Against the principle of origin useful

Every time we decide or allow ourselves to live (or not undergo) certain activities: reading books, scroll Social media, completing work, communicating with old friends, replying e-mailplay with children, make plans, write articles, by–gamegossiping with friends, sports, learning skill new, meetingetc.

Everything can provide a busy sensation.

Take one example scroll social media. The intention is only a minute looking for certain info, but it doesn’t feel like 30 minutes or more. The info sought has not even been able to. Often Can like this?

Social media certainly has benefits. Can find inspiration, connected with friends or followerknow the trend/viral, so as not to be network (not enough renew). Isn’t this important in the social era?

But occasionally we need to do an audit cost-benefitswhether cost in the form of the time we spend on social media is balanced with profit what we get? Ideally, output (benefits) must greater than Input (cost).

Any trap

Assessing whether an activity is really important is actually easy. But in practice, trivial activities are more often dominating our time.

Call Newport in his book Deep job call this condition as a mindset Whatever the benefits Alias ​​as long as it provides benefits.

The activities that we think have benefits, but in fact only a little benefit. Even sometimes more loss.

This useful mindset is what makes us biased in inefficient choices: buy goods that are not really needed, to spend time for activities that have nothing to do with the goals or priorities of our lives.

Determine priorities

In order to get out of the origin trap useful, Newport suggests to determine the priority of life.

The name is also a priority, the amount must be small.

Choose an important area in life. For example, as the head of the family, it could be that the priority is “a harmonious family and the best education/example for children”. For those who are still students, for example “optimal in academics and equip themselves with future skills And Experience as much as possible “.

Once the priority or purpose has been set. It will be easier to determine a useful activity or not.

For example, in the role of leading the company, I set priority “to be an increasingly effective leader and manager”.

To achieve this priority, I am concerned with activities such as:

• Reading (Books/References/Research Results, etc.)
• Network (developing and caring)
• Upskilling (take class/courses about business, managerial, leadership)
• Writing (writing skills in my opinion is always useful, both for yourself and others)
• Sports (important to stay fit and healthy, to balance the activities of thinking and working more dense)

Outside the list of activities that I consider important above, I will be more careful in doing other activities. For example using social media.

Of course social media has benefits. Moreover, GNFI uses social media as the main channel to spread content, besides the website. But I need to really maintain the awareness that social media is a shrewd time thief. His intention is to focus on research or find information, can even get lost everywhere without meaning.

That’s why I selectively choose platform social media and use it. So that this activity can still support the priorities that I have set.

Organizational context

Not only for personal context, the ability to set goals and choose activities that are truly important is very useful for organizations or business.

We know the principle of Pareto: 80% of the actual results are caused by 20% of the business. That is, statistically we only have 20% of choices of activities that will really produce big results for organizational purposes.

Beyond that, it is very possible that only the activities that produce “Any-useful”. Happy to have it. It’s okay we do, but don’t pour out the complete resources there.