I had a fascinating and energizing two weeks in Madrid.
I was here leading workshops and listening deeply to the challenges and concerns from our rising and promising leaders of the TBWA collective from 30 different countries.
The conversations were at a high level: the art and science of client relationships, the role of creativity in this modern age, modern team building, modern negotiation mindset and skills, all capped off by quite personal work for each cohort member which aimed to answer the eternal question: what do you really want?
All of it, intense. Thoughtful. Expansive. (With some fun thrown in, too!)
But quite philosophical — even existential.
What do you really want?
And yet, as I reflect on all of the incredible content and conversations, one dynamic emerged over and over again: time.
Time.
What to focus on?
What to do with it?
Why does there never seem to be enough of it?
I am vexed by these same questions, so I came up with a simple tool that has proven to be quite durable and helpful.
It’s called the Priority Pyramid.
©RobSchwartzHelps
I first scribbled it out when I was leading a creative department and was helping our creative directors navigate their busy schedules.
It’s a simple framework to graphically show how to manage your To-Do List. (Bonus feature: your To-Don’t List also emerges).
Here’s how it works.
Draw a triangle. Then dissect the shape with two horizontal lines, which create three areas.
The top of the triangle holds the least amount of space. The bottom holds the most. The middle does what middle things do and sort of splits the difference.
Next, label the three areas: Gold, Silver, Bronze. Gold at the top. The least amount of space for your most important items. Then silver, then bronze at the base.
Gold is what you will do, not just what you should do, but what you’re compelled to do because it reflects your core priorities and genuine passions.
Silver is what you will delegate.
And interestingly, as the days transpired here in Madrid, Bronze became what you might actually discard.
Gold, Silver, Bronze can also be seen as: Do. Delegate. Discard.
Now, we had some fun in Madrid hearing about people’s To-Do Lists. The record in the cohort, by the way, was 30 items. The average? Probably 12 items. And then, when people looked at their lists and looked at the Priority Pyramid, something magical happened. The “must-do” items rose to the top, and there were roughly two items per list.
Also, quite magically, a number of items turned out to be Bronze, or as one clever person said, “These items are shit, I’m re-labeling my Pyramid as Gold, Silver…Brown!
What’s on your To-Do list?
What’s really important?
What can you delegate?
What can you dump entirely?
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.
Header image by Virginia Marinova for Unsplash+.
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