Warren Buffet Reveals The 5/25 Rule That Skyrocketed His Productivity
How to accomplish your goals using secrets that businessman Warren Buffet knows well.
PeopleImages | Canva If time is money, investor, philanthropist, and businessman Warren Bufftr with his $100+ billion net worth is a productivity tycoon. A trait that Buffett and every successful person have in common is clarity. When you lack clear direction, you’ll run around in circles.
Trying to go everywhere means you end up going nowhere. You have to learn you can't do everything at once. You have to find specific goals and break them down to figure out what you can accomplish first.
Knowing what you want, that's the true first step. So elite “productivity” burns down to “pro-DIRECTivity” — where you know your priorities and direction in life. That’s where Warren’s 5/25 rule swoops in — a 5-minute exercise to understand your topmost priorities.
Warren Buffet reveals the 5/25 rule that skyrocketed his productivity:
1. List down 10 of your top goals
Don’t overthink — go off the top of your head.
2. Add 7 more to the list
Now, you might need to think a bit. P.S.: Here are a few ideas to help you out — Bagging a pay raise. Losing weight. Building a side hustle. Journaling regularly, or spending more time with your mother. Journaling has many proven benefits, with one study from 2018 showing how much journaling benefits your mental health.
Finding love. Improving your health. Mastering the guitar. Improving your work-life balance. Building an aesthetic physique. Practicing self-love, and joining a sports league.
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3. Take a deep breath
Sit back. Now, jot down 5 more. Make sure they're completely different from your other ones.
4. Wrack your brain and squeeze out another 3
25 goals down. Half of the battle’s done — now for the easier subtracting half:
5. Strike out 10 goals
Not in order, but the ones you deem the least important.
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6. Now you're left with 15
Cut out another 7 darlings.
7. The last round is to eliminate three more goals.
You’ll be left with 5 goals: these are your current highest priorities in life. That’s where Warren stops, but I like to go a step further — cut out yet another 2 goals.
Dedicate all your time and resources to the 3 goals you’re finally left with. These goals are going to help you become the best version of yourself. If you pull that off, success is guaranteed — but sticking to them without letting distractions creep in is the real challenge. Try not to look at your phone first thing in the morning, but rather try to remember your goals and say them to yourself as you wake up.
Print and paste them on your wall. Bullet-journal daily. Make them your phone wallpaper. Reaffirm them every morning. A study from Michigan State University states how important it is to write your goals down.
Incessantly talk about them with your friends and family. Not too much, we don't want to be annoying. Do whatever’s needed to keep yourself focused — fancy or weird, doesn’t matter. Godspeed, my friend!
Neeramitra Reddy is a writer and editor of In Fitness And Health, Wholistique, and MANXIMIZE. His work has also been featured on Medium, The Startup, and The Good Men Project.