Think Big, Set Goals & Make Them Happen #27

After all, all art is experience. Hello and welcome to The Company Doctor. This episode, Gary and I are discussing the magic of thinking big and how you can become the Felix Baumgartner of your own goals. Gary takes me through the Focus Energy Matrix, why time management is a thing of the past, and how to be a productivity ninja. He also has to explain to me who exactly Felix Baumgartner is.

Gary, hello! Hey George, how are you doing?

I am terrific, thanks. How are you?

Oh, you paused.

Yeah, I was deciding between terrific and fantastic. I think I always say fantastic, so I thought I'd switch it up.

Yeah, I'm amazing today and I've got a lot to say.

Yeah, you were just saying you've got a lot to say, so I'm just gonna, I'm gonna sort of take a back seat.

Well no, don't do that. You've got to stop me saying, don't stop me saying too much. I'm tightly wound today.

Right, okay, full of beans.

Like a spring.

Yeah, yeah, ready to—

But in a good way.

No, that's good. Well, I'll try and rein you in if I can, but I can sense that the power of what you want to say is bursting forth.

It feels to be because the topic is think big, set goals and make it happen. And I feel I'm tightly wound like a Ferrari with a wheel clamp on. And I think a lot of people are, which is why I want to talk about that in this episode.

How to remove the wheel clamp.

Yeah, pretty much. Get that wheel clamp off. Yeah. Because you're all Ferraris, but you're holding us back.

Nice.

You're all Ferraris. I just made that up, just now.

Yeah, yeah. No, that's brilliant. Thanks. And it's a good time of year to be setting goals. Is that like, is now when it's spring and, you know, there's movement and, you know, possibility in the air, is now the time?

Was that a pun, the spring? The Coty one?

No, it wasn't. But yes, it was. Sorry. It was. It definitely was.

Well, you know, you know, my answer on these things is it's always a good time. Yeah, and I, I'm not a believer in certain times. I'm just a believer in, you know, making it happen. So today is thinking big. There's 3 parts, really strange to think. Um, and the first part I want to talk about is the magic of thinking big. There was a book called The Magic of Thinking Big, but that's not what this is about. Okay. And as a kickoff to this, there was 3 people that spring to mind because I'm just trying to set the context of what we're going to do because, you know, we're going to go to the dark side, of course, in the third part. To keep people engaged. I remembered back though, I don't want to diss you, it's not very fair at the beginning, but I remember back to one of our episodes where we did the 23-day challenge. Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember that? I deserve to be dissed for this. Yeah.

No, no, it's fine. I do this lots of times. I've done it around the world and there's basically a small number of people agree to do the 23-day challenge and out of the people that do it, 80% of people do it every day. And the rest fall by the wayside. But the majority of people love the idea of it. They don't do it. So a colleague of mine that was close to this episode got really excited by it. This is you, by the way. Got really excited. I'm going to do this. And a lot of people did that, but only actually out of the whole episode, only 5 people did it. They did it every day. So why am I talking about this? The reason I'm talking about it is that there's 3 people I want to talk about. First, the first one is Felix Baumgartner. Remember him?

I don't remember him.

He's the guy that jumped out of a spaceship— isn't the right word— but a rocket just at the edge of the universe. It was promoted by Red Bull.

Oh yeah, that's right.

And he did a jump on the edge of the universe. There's a video, I highly recommend it. I think I might have spoken about it before, but yeah, it was an amazing thing to do and to watch and a great achievement. And not— yeah, when I'm talking about thinking big, you know, if you're sitting there thinking, well, well, bully for him. I mean, you know, I just want to, I want to just move jobs or something, I want to get promoted. But, but I want to start off by thinking big. The second one is Edmund Hillary. Yeah, Edmund Hillary is the first guy to climb Everest, remember?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do remember him.

Yeah, he didn't just kind of rock up— rock, excuse the pun— he didn't just rock up at Everest. I think he did a bit of planning, you know, he set a goal, he did something that no one had done at that time before, and he accomplished it. It was a great achievement. So You know, as you're thinking about it, you can feel the energy of an idea and then doing something about the idea. Yeah. And the third one I want to talk about, who I have spoken about before, is Roger Bannister.

Yeah, remember him?

4-minute mile. Yeah, he's the first guy to do the 4-minute mile, and 2 weeks after he did it, 47 other people did it because the belief level had changed that it could be done.

Yeah, that's bizarre, isn't it? I find that so—

it's absolutely bizarre. In fact, there's someone I found out the other day, George, someone who works for me has done the 4-minute mile. Really?

Yeah.

Wow. Guess how long it took him? No, just joking. This is honestly a true story. Yeah, yeah. So to set the scene, yeah, I think we should start thinking big. You know, a lot of people have asked us to do this episode about thinking big, setting goals, and making it happen. And before we get into the deep and dirty, I thought, you know, we should just think about, you know, think about those 3 examples and the excitement of Yeah, well, that conjures up when you think of a big idea and then you do something about it. Yeah.

Is this something that, do you reckon it just comes to you and it comes to you in the sort of field that you're in? Or is it, do you sort of, should you spend time, you know, just pondering and think like, what do I, what's my big goal? What do I want to achieve? What would be fun to sort of set out and try and achieve professionally or personally or whatever? And how do I go about it?

I think so. I mean, I'm not suggesting that goals have to be big, but I think it's a good place to start because it creates a bit of energy and excitement. Now, unfortunately, some generations of parents— I'm not picking on any type of parents because I am one— told us not to do stuff in case we get disappointed. Yeah. Which was— it came from a position of love and making sure that you wrap cotton wool around the kids.

Yeah.

But it's not a great place to leverage someone's capability.

It's not very inspiring, is it? So say, no, just maintain the status quo and you'll always just be sort of fine.

So I think, you know, you get— you kind of get what you expect and The other bit connected, the reason for mentioning these bigger goals is that when you start on the journey, whatever size it is, it creates this kind of energy and excitement and hopefully belief. And I'm going to use you again as an example. Do you mind if I pick on you?

No, no, please. Yeah, no, it's good.

You did this amazing article on linking music to traveling around the US, like Nashville and different places. It's a fantastic article. People should look it up. And it really brought to life not only the music, but the places and the personalities and the culture. Just everything about it. And when you listen to the music, you can kind of link yourself back to those things. And then fast forward, I don't know how many years, you decide to do the trip.

Yeah. Right?

You're doing the trip soon.

Yeah, yeah. In a few couple of months.

But there's a problem with the trip. The problem with the trip is you've got to drive. You've got to drive and you didn't drive, right?

No, I didn't.

I did not drive. Well, you did kind of drive.

I was able to drive, but I didn't use that ability. I didn't use that power.

So there you are with a goal in front of you. You've written about it. It's an amazing thing. And now you're bringing it to life. You're going, but you can't go unless you drive. Yeah. So what did you do?

I started driving. Wow.

How cool is that? Overcame the fear.

Good example.

I think it's a great example. So this doesn't have to be jumping out of a spaceship.

Yeah.

Or, you know, reaching the top of Everest. It's whatever it is, but it's bringing it to life that makes a difference. Yeah. So that's my first, my first little section. Let's think big. Give yourself the chance. I think most people are so busy being busy. I'm going to give you some stats on it. It's going to blow your mind. For me, it would be a very small explosion, to be honest. But I'm going to give you some stats on why people don't unlock their Ferraris.

Okay. Yeah. Nice. I like that. And is it a case of seeing the goal, identifying what that is, and then identifying the potential barriers and overcoming them? Is that part of that process?

Yeah, I think it's the getting started, right? It's just getting started. It's half done. There's the fear of failure, you know. So, so you don't manage to get to Everest, that's okay. But, you know, at least you tried or you got started. Or you— like, when I, I got into my own business, I forced myself into it by setting up a company, trying to find some work, and giving myself a decision to make. Yeah, I put myself in that position, whereas 25 years earlier I just kind of talked about it and said it wouldn't have been a nice idea.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I'm just trying to be practical for people listening. And I know why there's a problem. There was a great article actually back in— it's actually 20 years ago now. It was one of the Harvard Business Review things I recommend. It's called Beware the Busy Manager, but it's relevant for all of us. It's not just about managers, really. Okay. And it talks about the stats of people's effectiveness. Right. And it's mind-blowing. I kind of knew this, I guess, but now I know why and it makes sense. Okay. My topic for this section is about active non-action.

Yeah. I was interested by this.

I was intrigued. You were? Yeah, yeah. It's the unproductive busy people.

We all know them.

We know them all and we all are, and sometimes we are them. So think about this as, think about a matrix. So if you had a bit of paper, on the left-hand side is focus and it's from low to high. And going across the bottom is energy. So it's the Focus Energy Matrix. So it's low to high on focus and low to high on energy. Yeah, in a 2x2. We call it a 2x2.

I think so.

And there's 4 parts to it, obviously, because it's a 2x2. And the first one is procrastination. So if you're low energy and low focus, so bottom left, that's the procrastination piece. And through these, these stats, and they analyze thousands of people, managers and non-managers, and 30% of people are procrastinating. Really? Which basically what it means is they fail to take initiative.

Yeah.

They find it difficult to raise the level of performance, if you like, or engage. And a lot of it is because they feel insecure or they feel they worry about failure. Their parents told them, be careful, don't upset yourself.

And I suppose it's also attention you know, not having that focus, easily distracted. You know, I suppose it can be, it can be down to—

well, distraction's coming, interesting enough. So I've tried to almost segment all of that. Yeah. So that's the first part, that's 30% of people. Yeah. The next percentage of people, again on the kind of focus side, are people that have, uh, high focus but low energy. So high focus and low energy, and there's 20% of those. Basically means they're you know, they're disengaged. There's the point you were mentioning before. They're disengaged, they're kind of exhausted, they have a lack of inner resource or the ability to re-energize.

But once they get going, they're pretty good.

Well, this is the point. So I'm just going to— I'm trying to bucket people, which is probably about unfair. Yeah, these people are kind of in denial. They're what I call defensive avoidance. They can justify why they're disengaged. I'm not happy, it's not working, it's not what I wanted, I'm not being treated well. Yeah, but they don't take action. I'm trying to explain why we all feel these in these different places and then hopefully give some ideas about what to do about that. The third area is about being distracted. So when you think about bottom right, so you, you've got— if you're distracted, you're well-intentioned, you, you know, you've got high energy but you've got low focus. Yeah. So you're, you're a bit like a hamster on a wheel.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can identify all of these different people. I can, I can imagine exactly who these personalities are.

Unfair to bucket people, but confusing activity with accomplishment. It's like the hamster on the wheel. Yeah. And basically these people are fairly short-sighted and they're overcommitted because they're working so hard but not moving forward. Yeah. And I've seen so many people like this, and that's 40% of people. Wow. A busy— there's a busy forces about there. Busy being busy. I'm so busy, you don't understand. I'm so busy. By the way, if you are a manager and you tell people you're busy, they don't care, just to let you know.

I think if you're anyone and you tell people you're busy, they don't care. Yes.

Well done you. Yeah, good for you. But are you being effective is really the question.

Well, exactly.

And then the fourth one is the purposeful. So this is top right. So it's high energy and high focus, and that's the balance between high energy and high focus. They, they're able to achieve critical long-term goals because they're high energy, high focus on a continual basis, and they tend to be kind of very self-aware with clear intentions and I guess a strong willpower. Yeah, they're the divide. So here's the challenge, right? So people are generally too busy rushing around from meeting to meeting, being busy, being busy, you know, fast-moving activity, no time for reflection, unproductive busyness, yeah, active, non-active, non-action people. Most of us are like that. 90% of people are like that. Only 10% of people are purposeful.

Top right.

Yeah. So that, you know, it kind of explains why it's difficult to set goals. And I'm not saying that, you know, people aren't in little boxes and we might have a bit of everything, or one day we might be better than the other, but 90% of people squander their time.

But it's also— I think it's— that's also a company thing as well, isn't it? I think As if you're someone who's in charge of running a company or you're running your own business, that's also on you, isn't it, to make sure that people aren't constantly going between meetings? You know, there's different ways of measuring productivity in all this sort of business, but I think giving people flexibility, putting the onus on people themselves to get stuff done in a productive way, I think just from my experiences, I think that's what I've seen as the most successful way of doing things.

Yeah, I agree with you. And I think, you know, so basically some people get themselves in the way or managers get in the way. And they slow people down and they stop them being effective by micromanaging them or— yeah, they're just, just getting things in the way. So, but, but I think it's interesting to know that. And then the question inevitably will be, well, that's all very interesting, but so what do we do about that then? Well, here's an interesting thing, and I've got the answer to some of it. Purposeful people work inside out. What does that mean? Any ideas?

No, I don't know.

So if you're non-purposeful, you work outside in, which is the outside influence affects what you do and why you can't do something, right? Which is probably right. I mean, if you analyze it, you sort of think, I would do it, but yeah, and you're probably right in some cases.

It doesn't—

yeah, in some cases, but it doesn't solve it. So you've got to find a solution to it. So if you're purposeful, you work inside out, which is, I decided this is what we're doing, now I need to find out a way to make it work.

Yeah, yeah.

And there's a big thing about relationship— I'm not going to throw this in, this thing's a bit of a hand grenade, but relationships are massively important in all of this because it all sounds like a bit of a lonely plight. I'm on my own, you know, hacking through the undergrowth on my own. It's all a bit kind of difficult and lonely, but I don't think life's like that.

No. Are you talking about professional relationships?

Yeah, exactly. Either— well, actually, work or professional. If you want to do something, it's like if someone gets a hole in one and they're on their own, it's not that exciting. 'Well done, I got a hole in one. Amazing.' I don't know what the chances of getting a hole in one, but if I got one, I want someone to see it. Would you agree?

Yeah. And it wouldn't be the same just to call someone up and say, 'Guess what I just did?' You know what?

I got a hole in one.

Yeah, right. I've got it. I'm busy.

And I think that's what it's like in life with goals. It's like, you know, there's no point having a goal on your own. I mean, maybe there is, but generally it's not about you on your own. It's about your interaction with other people, maybe at work or in your social life or family.

Yeah, well, it's like that. You often cite Jerry Maguire as one of your favorite films. Show me the money. Yeah, exactly. And you know that amazing scene where he leaves and he sort of says, like, who's with me? Who's coming with me? And it's only one person, isn't it? Yeah. Who goes with him. But it's that idea of, you know, if you do have a goal, if you do, if you're, you know, you're striking out against the mold in order to try and achieve something, you do want to surround yourself with people, like-minded people who similarly driven.

And even the naysayers, you know, it's funny, some people say you shouldn't tell other people your goals because they try and put you off. And the truth is, people don't like success, and they might do, but actually you should definitely tell people your goals. The 23-day challenge is a great example of that. The reason for that challenge, it works for the people it works for, is they're held accountable. Yeah, by somebody that they trust.

That's right. And I found that really interesting because I'd always would have shied away from that, in the same way that, you know, you don't necessarily tell loads of people that you're going for a particular job interview because you're worried about them coming and, you know, not getting it, and then them saying, how did it go, how did it go? And you have to be disappointed and tell them. And I think that's sort of— I like that inverse. And I think it goes back to what you're saying about parents of a particular generation saying, you know, don't spread yourself too thin, or, you know, don't try and achieve anything too great. Yeah, exactly. And it's all that sort of same sort of mindset, whereas I think telling people is the way forward.

It is. And so yeah, so hopefully people consider like, you know, have a goal, but have it jointly with someone else. And so that you're not getting a hole in one on your own. And so the third section is about being a productivity ninja. Nice. How do we bring it back together? How do we, it's all very interesting what we're saying. And you know, we've talked about goals before, about being motivated enough, and they don't always have to be big goals. I think we talked about big hairy goals in the past. We did. But whatever it is that you want to do, it's just giving you the chance to have the best chance to make it work. And I do think it is about sometimes optimizing that kind of power of the relationship. So being a productivity ninja, I've chosen that title because there's a book called Productivity Ninja by a guy called Graham Allcott. Great book, I highly recommend it. It fits our world, George, because it's upside down. It's not the— in fact, the strapline in the book is, and I really like this and I believe this, time management's dead. Controversial.

Yeah, well, I think it's a valid point and it is controversial, isn't it? Because I don't know about you, but I have worked with so many of these time management tools which have just over the past year or so become, or two years, become completely redundant and they don't, they're not effective.

Exactly. So let me give you some other ideas. So I think there's so much focus on being efficient rather than being effective that we miss the point of what we're trying to do. I was thinking about this the other day. It's a bit like if you go to a restaurant, They have a ticketing system, so when you order something, it goes on a stub somewhere, or maybe it's more sophisticated than that. Yeah, yeah. But number 5, table number 5 here. So you order your chicken soup and you're the next one in the hopper. It's coming in order of where it came in. That's how life works. When we've got things to do and we've got goals to achieve, or we want to make things happen, the to-do list is just like the ticketing system in the restaurant. Yeah. They go, add it to my list, and I look down the list and think, well, I don't like that one, so I'll leave that one for the moment.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm not going to give that person their chicken soup. Yeah, you know, life's not like that. You know, we need to be more ruthless about—

is it priority management, or is it—

well, there's a, there's a word actually. So if time management's dead, the replacement, you know, the new word is attention management. Okay, it's, it's a refocus on, you know, the, the most important thing that is needed now, the priority that's needed now. It's not time management. It's not how long, it's not about being efficient, it's about being effective.

Yeah, I like that as well.

So, you know, we need to be more ruthless about saying no more often and maybe delegate more things. If things need to be done, then it's not all about us on our own, right? I mean, what else, what can we do to leverage other people and get, you know, whether you're a manager or not, can you use the team or can you use other colleagues that can help out on some of those things?

Yeah, exactly. And I think because, you know, we're talking to a wide audience, potentially, from loads of different industries, and it's going to be different for every, for every industry. But on the whole, I'd say that effectiveness can't be— you can't measure it in slabs of time, can you? You can't sort of say, well, this person's worked 2 hours on this, therefore, that's a success. Because that person could have been bottom left of our graph, low energy, low focus, not having done anything on that particular project, whatever it may be.

Yeah, absolutely agree with that. In fact, in the consulting business, I'll give you an example of exactly that. In the consulting business, they measure utilization. So how much of someone's time? But there's a, and most people just look at that, but they forget the reality. The reality is also something called realization. Right. Which is the billable time, the cost, you know, the income received for the time. So if you're spending 8 hours and it's only £1 an hour versus £100 an hour, it would make a big difference, right? Yeah. Yeah. So you could be busy doing your 8 hours for £1 an hour. But the realization is the important one, because if that's £100 an hour, then it's much more money. So that's exactly what you've just said. So it's like, if you think about effectiveness and efficiency, you've got to get both. You need to move forward, you need to fill your day, you need to be utilized doing stuff, but it needs to be the return on investment. The time taken needs to benefit. Yeah, the goal that you're trying to achieve.

Absolutely. Blimey.

Wow. What do you think of that?

Yeah. Wow.

Wow. Wow, good pal. Jeez. Yeah, so I think the key is attention management, not time management. Yeah. So it's not the ticketing thing when it's coming into the restaurant, it's the focus on the most important thing that gets you the result that you need.

And is there, I am perhaps notoriously not excellent Attention management, probably, I would say. What are your tips on how to improve your own attention management, how to manage your own attention?

That's a good question, and I'm going to give you some tips, but I think the fundamental is not being distracted by the next shiny thing. Yeah. Having the time needed and the focus and attention, which is why we're speaking about it before, really, for what's important. Because, you know, so if you've got 100 things, it's like, well, What are the things that really need to happen? What's the focus, the focus and attention or the, the focus and energy required, if you like, to, to get these things done? Because the truth is, in another controversial comment, you're never going to get anything finished. Yeah, life's not like that, right? I mean, I mean, certain things will get done, but kind of nothing's ever finished, is it?

Yeah. Yeah. A good example of that is I occasionally go over and help my dad on his allotment and I can go over there for a couple of hours and I can sort of say, right, I've done those '2 or 3 tasks that you've asked me to do, and now I'm going to head off.' And he sort of says, 'Well, there's always something to do here. There's always another job on an allotment. There's always something that needs tidying or taking care of.' And I suppose it's the same with any sort of labor of love or big project that you're working on. There's always going to be a next thing for you to turn your attention to.

I absolutely agree with that. And I think, you know, so if we realize that, then it's about, you know, just moving forward, really. Can we move forward towards the thing we want? That's why when people set goals and then they achieve those goals in their mind and don't reset them, then they get— they can stop. But I know someone who came from another country with his son who was a, you know, aspiring football player, and his goal in life was to get his son into the first team somewhere, right? So he comes over from, you know, from Asia into Europe, and he changes his job just so he can help his son get get into the football team. And he's the top— he's in sales— he's the top performer on his team because he's so motivated to get his son into the first team. Yeah. And then he manages to get his son in the first team in Italy, actually. So he plays the first day. You can imagine, he plays in the first team. That's been his goal.

Yeah.

And, you know, he's top performer in sales, and I'm working with him, and he's, he's not the top performer anymore. In fact, he's the bottom performer.

Really?

After that goal's done, you know, job done.

Right, I can take the foot off the gas.

Completely took his foot off the gas. I mean, he's got back to— got his mojo back now, I've noticed recently. But, you know, to me, I just didn't get it. I mean, I'm so amazed by what he did, and then I didn't understand why he wasn't performing. Yeah, yeah. So I do think it's interesting.

So he didn't maintain it, basically. He achieved what he said he would do. Yeah, that's interesting.

Or have more than one. Yeah, definitely. And I think the other thing is that A lot of people are just people pleasers. So, you know, if someone puts you off or they give you something else, you don't want to say no to them. You don't think you're a bad person.

Yeah.

I think we should be a bit more Maverick about it, don't you?

Yeah. A bit more selfish, perhaps.

Yeah. If it's important enough, I think that's the point. The test is, is it important enough? Because if it's important enough, then the motivation behind all of this— and we've done loads of episodes on it, so I wasn't going to cover it today— but you've got to have a reason.

Yeah.

The core of success is having the right level of motivation, the reason to you want to go and do it. So it needs to be important enough.

And it's also nice to have that, isn't it? You know, you were talking earlier about the excitement of having a thing like that, but it is, if you're working towards something, it's fun and it's like, well, you know, not to take it too philosophical, but it's sort of like you can spring out of bed in the morning and think, right, another, another day working towards this wonderful thing that I'm trying to achieve or whatever it is. It is sort of like a reason to be, which—

Like this podcast, right?

Like this podcast. Yeah.

That's why we both started out wanting to— no, but it's true though. We started out, you know, let's have a go, be good fun. Yeah. And we've really enjoyed doing it and it's growing and going like crazy.

27 episodes later, here we are.

Yeah, no, it's fantastic. So, 3 Ps.

Okay.

Just kind of keep you focused here. Sorry, yeah. The 3 Ps of this performance. The first P is planning. Mm-hmm. So, you know, it's important to plan. As I say, when we talked about Edmund Hillary, he didn't just kind of turn up at Everest. He did a bit of a plan before he got there. The second one is preparation. So what do you need to do to be fit enough to do it in the right frame of mind? You need to pass your driving test in order to do the trip. And the third one is prioritization. So, you know, I think prioritization is misunderstood. It's not about having a list of things. I'm going to talk about some ideas in a minute, but it's not a sequential list of things that are urgent slash important. Life changes, right? Things change. And prioritization changes and it's worth reviewing on a regular basis. So we can talk about that. Yeah. So I've got some ideas. Great. I mean, you're thinking at last, this is all for those who've made it to the last part of the last part. Here's the ideas because you're never going to get anything finished. Here's my tips. 3 lists. Mm-hmm. You probably weren't expecting that because I said time management is dead, but I didn't say lists were dead. No, you like lists. The first list I'll run through the 3 lists and then we'll talk about it. So the first list is projects. So things that need to get done. I need to go and pick up, I need to book my haircut, maybe not. I need to go and pick up the shirt. I need to do whatever. The projects, things that need to be done. Second list is my master action list. It's everything you have to get done, but not worried about the order of it. Okay. It's the master action list. And my third list is my daily to-do, but it only comes from my master action list, not from my head.

Okay, so you don't just chuck stuff on there?

No, the master action list is everything, but the daily to-do is only coming from my master action list. And then at the end of the day, I'm going to plan tomorrow based on my master action list. Okay. And that's it. And with those 3 lists, then it gives you the chance to be more dynamic about life. Yeah. And not be a restaurateur.

Okay.

Bringing the next dish, the next customer that's coming, next chicken soup. What do you think?

Yeah, that's good. I like that. I wish that I was one of these people that wrote down lists, and I'm more someone who just will write something down that I've just done and then cross it out for the satisfaction of crossing something off a list. So the idea of having 3 lists is a little bit daunting, but I think that, as you say, it will definitely help organize your thoughts and maintain that attention and focus. It's something I would give this a go. The 21-day challenge.

Sure, I'll try the 3 days.

But yeah, yeah, that's how much I know. Yeah, the 23-day challenge. I was excited.

You were so excited by that.

I didn't commit, but I would do this. Certainly this would definitely help. You'll do the list.

By the way, they feed each other, right? So the master list feeds the to-do list, but the The main goal is at the end of the day, you plan tomorrow from that master list. So then you've got, you know, you've got a dynamic set of things. Try it, try it for 30 days and see if it becomes a habit. Okay, that would be my suggestion.

Yeah, that's good. You like? I like. 3 Ps, 3 lists.

3 Ps, 3 lists, 3 things.

3 takeaways.

3 takeaways. Thank you. Here's my 3 takeaways. Number 1, think big because it creates excitement. If you have a big goal, it just kind of gives you a bit of energy and something to aim at. And I do remember I was working in a difficult place where I wasn't enjoying work. And, you know, you get the old butterflies on the Sunday, you got to go to work on a Monday.

Yeah.

When I did decide to set up my own business, you know, I was way off getting started. Just gave me a bit of excitement. I felt there was hope and gave me something to aim at and I was really looking forward to it. If you can create that something big, it gives you excitement. Number 2, don't be an unproductive, busy person. Don't be active, non-action person. Don't be that. So a lot of people, only 10% of people are purposeful. Be purposeful using the 3 Ps. Too many Ps, Gary Gamp. And number 3, be a productivity ninja. Time management is dead. Long live attention management. Love it. 3 lists. Number 1, projects. Number 2, the master action list. Number 3, the daily to-do from the master action list. And at the end of each day, plan tomorrow. And then you're going to be awesome and you'll see progress towards it.

Progress, productivity. There are so many Ps actually. There are so many more than just 3.

Podcast.

Podcast. Super helpful as always. I'm going to maintain that list idea and I'm going to let you know how it goes in 30 days on the next podcast episode. Thanks very much, Gary, as always. And thanks everybody for listening. We'll see you next time.

Thank you very much. See you again soon.

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