Are you a modern-day renaissance man?
Here’s why you must prioritize ONE thing at a time or risk eternal mediocrity.
I’m a multi-hyphenate creative.
• Writer
• Photographer
• Actor
• Filmmaker
So I get it.
Here’s why prioritization is critical to success.
🔹 Self-Awareness:
What to prioritize and how much time to commit depends entirely on your level of self-awareness.
But give yourself grace…
You can change the scale as you see fit.
You can decide to spend more or less time on whatever you prioritize.
Hell, you can even change your priority entirely.
Different seasons of life often call for other priorities.
When I stopped being a lawyer and moved into the creative arts, my priority scale was all over the place.
Some months I’d prioritize screenwriting.
In other months It’d be acting or filmmaking.
I had zero consistency.
But that’s what I needed during that season of life.
🔹 Goals:
Before you assess prioritization, you need to figure out your goals.
• Do you want/need to make more money?
• If so, how much?
• Are you happy with your current job?
• Is your ego okay with being a hobbyist?
Answering these questions is hard work.
But worth it.
🔹 Splitting Your Time Between Interests Slows Your Growth:
Here’s a hypothetical:
Bob and Joe have equal athleticism.
• Bob splits his time equally between golf and soccer.
• Joe spends 100% of his time playing golf.
After 6 months, who will be the better golfer?
Joe, of course.
And if Joe continues to spend 100% of his time on golf, he’ll ALWAYS be better than Bob.
So, if you want to accelerate growth, you must be like Joe.
Prioritize all (or most) of your time on one thing.
Period.
Man, that’s some tough love.
But it’s critical to acknowledge.
You’re spinning your wheels if you have ambitious goals yet split your time like Bob.
You must pick one thing and prioritize it.
And prioritization looks different to everyone…
🔹 Prioritization Scale:
If you’re anything like me, the thought of spending 100% of your time on one thing is terrifying.
Luckily, prioritization exists on a scale.
You can prioritize 85% of your time on one thing and then split the remaining 15% among your other interests.
You might be asking…
“But what if I don’t know what to prioritize?”
And I empathize.
I struggled with this question as well.
It’s tough if your identity is wrapped up in the renaissance man thing…
But the “I don’t know what to prioritize?” issue stems from insecurity.
You know you need to pick something deep down, but you’re scared to kill your darlings.
Here’s my advice…
Just pick something.
You aren’t quitting the other things.
You’re just spending less time on them.
For now, at least.
You can always change your mind later.
To be GREAT at anything, you must make it a priority.
If you don’t, you’ll end up mediocre.
And mediocrity is OKAY as long as it aligns with your goals.
It all comes back to self-awareness!
⬇️ TLDR ⬇️
• Deploy self-awareness
• Analyze your goals
• PRIORITIZE your interests
• Achieve sweet success
Brendan Bald 