Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
One of the things I love about the topic of “time” is that it’s a level playing field. Unlike money, time is divvied up equally. We all have 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If we all get the same amount of time, then why do some people, including leaders, seem more productive than others?

Productivity isn’t about doing more things—it’s about doing the right things. ~Chris Bailey

Whether you read Cal Newport’s Deep Work, Keller and Papasan’s The ONE Thing, or Chris Bailey’s The Productivity Project, they all start with focusing on what’s truly the most important (the right things). Newport quotes The 4 Disciplines of Execution that references it as the wildly important.

That begs the question, how do leaders determine what really is most important, or wildly important?

Here’s a method to try, and the beginning of the year is the perfect time to give it a shot. This is recommended by Chris Bailey, who borrowed it from Brian Tracy. It goes like this:

1. Make a list of everything you’re responsible for in your work. If it’s helpful, you might want to divide it into columns based on timing, like daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
2. With that list in front of you, ask yourself this question: “If you could do just one item on that list all day, every day, what item would you do that would allow you to accomplish the most? Or, what one item on the list is the most valuable to your boss?
3. Now ask, “If you could do only two more items what would the second and third things be?

Chances are, by identifying those three items, you created the 20 percent of your work that contributes 80 percent of your value.

What about all the other things still on your list of responsibilities? They can’t be completely ignored, but maybe they need a little house cleaning.

1. Is anything on the list because you think it would take too much time to teach someone else? Maybe there’s something you dragged along when you were promoted?
2. Has anything out-lived its usefulness?
3. Is anything so unclear or vague that you don’t even really know what it means?
4. Have you ever sat down with your supervisor and prioritized the remaining items? Maybe into categories of importance? (First Things First: Prioritizing Requirements by Karl E. Wiegers)
   • High: it’s mission critical, required
   • Medium: necessary operations, required eventually but could wait if necessary
   • Low: it’s a functional or quality enhancement, it would be nice to have someday if resources (time and money) allow

You’ve now determined what’s really (or wildly) important, the things that matter most. And maybe eliminated a few things that don’t even need to be on the list anymore. The first step in making 2017 a more productive year.