Sublime

why it mattered.”

So if a certain activity really matters to you—a creative project, say, though it could just as easily be nurturing a relationship, or activism in the service of some cause—the only way to be sure it will happen is to do some of it today, no matter how little, and no matter how many other genuinely big rocks may be begging for your attention.

Principle number one is to pay yourself first when it comes to time.

If you try to find time for your most valued activities by first dealing with all the other important demands on your time, in the hope that there’ll be some left over at the end, you’ll be disappointed. So if a certain activity really matters to you – a creative project, say, thou

Everything takes time, so chopping off even small tasks can free you up to zoom in and obsess over the few key areas that matter.

JZ’s Highlight will be “catch up on email” or “return phone calls.” These small tasks may not sound like Highlight material—no one wishes they could make time for email—but there’s a surprising satisfaction that comes from catching up.

Time with family and friends

So when you create your to-do list, do it in the categories of your five things. Then add a sixth category, titled The Other 5%. Mine, for a particular day, looks like this: Do Great Work with Current Clients Call John to set up interviews. Create feedback report for Lily. Design strategy offsite for X, Inc. Set up travel for Portland trip. Create

knowing you can safely ignore small, nonurgent tasks, letting them pile up while you focus on your Highlight. After all, with batching the little stuff, you have a plan for catching up.