#137 - Free to Focus (Chp 2 - Evaluate: Determine Your Course)

Chapter 2 – Evaluate: Determine Your Course

You can evaluate tasks, activities, and opportunities based on two key criteria:

• Passion: work you love and energizes you
• Proficiency: how well you actually do something that generates results that other people can measure and reward

To determine where you are right now use a tool called the Freedom Compass. 

The 5 Zones of Productivity:

1. Desire Zone. Where your passion and proficiency intersect. Where you are able to unleash your unique abilities to make your most significant contributions.
2. Distraction Zone. Things you are passionate about but have little proficiency for, thus preventing you from making a significant contribution.
3. Disinterest Zone. Things that you’re proficient at but you aren’t that passionate about. These tasks drain your energy.
4. Drudgery Zone. Tasks for which you have no passion and no proficiency. This is the worst kind of work for you to do. 
5. Development Zone. How to gauge work outside your Desire Zone but potentially moving toward it. If we have a hunch we could develop passion and proficiency with a task, we should stay open-minded about it.

True productivity is about doing more of what is in your Desire Zone and less of everything else.