Step 2: Cut. Once you have a clear view of where you are and what you want, it’s time to move to Step 2: Cut.

And, as Oliver Burkeman asks, “What will your life have been, in the end, but the sum total of everything you spent it focusing on?”

For now it’s enough to say, the important question is not, Can I do this job faster, easier, and cheaper? It’s, Should I be doing this job at all? Getting clear on that question is more important now than ever, as technology gives us unprecedented access to information, other people, and, of course, our work.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” ALICE AND THE CHESHIRE CAT

Later I realized focusing on everything means focusing on nothing.

If we’re not careful, we can get stuck in the Disinterest Zone for years, maybe decades, simply because it’s what pays the bills.

First, you’ll Eliminate. You’ll discover the two most powerful words in productivity and how to use them to banish the time bandits stealing your hours. Second, you’ll Automate, gaining back time and attention by accomplishing low-leverage tasks in the background without much effort. Finally, you’ll Delegate. It’s a terrifying word for many, but

Step 1: Stop. I know what you’re thinking: “Stop? That can’t be the right word. Shouldn’t the first step in a productivity system be Go?” No. In fact, that’s where most productivity systems get it wrong. They jump right to showing you how to work better or faster, but they never stop to ask, Why? What’s the purpose of productivity?

Unless you first know why you’re working, you can’t properly evaluate how you’re working.