The document discusses strategies for focusing on what truly matters and eliminating unimportant tasks. It emphasizes the Pareto principle that 20% of activities account for 80% of outcomes and recommends ignoring the remaining 80% that do not contribute significantly. Other key points include setting short deadlines to focus on critical tasks, avoiding busywork, limiting tasks to the important to shorten work time, and eliminating distractions to accomplish more with less. The overall message is the importance of ruthlessly prioritizing a few important tasks and cutting out unimportant activities in order to be more effective and productive.

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How to focus on what truly matters
The Magic “E”

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Perfection is not when there is no more to
add, but no more to take away.
Antoine de saint-exupery

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The Magic “e”
e is for Elimination!
From “The 4 – hour work week” by Timothy Ferris

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Effectiveness is doing the things
that get you closer to your goals.
Efficiency is performing a given
task (whether important or not) in the
most economical manner possible.
Being effective vs. being efficient
Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is
the default mode of the universe.

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Most things make no difference.
Being busy is a form of lazyness – lazy
thinking and indiscriminate action.
Timothy Ferris

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1. Doing something
unimportant well does not
make it important!
2. Requiring a lot of time does
not make a task important!
Being effective vs. being efficient
What you do is infinitely more important
than how you do it!

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It is in vain to do with more what can be
done with less.
William of occam

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1. Which 20% of sources are
causing 80% of my problems
and unhappiness?
2. Which 20% of sources are
resulting in 80% of my desired
outcomes and happiness?
Pareto 80/20 & freedom from futility
Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing!
Focus on the important few and ignore the rest; avoid the W4W!

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Believe it or not, it is not only possible to
accomplish more by doing less, it is
mandatory!
Timothy Ferris

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1. If I had a heart attack and had to work only two
hours per day, what would I do?
2. If I had a second heart attack and had to work
only two hours per week, what would I do?
3. What are the top three activities that I use to fill
my time to feel as if I’ve been productive?
4. Who are the 20% of the people who produce 80%
of my enjoyment and/or propel me forward, and
which 20% cause 80% of my depression, anger
and preoccupations?
Pareto 80/20 & freedom from futility

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We spend too much time with those who poison us
with pessimism, sloth, and low expectations of
themselves and the world. It is often the case that
you have to fire certain friends or retire from
particular social circles to have the life you want.
This is not being mean; it is being practical!
Poisonous people do not deserve your time.
To think otherwise is masochistic.
Timothy Ferris

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A task will swell in (perceived)
importance and complexity in relation
to the time allotted for its completion.
The end product of a shorter deadline
is almost inevitable of equal or higher
quality due to greater focus!
The illusion of Dedication & parkison’s law
“Dedication” is often just meaningless work in disguise!
Be ruthless and cut the crap!

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We create stress for ourselves because you
feel like you have to do it.
You have to. I don’t feel that anymore!
Oprah winfrey

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Limit tasks to
the important to
shorten work
time*
Shorten work
time to limit
tasks to the
important**
*Pareto 80/20 **Parkinson’s Law
The killer combination

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The first principle is that you must not
fool yourself, and you are the easiest
person to fool.
Richard P. Feyman

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Identify the few critical tasks
that contribute most to goals
achievement and schedule
them with very short and clear
deadlines.
The killer combination
If you don’t do this in AIESEC – and in life in general –
the unimportant becomes important!

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Important action is often uncomfortable
because there is a chance of failure or
rejection.
Timothy ferris

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Am I being productive or
just active?
Am I inventing things to do
to avoid the important?
Two questions to keep in mind
Most of the things we do are useless when compared with the goals
we want to achieve,
and time is wasted in proportion to the amount
that is available!

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Reality is merely an illusion,
albeit a very persistent one.
Albert einstein

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If this is the only thing
I accomplish today,
will I be satisfied with
my day?
The most important daily question
Avoid doing more to feel productive when actually accomplishing less!
Just a really small paper, no lists on your computer!

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One does not accumulate but eliminate.
It is not daily increase but daily decrease.
The height of cultivation always runs to
simplicity.
Bruce lee

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next steps

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