How long is your to-do list for today, this week or this month? How many points will you be able to tick off by the end of the deadline? You might often have big plans. But sometimes you do not get some things done on time, nor to a good standard. The consequence of this? In the end, you find yourself frustrated and see not only your time, but also your motivation slipping away.
This phenomenon is not new; in fact, it is quite the contrary. Most of them can tell a song about it and have doubts about their time management skills. Ergo, it is worth taking a look at those who continually hit their targets on time and to high standards.
But what do these successful people do so differently? Not only do they follow the five-hour rule, thanks to which they are constantly developing and gaining new knowledge, they also have another ace up their sleeve: the five/twenty-five rule.
Do you know Warren Buffett? The US major investor has been one of the richest men in the world for years. The shares of his investment company Berkshire Hathaway are among the most expensive stocks ever. Why?
Warren Buffett has proven time and again in his professional career that he knows what he is doing and, more importantly, how to do it efficiently and productively. He is considered the founder of the five/twenty-five rule - the secret recipe for his success. The good thing about this rule is that it is a productivity strategy that can work for everyone. It can be used on both a smaller and larger scale, by specialists as well as managers and in the business sector as well as in private life.
This is how the five/twenty-five rule works:
The five/twenty-five rule helps us focus on important tasks and goals. It consists of three steps. Here they are in more detail:
1. Write down twenty-five goals
Make a list and write down twenty-five goals. The goals can be of different natures - private, personal and professional. You can think in small ways and simply write down professional or private weekly goals. But you can also think big and write down goals like a raise, a promotion or a career change. In your private life, it could be that long-awaited move to a new apartment, learning a new language or further training to turn your hobby into a job.
2. Choose the five most important goals from your list
The next step is to prioritise. Which five of these twenty-five goals are the most important to you? Which of these goals are you passionate about? What do you really want to achieve? Which goals might further you personally? Highlight these five goals. You can also visualise yourself and place it where you regularly see it, for example on the wall across from the desk or on the bathroom mirror. These are the goals you pay close attention to, the goals you put your time and passion into. If you need some time tracking tools to reach your goals, you may need excellent time tracking apps to keep your balance and adequate time management.
3. Forget about the remaining twenty targets
That may sound harsh - and anything but easy. After all, the other 20 points are goals that are important to you. Otherwise, you would not have noted them down. In order to achieve your five chosen goals, you need to think of the other twenty goals as distractions that help prevent you from focusing on the most important things.
If you keep an eye on twenty other goals in addition to the five goals, and only work on them a little here and there, then you get bogged down and you end up in the situation described at the beginning: You do a lot, but not to its fullest potential.
Get out the red pencil and cross out the goals that are not in your top five. That top five is what matters now.
Does this sound too simple to work? The proof is in the pudding. Try it yourself. The five/twenty-five rule is based on minimalism and simplicity. It helps to direct our focus towards five really important tasks and goals and to eliminate sources of interference.
At the end of the process, you can cross those five goals off your list by your deadline. You even get to do so happily, as you will have put all your energy and time into it - and delivered good quality results. Once these five goals have been ticked off, you can simply start the process over again by writing down another twenty-five goals.