(3 mins read)
At an early stage of my professional career, when my ambitions are on an extremely high level, I used to work as a consultant, responsible for selling some professional services to external clients. I was on a mission as I was sure that the company I used to work in, provided the best services ever. My ambitious and, as I thought, a very realistic plan, was to conduct as many sales meetings as possible and to convince as many clients as possible. Great plan!
Next two months I spent on visiting two or three clients every day. It was more like a run from one door to another, from one company to another. It was an extremely busy time and when all finished I was exhausted physically.
After two months of me working 10-12 hours every day, I decided to stop for a moment this craziness and reflect a bit. I was able to conduct sixty (60!) business meetings and I managed to sell none, zero (0!!!) service. There was absolutely no outcome from my hard work, dedication and actions. Ups!
Now, from a time perspective, I see that it was a critical learning moment in my professional career. A deep analysis of what had happened helped me reflect and correct my future actions.
Let me share the most important corrections:
PURPOSE – focusing on customer satisfaction and meeting their needs
GOALS – stop selling my services and start looking for a win-win solution.
ACTIONS – stop talking and start asking questions to listen to understand my customers.
HABITS – finishing my work at 5pm and spending the evening entirely with the family, recharging my batteries.
This simple approach to essentialism in action helped me to be more meaningful and to be more focused and productive on a daily basis.
ESSENTIALISM IN ACTION
Essentialism in action is a very simple concept. In general, we do understand the theory of essentialism, that we need to focus on the most important elements in our personal and professional lives. Many of us struggle with an implementation of the theory into our daily practices and habits. The recipe is very simple, we need to ensure that all elements are connected and in harmony. Start with your PURPOSE, then translate it into your GOALS. Once this is done, you will not know exactly which ACTIONS you want to take and which HABITS do you need to express.
PURPOSE
Your purpose is your WHY. Some of us may spend months or even years exploring before we identify our own North Star. The first step is to reflect on our gifts, what are our unique skills and abilities; what do we have to offer to the rest of the world? What drives you and gives you energy? And finally, the last phase will be the reflection of our mission, what is it that the world expects from us and exactly how can we help others?
GOALS
Once you know your PURPOSE, you will be able to identify goals which need to be set in the future. A reflection and analysis will help you to identify the goals which will be aligned with your North Star.
ACTIONS
Having clear GOALS will help you to be more focused and assertive with all your actions. You will be able to say YES to all what is important and to say NO to everything which is not adding any value or even derailing you from your course of actions.
HABITS
Having a plan with goals and actions is good but you need to have micro, routine activities you can execute every day. Micro habits will generate a compound effect in an annual perspective. You will be surprised at the end of the year once you see the power of compounding. Think about what you can start or stop doing. Do you want to keep your work/life balance and to finish your work at 5pm or you will continue until 10pm? Micro habits matter a lot.
Essentialism in action will help you to be more meaningful in the long run and to be more focused and efficient every day.
Every Day Development 