Leaders get stuck in the urgent because they don't have a system.
If you don't know what you want and what you're building towards, you can't tell an opportunity from a distraction. So everything that lands feels like it needs you.
The question you can't answer
When something comes up, ask: does this help me get to what I want? Does it get me to the next step?
If you're not clear on where you're going, you can't answer that. Every request wins by default.
When you are clear, you see it straight away. However flashy something looks, it has no place in what you're building, and you say no thank you. Or it clearly fits, and you fight for it.
Start with what you want, and why
First, know what you are working towards, in your business or your life. That lets you track direction.
Then know why. You can lead a business towards something for years, get there and realise it isn't what you wanted. Ask: why do I want my business to have this? That answer should be very clear.
Break it into steps you can track
Harvest uses a chain of five goals, each one serving the one above it.
- 1
The best the business could be. We call it the Ideal State. It's a bit of a dream.
- 2
Where you want the business in three years. Output, structure, whatever matters to you.
- 3
What you'll achieve in the next 12 months. Clear enough that you can see what success looks like and track yourself towards it.
- 4
What you'll finish in the next 90 days. A piece of the 12-month goal. All you aim for is completing that quarter.
- 5
What you, and your team, do this week to get to the 90-day goal. We call it the Move.
How to plan your week
Your focus is the next step. One Move a week, and a check on how close you are to the 90-day goal. Then the next 90 days, and the next.
By the end of the year you should be close to your 12-month goal. You might be a little behind. A 12-month goal can take 14 or 15 months. What matters is progress.
When you complete it, you should be about a third closer to where you saw the business in three years. If things change along the way, go back to the goals and adjust them.
This gives you a map. You know where you're going, and you move there week by week without the urgent stealing the time.
The urgent doesn't go away
This doesn't mean work becomes smooth sailing. There will be curveballs, things you didn't see coming, and chaos. That is part of reality. If we knew everything in advance, we'd be bored.
The point isn't to get rid of the urgent. It's to have deliberate Moves in your calendar inside the chaos. Track those, and you'll see real progress even in a messy quarter.
If your priorities still move every time something lands, read why your priorities move every time something urgent lands.
