How to get everything you want this year

Summary

The speaker shares a detailed process for setting effective goals and priorities for the year. He discusses assessing what you truly want across life domains, identifying required actions and projects, building supportive habits and systems, and even cutting unnecessary activities. The process involves answering key questions to yield clarity on priorities and generate focused to-do lists. The speaker aims to provide an actionable framework for achieving aims by directing limited time and energy towards what matters most.

Takeaways

• 😀 Having too many priorities leads to lack of focus and unfinished tasks
• 📝 Writing down your goals and wants helps clarify what's important
• 🔎 Identifying common actions across goals can reveal priorities
• 🗓 Breaking down projects into actions creates a next tasks list
• 👥 Systems of accountability like teams keep you committed
• ❌ Cutting out less important tasks makes room for priorities
• 📈 Setting up the right environment promotes good habits
• 🤔 Pausing beneficial activities may be needed to focus
• ✏️ Capturing ideas and knowledge enables creativity
• 🎯 Aligning business goals with delivering value builds trust

Q & A

What problem did Thomas realize he had towards the end of last year?

Thomas realized he was trying to do too many things and fill too many roles in his work and personal life. This led to starting many projects he couldn't finish and working too many hours.

What exercise did Thomas do over the holiday break to gain clarity?

Thomas did a planning exercise where he wrote out things he wanted across 6 categories of his life to understand what to prioritize. This helped him gain clarity on his goals.

What is the concept of low pressure that Thomas talks about?

The more goals and concerns someone has, the more their time and energy gets spread thinly across them. This is 'low pressure'. Setting fewer, more focused priorities creates 'high pressure' to achieve them.

What are the 6 categories Thomas suggests for identifying wants?

The 6 categories are: personal growth, business/career/finance, leadership and community, health, relationships, and fun/daily experience.

What sub-question did Thomas ask about his goals?

For each goal, Thomas asked himself if achieving it results in a daily experience he likes. This ensures the goals actually align with his desires.

What are the differences between an action and a project?

An action is a well-defined next step while a project is bigger and more ambiguous. Projects need to be broken into actions and prioritized by identifying the very next action.

What are two ways to build accountability systems?

Environmental changes to make habits easier and creating reliance on others through teams or coaches.

What was the thing Thomas realized he may need to cut out?

Thomas realized coding and programming, despite enjoying it, may need to be cut to make time for higher priority leadership and content creation goals.

What are the three lists created from this exercise?

1) Next actions 2) Systems building actions 3) Cutting actions - things to remove or pause

What app is Thomas building related to the video?

Thomas is building an app called Flylighter focused on easy idea and knowledge capture to boost creativity and problem-solving.