67: Good vs. Great: Prioritize Your Yes & No To Protect Your Best Goals

Do you catch yourself saying "yes" to every good opportunity, only to realize later that you’ve run out of time for your biggest goals? Being busy is not the same as being productive. In this episode, we tackle ineffective prioritization and how to make the strategic shifts necessary to move from being "stuck in the good" to "progressing toward the great."

We dive into John Maxwell’s Law of Priorities, exploring the truth that activity is not necessarily accomplishment. You’ll learn how to use the "Opportunity Cost Test" and the 80/20 rule to filter every request through your current quarterly goals, ensuring your energy is spent where it matters most.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• The Law of Priorities: Why leaders understand that just because you're busy doesn't mean you're making progress.

• The Opportunity Cost Test: The reality that every "yes" you give to one thing is an automatic "no" to something else.

• The 80/20 Rule in Action: How 20% of your activities (like Nick’s dreaded burpees!) often lead to 80% of your results.

• The Quarterly Filter: How to be ruthless in evaluating opportunities based on your current 90-day objectives.

• Choosing Great Over Good: The mindset shift required to decline a positive opportunity to protect a transformative one.

Key Takeaways & Principles

• Everything Costs Something: Always ask, "What am I giving up by saying yes to this?" before committing your time or energy.

• Disproportionate Returns: Identify the few tasks that provide the greatest bang for your buck and prioritize them above all else.

• Strategic No’s: Saying "no" to a good organization or a lunch date isn't about being negative; it's about being intentional with your life's mission.

Your Action Step: The Claim Your Day Action Challenge

1. Calendar Audit: Review your calendar for the upcoming week and identify one recurring "good" activity that isn't contributing to your current 90-day goal.

2. The Cut: Be ruthless. Eliminate or pause that one activity to free up time, energy, and focus for your true priorities.

3. The Filter: Practice using your quarterly goals as a filter for any new requests that come your way this week.

Resources Mentioned

• Intentional Choice Guide: Head over to nickmazy.com to grab the guide that helps you define the values you need to protect.

• Book Recommendation: The 12-Week Year (Great for diving deeper into the 90-day segment strategy).

Previous Episode (66): If you haven't yet, listen to the previous episode on Backcasting to help set the 90-day goals you'll use as your filter!