The 25 to 5 Process
A few weeks ago I encountered a new method for cutting out the clutter of one’s life. By narrowing down your focus, it is possible to see what you really want. The method is Warren Buffet’s 25 to 5 process, helpfully explained by this video;
I recently went through the exercise with my wife and we made our lists. Very reassuringly the five we ended up with were compatible and that was great. However, I couldn’t help thinking that the life goals we had narrowed the lists down to looked somewhat overly practical and a little boring. We had had to cut out most of the exciting goals and ambitions in favour of looking after each other and providing for our new family (which gets bigger in four weeks time!).
It just niggled at me, and I was thinking that no-one could possibly orient their life goals to a set of criteria that they think are practically important but that don’t particularly excite them. Why wake up with energy and enthusiasm if your only goals relate to providing comfort and stability for a lifetime?
It would make sense for me if I was coming from a place of turmoil and struggle, but not from my current baseline. I was thrown a little off course by this. I spent a day or so in a sort of listlessness, annoyed that someone at the pinnacle of success would be handing down such disheartening advice.
Selling Stickers
A few days later, I got an email alert from my Redbubble account telling me that I had sold a number of stickers to a customer in a foreign country. It is actually the economic equivalent of finding some loose change in your pocket but still, this was exciting!
It reinvigorated my artistically inclined sense of creativity and for most of my free time since I’ve been creating mandalas and abstract art using Corel Painter. I’ve also set up an Instagram account for my artworks.
Creating digital artwork which can potentially generate income did not feature in my top five list of desired life achievements. At that point I knew full well how to fill my free time, I was just reluctantly working out how best to fill my time in pursuit of my life goals. Yet all it took was a stranger in Germany to like one of my earlier designs enough to part with some cash, and it has sent me into a frenzy of productive activity.
What I am saying is that making a list of goals and desired achievements is all very well, but you just never know what’s going to happen that can take you in an unexpected direction.
The Need For Balance
Obviously, the amount of free time I have is going to dramatically dwindle once the newborn arrives and my priorities will no doubt change in a way I do not yet comprehend once I have started bonding with my own son. Like with anything there will be a need for balance. Most new parents have very little time for themselves but they balance that with the joy of raising a new life.
On reflection, I would say that the exercise of 25 to 5 is interesting and inciteful, it can show you where you are at in life and perhaps offer insight into what you really want. Yet I think it is to be taken with a pinch of salt. The identification of goals is fine, but doggedly working in one direction shuts down your ability to take opportunities that arise and explore new avenues of possibility.