“You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.”
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Time isn’t the scarcest resource – energy is.
And this isn’t just semantics. There’s a difference between time and energy.
Here’s what I mean.
Think about your day. You have 24 hours in a day minus the 8 or 10 you hopefully spend sleeping. Now you’re down to 14 hours. Subtract another 4 to 5 for meals, your commute, etc. That leaves you with 9 solid hours. Out of those 9, how much mental glycogen – how much energy – do you really have to focus on the important things that actually need to get done?
Not very much. That’s why you need to focus that limited energy on achieving the single most important thing you need to get done each day.
This scarcity of energy is why we give a copy of The ONE Thing to every team member at Drift. And it’s why I named this newsletter The One Thing. It’s also why I love Stephen Covey’s concept of “big rocks.”
Both concepts provide you with techniques to help you focus your limited energy on the most important thing that needs to get done each and every day. In other words, spend your energy on “big rocks” not small ones.
Interested in learning more about this topic? Here are 4 books I recommend reading:
- On the Shortness of Life by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
- The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
- Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt
– DC
PS I’d love to know the techniques you use to ensure you accomplish your most important task each and every day. Let me know by replying to this email or tweeting to me @dcancel.