Audio:

Content:

• You have limited time and energy
• You need to choose where to invest it so you don't waste opportunities
• Stephen Covey introduced us to the idea of the circle of control
• Your inner circle is your control - what is entirely, and only, up to you
• The next circle out is your circle of influence - what you can shape, but can't control
• The outer circle is your circle of concern - what you hear and know about, but can neither influence nor control.
• Spend the least amount of your time (i.e. your attention and energy) on things in that last circle.

Resources

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Transcript:

Are you always busy? Do you have a lot on your plate? Is it stressing you out a bit? In this cast, I talk about three areas you can put your time and energy into, but one of them won't get you very far.

We only have limited time and energy, and heaven knows there are multiple demands on both. This means we need to be very clear about where we want to put that time and energy otherwise we run the risk of wearing ourselves out, not achieving our goals and, worse, spending time spread across a wide range of unimportant things.

Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talked about the circle of control as a way to help remind us where to put our resources. Briefly, it goes like this:

Imagine a round archer's target made of three rings. 

Control

The inner ring is your circle of control. It's what you personally have control over and nobody else does. It includes things like:
    •    your thinking
    •    your actions
    •    your choices
    •    your words. 

Influence

The next circle out is your circle of influence. It's what you have the ability to influence but not fully control. It includes things like your:
    •    partner's responses
    •    colleague's decisions
    •    client's sense of value
    •    community's view of a key issue.

Concern

The outer circle is your circle of concern. You are aware of these things but have neither control nor the ability to influence them to any great degree. It includes things like the:
    •    what Donald Trump is doing
    •    the threat of war or terror
    •    the amount of Government debt
    •    the weather.

Recommendation

The principle is this: if you use your precious time and energy focused on issues in your circle of concern, you risk wasting your resources.

Your first priority should be in your circle of control, then selected areas of your circle of influence. 

If you have any time left over, you might spend it on issues in your outer circle of concern. But if you fully invest yourself in the first two inner circles, you probably won't have any time.

And that's good. Why worry about what you can't control nor influence?