How to accelerate when time is short

TLDR: time is always short.

Stop focusing on things that don't matter.

Instead, focus on the things that will move the needle forward the most.

Often, we don't spend our time wisely. We think that simply doing something equates to making progress. This is a misconception. Simply doing doesn't guarantee progress. Doing what matters leads to progress. Doing what doesn't matter may lead to minor improvement, but more often, leads to wasted opportunities and dashed hopes.

Consider this scenario a young professional gets the opportunity to interview for a leadership role at their dream company. This opportunity is their golden ticket to accelerate their dream forward. They know the key to increasing their odds of success: preparation. But how they prepare makes all the difference.

Now, lets explore the potential scenarios that can unfold. They've had their initial talk with the recruiter and the requirements of the role are clear; they are looking for someone who is good in technology A and type B questions will be asked. So how should the candidate prepare? Naturally, we say that they should improve their skills in A and their problem solving ability of type B questions. However, this is where many fail. Do they not prepare? No, most do and wholeheartedly. Then what? They deviate.

They know they must thoroughly understand A and B. So they do their research, and then find that A is also related to C, and D and so forth. So they derail and start their study at C, D etc. Then when the time comes to interview, they have not sufficiently allocated enough time to mastering A and B. They have prepared, but for the wrong things.

This is the fallacy of believing that you must know everything. The reality is, you can't know it all. But you must know what you need to know. The 80/20 rule exists for a reason. The rule exists to remind us to focus on the 20% of effort that will produce 80% of the results. It is to prevent people from derailing themselves and wasting time when time is short. And time is always short.

Opportunities come and go, and they rarely come back. Now, let’s imagine the professional gets a second chance. This time, they focus entirely on A and B, only expanding into related areas when absolutely necessary. The day of the interview comes and they ace it, because they focused on the right things at the right time.

So reevaluate whether you are wasting your time, even though you may think you aren't. If you aren't focusing on what matters most, then you are. Because just like time doesn't stop for anyone, opportunities also slip through our fingers like sand, unless we take precise and purposeful action.