Ryan Blair posted an interesting piece The Five Steps of Compartimentalization in Forbes last year. I did an exercise I try every couple of weeks where I lay out all of the commitments I had made ranging from board meeting follow-ups (intros, offsites, etc) to family matters (coaching, attending, traveling) to new deals (diligence, meetings, etc) to everyday stuff (sports, working out, yoga) to email & a host of other things. When I was done, I had about 35 commitments and felt that sudden moment of dread we all get when we see 10 lbs of crap and a 2 lbs bag to stuff it in.
There are a whole host of things to help with this that I'll blog on in coming posts such as daily routines, sharpening the saw, etc. One of the key ones is Compartimentalization…breaking things down in distinct blocks, focusing on each block solely at a set time and rotating to the next one. Further, prioritize the blocks and define 3 key "must do" for each day and do them early in the day. Some are short term and others long term. More to come. Anyways, here is an excerpt from the post…like the imagery.
"Here’s a visual for compartmentalization; pretend as if everything you’re dealing with in your life is a room where you have to walk in and solve an equation on a white board. You have a countdown clock with less than an hour to get the problem solved, or take a single step in the right direction, and then shut the door and go into another room equally as important. You spend your entire life going from compartment to compartment."
Build those rooms…