This Sentence Will Help You Refocus When Your Priorities Are Out of Whack

Everything you will ever need to learn about time management you can learn from Wayne Cordeiro and Zach Morris.

Allow me to explain.

One of the things Zach is known for, besides having a cell phone thick enough to use as a weapon to bludgeon a would be thief, breaking the 4th wall, and being awesome was his ability to freeze time. Whenever things got too tense on Saved By The Bell (which is a sentence I never thought I’d write) Zach would simply call “Time out!” and everything would stop.

This is the first step in refocusing when your priorities are out of whack: take a time out.

Wayne, on the other hand, taught me about the most important 5 percent:

“But 5 percent of what I do, only I can do! This the most important 5 percent for me. I can’t delegate these initiatives to anyone else. I can’t hire someone else to take my place in any of these activities because they require that I be there? This 5 percent will determine the validity of the other 95 percent. This is what I had to discover and make as the epicenter of my life.”
– Wayne Cordeiro. Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion (p. 78).

That is the second step in refocusing when your priorities are out of whack: know your 5 percent.

When you put the two steps together you get the sentence that will help you refocus when your priorities are out of whack:

There are 1000s of people who can be [insert your job] but only I can [insert your 5 percent].

Here’s a few examples of what that might look like:

There are 1000s of people who can be the Children’s Pastor at High Desert Church but only I can be Sarah’s husband.

There are 1000s of people who can be the Children’s Pastor at High Desert Church but only I can control how close I am to God right now.

There are 1000s of people who can be the Children’s Pastor at High Desert Church but only I can exercise and eat right to maintain my health.

There are 1000s of people who can be the Children’s Pastor at High Desert Church but only I can enjoy my life.

Tip: The more you can put someone you care about into your sentences, the more meaningful they will be to you.

These are my most important 5 percent. These are the things only I can do for me. I can’t delegate them to anyone else. This is what I come back to whenever I forget what’s most important.

The next time you’re feeling stressed or your losing what’s most important take a tip from Zach Morris and Wayne Cordeiro: Call a time out and remember your 5 percent.

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