Co-Author Credit : Justin McKnight
Focusing on myself was difficult. I couldn’t find direction, I had to learn to focus on myself, and I wasn’t sure how to. Having no idea how to really decipher what were the most important ways to spend my time, something had to be done.
Reading books, watching videos, and blog posts couldn’t give me a quick and clear look at what I needed to make a priority vs. what was a waste of time.
Then, I stumbled upon an article on Medium where Warren Buffett explained how he prioritizes things.
He struggled with the same direction paradox that I did. So he made his 5/25 list.
What is 5/25?
List the 25 Things you want to do/accomplish. Reduce the list by 20. You are left with you TOP 5.
BOOM! 5/25
Mr. Buffett said something that rang true enough for me to give this 5/25 a chance.
“Anything you say yes to, you are saying no to everything else.”
Example. When I say yes, to taking my kids out to get ice cream I’m saying no to creating another blog post or video, sleeping or even hitting the gym.
Time is truly your only Resource
- How do you want to spend it? 5/25
- How do I prioritize what I want and feel ok about it? 5/25
- How do I remove the guilt I would feel when I make choices? 5/25
- How do I actually achieve a goal with the right consistency? 5/25
- How do I help those around me truly understand how I will NO LONGER deviate from the goals I set for myself? 5/25
I set out to make my first 5/25 list back in March of 2018.
This was a great list, and it gave me the permission and motivation to do a lot of what I did in 2018.
Then I started feeling a lack of direction and fulfillment around the same time in 2019. MARCH, Again, can you believe it?
Buffett didn’t say I couldn’t make another 5/25. After all…things change, I changed, my goals will likely change also. Another 5/25?
Current 5/25
Here’s my current (2019) 5/25.
Now, I can very easily see my goals, make guilt-free calendar appointments, easily say no, and I don’t feel “that guilt” I used to feel anymore.
I feel like a man with a purpose. I’ve got a roadmap for a small set of destinations for myself, where I had no direction before.
The 5/25 can be your compass to get you where you need to be.
I’d love to see your 5/25. Drop it in the comments below! I’ll take a look and send you some love, I know creating that list is hard, but rewarding. 👌🏾
