Make This List to Get More Out of Your Day

From CEOs to janitors, we all have the same problem – we don’t have enough time.

In fact, when you think about it, time is an equalizer.  That’s because we all only get 24 hours.

Even the President is forced to squeeze all his tasks into that 24-hour time frame.

So how do we do it?

I recently visited the Google headquarters with my husband in Mountain View, CA.  Our gracious guide Gopi Kallayil discussed this conundrum with us as he showed us around the gorgeous campus.

At one point he asked us, “If you only had one hour what would be the next one thing you would do with it that would maximize the quality of joy, presence and life?”

It’s a great question for unveiling your true priorities.

Often you’ll be surprised by how little time you dedicate to the things you would put at the top of that list.

Gopi also poses this question in his new book, “The Internet to the Inner-Net: Five Ways to Reset Your Connection and Live a Conscious Life” The book is wonderful and explores how we can regularly unplug from technology and the Internet and plug into our inner-net.  

There Gopi lists his top 10 priorities:

1. Sleep
2. Nutrition
3. Exercise
4. Meditation
5. Love
6. Stuff (chores and mail sorting, etc.)
7. Work
8. Passions
9. Growth
10. Community

The categories are quite large, and in his book Gopi explains the different ways of expressing each item.

For example, for community he might have his friends over for tea (excellent idea) or practice the harmonica for passion.

Making a Priorities List

As you know, I love a good list and I’m always looking for new lists to make, especially when they can help us learn more about ourselves.

Gopi admits that this list has changed over the course of his life – which makes sense as our priorities shift with time.

I would suggest making a priorities list annually or when you’re thinking about making a big change.

Don’t forget to keep your list (maybe in Evernote) so you can reflect on your many revisions!

Preorder the Book

If you like Gopi’s list — please do check out his book, “The Internet to the Inner-Net: Five Ways to Reset Your Connection and Live a Conscious Life“, which is available on October 6th.

Do consider pre-ordering the book as that would be very helpful to Gopi. As you may remember from the lead up to my book release for Listful Thinking – in the publishing world, pre-orders set the tone for a book and really create buzz with booksellers, media, publishers and book lovers everywhere.

What is on your priorities list?