‘The Top 5′ Way to New Intentions

Don’t you just love this time of year?  The possibilities are infinite.  It seems we have the world at our feet, waiting only for us to choose our path, our new direction.  We are given permission to dream big, to envision a better life, a perfect life.  We are encouraged to make plans, to write down those plans and to make them public.  And many of us do.

We return from the dreaming big with new intentions.  We start to weave those new intentions into our everyday lives.  And then, before you know it, the pace of that everyday life speeds up a little… and then some more.  Deadlines, meetings, duties, unexpected interruptions come at us ever faster.  Perhaps we have little ones tugging at our sleeve, perhaps older ones with only us to turn to for help.  Our new intentions are often set aside in the face of these everyday demands.  They will have to wait till there is a better time, more time, any time at all!

Over the years I’ve spoken with many who’ve relished the “new” possibilities of the New Year, only to be disappointed by mid-January when their “old” life takes over.  But there is a way to blend the new with the old and fulfil those intentions.  I call it…

The Top 5

Step 1 – Getting Real. Acknowledge that intentions are not enough.  Set aside time to get real and make a plan.

Step 2 – Setting your Top 5. Think deeply about your priorities in life.  What are your Top 5?  Now list them and put that list somewhere you’ll see it every day.  You could even create artwork or a certificate to declare it to yourself and the world.

Step 3 – Deleting and Delegating. Now take a look at your master to do list – all those should-dos, could-dos, would-like-to-dos and if-only-I-had-time-to-dos.  Taking a bold marker, cross through any task which does not relate directly to your Top 5.  If this seems difficult, ask yourself, “Does this task add to my ideal life, or detract from it, according to my stated Top 5 priorities?”  At the least those tasks get in the way.  At worst, they prevent you from living the life you want and deserve.  If necessary, take time to delegate them or write a letter to explain why you’ll no longer be doing them.  At the very least, make a plan and set a date to be rid of those obligations.

Step 4 – Top 5 Actions. My guess is that to do list will still be quite lengthy.  Don’t worry.  There is no requirement to do it all, no “to do list police”.  In fact, the path to success is to do less not more.  Each day, take a look at your pared down to do list.  Select and do only the Top 5 tasks.  Tackling these first and above all others will see you working on your stated priorities and sticking to your new intentions.

Step 5 – Getting to the Rest. Once you have completed your Top 5 for the day, and only then, move on to the next 5.  As you become more practised you will work faster and be less distracted, getting more done.  Mind you, there will be things on your master to do list which never seem to make it to the Top 5.  If they are so unimportant, perhaps they need the bold marker treatment?  And there will be new tasks which come along.  Where do they fit?  Will they make it to your Top 5?  Only you can decide, and that’s the beauty of this method.  It’s flexible but with clear guidelines which you are in command of.

Happy New Year!  May it be a year of wonderful adventures with happy endings.