Think big but act small part 2 by Jay Harrington of lifeandwim.com

[00:00:46] Distractions come in many forms at the office relentless email

[00:00:51] mind-numbing soul-sucking meetings chatty colleagues

[00:00:55] LinkedIn phone calls the window washing guy outside your office at home

[00:01:02] The kids the dog heaps of laundry dirty dishes

[00:01:07] television Facebook the comfy couch

[00:01:10] Never go on the internet just to check out one thing and then emerge from a days 20 minutes later and wondering what the heck

[00:01:17] Just happened you get the idea

[00:01:19] In fact that minute or two you intend to spend online checking Facebook is costing you much more

[00:01:27] According to a study conducted by Gloria Mark who studies digital distraction at the University of California Irvine

[00:01:33] It takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds for us to return to our original task after an interruption

[00:01:42] Do the math on that during the course of an eight-hour day and you'll see why interruptions aren't some trifling annoyance

[00:01:50] They're productivity killers to avoid the work distraction work distraction cycle that leads to

[00:01:57] Unproductive days you need to set firm boundaries for yourself and others

[00:02:03] You need to create a work environment that fosters the type of focused work required to achieve big things

[00:02:10] number two

[00:02:12] intense consistent work

[00:02:15] thinking big is

[00:02:17] Expansive thinking thinking small is restrictive thinking thinking big is all about possibilities

[00:02:24] Thinking small is all about limitations

[00:02:27] Have big dreams. Well, you need to think big

[00:02:31] However, the size of our dreams is what often stops us from pursuing them

[00:02:36] The task ahead seems so momentous that we don't even start

[00:02:40] We assume we need long blocks of uninterrupted time to make progress and because we're busy and don't have long blocks of time

[00:02:48] We just give up instead

[00:02:50] It's okay. In fact, it's necessary to think big and have big dreams if you want to accomplish big things

[00:02:58] But the way to get there is not by acting big. It's by acting small

[00:03:04] Success is sequential it results from tackling lots of small things on a consistent basis not trying to tackle

[00:03:12] everything at once

[00:03:13] dominoes fall one at a time in

[00:03:17] Practical terms what this means is that it's necessary to break big and unwieldy tasks

[00:03:23] Into a bunch of small and manageable tasks and then work intensely and consistently

[00:03:29] To accomplish each one. You've probably heard this one before because it's timeless. How do you eat an elephant?

[00:03:36] one bite at a time

[00:03:38] and number three

[00:03:40] establish important priorities

[00:03:42] There's never enough time in the day and you probably can't work longer hours at home or at the office than you already do

[00:03:50] So it's important to work smarter no matter how skilled a manager you may be

[00:03:55] It's tough to manage through the chaos of a typical day without understanding the hierarchy of your priorities in

[00:04:02] this sense productive people effective people

[00:04:05] practice time curation as opposed to time management

[00:04:10] They discern they pick and choose

[00:04:13] They don't multitask they prioritize and then they ruthlessly honor

[00:04:18] Defend and work in accordance with those priorities

[00:04:22] In other words when it comes to how they structure their days

[00:04:26] They're essentialists. This is the central argument of Greg McEwen's excellent book

[00:04:33] Essentialism the disciplined pursuit of less

[00:04:36] It's a book that espouses the importance of focusing on the most important essential tasks on your plate

[00:04:43] McEwen describes his methodology as the disciplined pursuit of less at its core

[00:04:49] Essentialism is about setting priorities

[00:04:52] according to McEwen quote

[00:04:55] Essentialism is not about how to get more things done. It's about how to get the right things done end quote

[00:05:02] For example, if you have a business idea

[00:05:04] there's no point worrying about what your logo and website will look like or

[00:05:09] What's your domain name will be before you've nailed down far more essential priorities such as what product or service?

[00:05:16] You're selling to whom for what price and what your expenses will be

[00:05:21] So, you'll know if the idea is even financially viable in the first place

[00:05:26] You can work hard but hard work matters little if you're working on the wrong thing as Henry David Thoreau wrote

[00:05:33] Quote it is not enough to be busy. So are the ants the question is what are we busy about end quote?

[00:05:42] Before worrying about eliminating distractions and developing a deep work habit

[00:05:47] The most important step in accomplishing big things is spending the necessary time to identify your most important priorities

[00:05:56] Think big and act small

[00:05:59] It's not all of the big bold things we do during our lives and careers that lead to success

[00:06:05] It's the small actions taken every day that make the difference and lead to compounding results over time

[00:06:13] author and marketing guru Seth Godin wrote on his blog quote

[00:06:17] the thing is

[00:06:19] incremental daily progress negative or positive is what actually causes transformation a

[00:06:25] figurative drip drip drip

[00:06:28] Showing up every single day gaining and strength

[00:06:32] Organizing for the long haul building connection laying track

[00:06:36] This subtle but difficult work is how culture changes end quote

[00:06:42] It's how lives and careers change to

[00:06:45] clear goals the right priorities

[00:06:48] small consistent actions

[00:06:50] This is the formula to leverage the power of progress in order to make big things happen

[00:06:56] You just listen to part two of the post titled to accomplish big things

[00:07:04] Think big but act small by Jay Harrington of life and whim comm and I'll be right back with my commentary

[00:07:12] Thank you again to Jay. I might have to read that book by Greg McKeown

[00:07:16] I've seen it mentioned here and there over the years and even though it's a bit older now

[00:07:22] I've seen some recent mentions of it. So I think that's a sign to finally check it out. That book is called

[00:07:28] Essentialism the disciplined pursuit of less and in my many years of entrepreneurship

[00:07:34] I couldn't agree more when it comes to choosing the task

[00:07:37] I was definitely one of those people who would come up with a big idea

[00:07:41] But then work on what was probably the fun parts first the logo

[00:07:47] Maybe making t-shirts of the company buying the domain the.com

[00:07:52] Maybe getting business cards, but those aren't really adding value to the company itself. It's not focusing on the actual product

[00:08:01] When the biggest strides were made in my own life was when I finally started creating

[00:08:06] And creating the most like releasing an episode of this podcast every day

[00:08:11] It could be argued that releasing an episode of this podcast is a big deal like a project in itself

[00:08:18] But one out of thousands isn't really that big in the grand scheme of things

[00:08:23] It's just one baby step, but a critical small consistent action that has led to big things happening

[00:08:31] And other parts of my life follow that same principle

[00:08:35] So a good one to think about today and this weekend have a great start to your weekend

[00:08:39] And I'll be back tomorrow as usual. So I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits