Power of the Top 5
My good friend Cameron Herold, former COO of 1800-GOT-JUNK, called me in December, upset. I had called Cameron the day before letting him know I was frustrated with the current economic climate - basically complaining. Cameron was upset that, after agreeing on an action plan together, I had tweet’d three times that morning, the latest being about a bartender for our upcoming holiday party. He told me to write down the top 5 things I had to accomplish that day, and then get out of email and do them.
It sounded too simple to be effective - WRITE DOWN THE TOP 5 THINGS I HAVE TO DO. Surely, in 2009, with technology at my fingertips, there was a better way. A program that could do this for me, comb my email and figure out what is important.
But I decided to give it a try. I wrote my top 5 and got 3 of them done. Cameron insisted I email him my progress, and told me not to worry about not getting them all done. I did it the next day and scored 4. The next day, 3. I did this for two weeks straight, and I honestly have never been more focused and productive in my life.
The Top 5 idea isn’t Cameron’s. It’s an idea from the 1920’s. But he was the one that kicked my ass enough to get me to focus.
Go write your top 5 for tomorrow. Get focused, and be awesome during this recession.