The 5 Choices: Overview

After graduating from Rutgers University - Camden, I thought I had it all figured out. I graduated with a double major in Marketing and Finance, had a full-time career lined up as a Risk Underwriting Analyst at a phenomenal company, and was finally on my way to success. After starting my job, I quickly learned that I struggled with organization, needed structure, kept coming up short on deadlines, and was overall unhappy with my situation. Tie that in with the height of Covid-19 and working from home...whew chile I was MISERABLE. Enter The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity. This book was sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust for months prior to my slump. LET ME TELL YOU, this has changed my life for the better and has helped me see where I went wrong.

The 5 Choices is time management redefined for the twenty-first century: it increases your productivity and empowers you to make high-impact choices about where to invest your valuable time, attention, and energy."

The authors of Franklin Covey Company truly know how to target the inner procrastinator within us all, but what does this mean? Through decades of research, they have been able to find five key factors that can help people attain a productive life by prioritizing what is important, and removing what is not. Let's dive in to see what these mean!

Act on the Important, Don't React to the Urgent

I've noticed people to lead their lives either Consciously or Unconsciously; Logic versus Emotion. Acting on the important places more focus on our "thinking brain," which is responsible for planning, attention, self-control, choices, and follow-through. Reacting to the urgent is tied to our "reactive brain," which is where our reflexes, instincts, emotions, reactions, and impulses reside.

Franklin Covey Company has developed what is called the "Time Matrix," a fundamentally new way to visualize tasks and boost productivity. From what you can see in the diagram, focusing on Quadrant 2 will yield the best results. We want to try our best to avoid Quadrant 4 at all costs, which can be done by being intentional with our tasks. By PRIORITIZING.

Go for the Extraordinary, Don't Settle for the Ordinary

Decisions...decisions...decisions...

Decision Management is the driving force behind any goal you want to achieve. Whether you are a parent, director, accountant, bus driver, Realtor? (if you're looking to buy, rent, or sell, let me know), really dig deep into figuring out what your identity is, what your role is, and what specific actions you have to take to improve. We all want to level up, but we also tend to not want to put in the work to do it. Let's go from ordinary to EXTRAORDINARY.

Just like anything in life, we all need Balance. For example, I am a father, an entrepreneur, a Realtor?, a romantic partner (debatable), and so much more. My identity is made up of all of these roles, yet I cannot commit all of my time and energy into a single role. As my grandfather always says, "There are 24 hours in a day. No one person has more time than the other, you just have to figure out what to do with it to keep your life balanced." *I've never been good with remembering conversations verbatim but that was the gist of it.*

Now...we know we want to take our success to the next level, and we know we need balance to have a sustainable life. How exactly are we supposed to reach these goals? I am so glad you asked! We can do this by utilizing the S.M.A.R.T. Technique.

• Specific: Details. Don't kid yourself. What exactly are you trying to achieve?
• Measurable: Insights/Metrics. How will you track your progress? Are you seeing any results?
• Achievable: Progression. Think a Million, Earn a Million, Net a Million, Receive a Million (The Millionaire Real Estate Agent. Gary Keller, 2004).
• Relevant: Purpose. Does this goal suit you long-term? Keep asking yourself WHY.
• Time-Bound: Deadline. When will this be achieved? Put a specific date on it and work, work, work, work, work, work.

Once you have all of this written down, you're well on your way to having the blueprint to success! Isn't it crazy how things work out when you read. Identify the most important roles you play in your life to five you the right framework for Balance, Motivation, and Fulfillment. Remember why you do what you do. Discover your purpose and watch your mood increase tenfold.

Schedule the Big Rocks, Don't Sort the Gravel

I have no idea why I have this urge to rap about rocks and socks, but y'all ain't ready for the heat....anyway let's get into the difference between Big Rocks and Gravel before I say something else corny.

Big Rocks are all the important things in your life. They represent your responsibilities, relationships, important projects, critical meetings; they are all things in Quadrant 2 of the "Time Matrix" (if you're like me and don't remember, scroll up).

Gravel is all of the activities not found in Quadrant 2 (simple, right?). These represent your annoying emails, phone calls, less important activities, especially laundry. I really hate laundry. Granted, these are all things that need to be done too, but they don't come with the same level of importance, unless they are in Quadrant 1 as urgent.

As we can see from the visual, the jar on the left was filled with gravel first and the big rocks after. This is what 90% of people do in their lives. Filling our day-to-day with things that do not truly matter or help us achieve the goals we say we want to achieve. As mentioned previously, you need a good balance. The right jar has been balanced where all of the big rocks were able to fit and the gravel fell into place around them. This is optimal because all important tasks were able to be completed first while the non-urgent, unimportant tasks were also able to get done. True productivity isn't about getting more things done, it's about getting the right things done.

"Planning turns out to be one of the single most effective strategies you can use in order to reach any goal. When people engage in the right kind of planning, their success rates go up on average between 200% to 300%." -Dr. Heidi Halvorson

Having a plan to execute is vital to seeing more results. I find it fascinating how so many people (me included) have these dreams and aspirations to make it in the world but we don't physically write down how we're going to get their. Life has so many curveballs thrown at us in a given day/week/month/year but we all decide how to react to them.

The Master Task List

• On the List (aka Big Rocks): Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2
• On the Floor (aka Gravel): Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4

After reading this, I really discovered the secret to feeling less anxious, overwhelmed, and "busy" all the time. The secret is... say NO. Say no to tasks that are not important. Say no to more work when you know darn good and well if you take on another project you might literally die. Say no to people who do not reciprocate what you give. Say no to things that will drain you of your energy instead of replenishing it. Say no to the late night booty call. Say no to drugs (unless it's a plant). Take control of your life and be intentional with all decisions that serve YOU best.

Also...can we talk about stress? I feel like no matter who I speak with, they say they're stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or always tired. This goes to show that many of us are not being mindful with our decisions in life. We must live in the present moment and be intentional with what we bring into our life; just as much as what we let go of in our lives.

"If there is no stillness, there is no silence. If there is no silence, there is no insight. If there is no insight, there is no clarity." -Tenzin Priyadarshi

Remember, our default in life is to rely on the "Reactive Brain." While this may be default, and also the easiest, the "Thinking Brain" will plant the seed for your success. This will help you level up and become the version of yourself that your ex girlfriend would kill for but cannot have. Be present, be logical, be strategic, be creative, and get it!

Rule your Technology, Don't Let it Rule You

Have you ever experienced the "Instagram Riptide?" I completely just made this term up, but it's that occurrence where you go onto the app for one thing and next thing you know you're on Reels for the next hour and a half. You just got sucked in! I've been through this countless times and still struggle with the amazing techniques Instagram uses to capture people's attention.

Technology, especially with the high demand of social media, has amplified our addiction to urgency. Hear me out: we get notifications multiples times in an hour, often every few minutes. Each time we get a notification, we feel compelled to respond since it is an "urgent" request. Email, text messages, social media likes/shares/comments. The rise of social media addiction is just like when Franklin Saint brought crack rocks into our hood (Snowfall. FX)! It doesn't even feel like we're addicted but we literally cannot get enough of the dopamine hits that our technology brings us. Many of us feel like we cannot live without our phones, our tablets, our laptops. BUT, there was a time before technology where things got done, success was still achieved, and people still lived (lives of boredom for sure).

"...when we get stuck on a particular tool, we create an attachment in our mind that keeps us from moving fluidly and responding appropriately to different circumstances as they arise." -Yagyū Munenori

As with countless obstacles we may face in life that we are not prepared for. We must become comfortable with the uncomfortable to achieve our goals. What doesn't kill us will make us stronger, and there's nothing man should fear more than fear itself. If that's the case, we really are our own worst enemy and are at the mercy of our own decision-making.

The Core 4

Act: These are things that you must complete. Appointments are set for things that must be completed by a specific time. Tasks are things that have no yet been scheduled but still need to be completed

File: This is a form of an organized file system. Contacts/Information is used for referencing and providing a location source. Notes/Documents contain all other information that may be required for the tasks/appointments at hand.

If you're anything like me and cannot stay organized for the life of you, I implore you to try this technique. It has helped me tremendously and my head is less clouded with tasks and irrelevant information since it is all organized on paper/digitally. *Try to keep all of this in one place if possible*

When taking on something new, take a moment to...PAUSE...CLARIFY...DECIDE

The Three Master Moves

1. Win Without Fighting: Do it or Trash it
2. Turn It Into What It Is: Break it Down (Core 4)
3. Link to Locate: Can You Find it Later?

Fuel your Fire, Don't Burn Out

The final, but most important, choice to productivity has to deal with Energy Management. Let's compare a car and gas to a person and energy. If a car has a full tank of gas, it'll take you as far as it can before it needs another fill up. The same can be said for our bodies. If we fill our minds and bodies with knowledge and healthy foods, we can go as far we can...until we need to replenish. Our mental energy comes from two main sources: 1) A Powerful Purpose and 2) Your Physical Body. Your purpose drives your motivation, which drives your energy, which drives your ambition. Your physical body needs a lot of healthy foods and exercise to keep your brain in tip-top shape.

The Five Energy Drivers

1. Move: Get your body moving! Run that 5k you've been talking about for months.
2. Eat: Have a balanced diet of leafy greens, colorful veggies, carbs, fats, proteins.
3. Sleep: Get an optimal amount of sleep. 7-8 hours is the recommended benchmark.
4. Relax: Treat yo self! Meditate, focus on hobbies, have fun to disconnect from work.
5. Connect: Relationships are everything! Introvert or Extrovert, socialize when you can.

Remember, sitting is said to be the new smoking. Having a sedentary life is no fun as it is, but it is also detrimental to your health and wellbeing. Try to get up and walk around every hour to get the blood flowing.

Conclusion

This was my very first article every written and took so much time to write. I really hope you enjoyed the read and was able to get something beneficial out of it. The book itself is a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with procrastination, disorganization, or taking on too much at once. I'm not sure if there's a comment section or an area where you can provide feedback. If there is, please feel free to leave any advice, ask any questions, or provide any suggestions for the next article.