Staying focussed on what you really like is the real game

Have you heard about the Warren Buffett's 2-list strategy?

Of course not. I bet there are very rare people in this world who follow the most successful people's career advice. But right now, what I am gonna tell you, would not only help you focus in studies, but in shaping your future too in the long run. And yeah, this list will definitely help you prepare for studies mentally, as well as psychologically.

Now, I don't know about any top student other than Warren Buffett himself. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, he is considered one of the most successful investers of all time with a net worth of whopping $86Billion USD. His career & to-be-successful advices have always inspired me to do my best. However, this one has changed my life and it's going to change yours too.

Buffett's two-list strategy for giving your best and achieving success has a little backstory behind it.

What's inside Warren's brain?

Mike Flint, who was Warren's personal pilot for 10 years, was one day talking with Warren regarding career priorities and success. According to Mike, while they were talking, Warren stopped him right there & asked him to go through a simple three-step exercise. This one :-

1. Write down your 25 top career goals. Or, for a short-term version, make a list of your top 25 targets you want to achieve this year, or even this week.
2. Now, review your list & take a hard look at what you have written. Circle the top 5 most important goals of your life from that list. The most urgent ones, that you are assured to achieve in future.
3. Now the 5 goals you circled go in List A & the other 20 distractions (as of now) make their way to List B.

Now, start working on the top 5 priorities you jotted down in List A right away. To stay focused, you can even stick that list in your room or on your study table (that's my advice!)

But what about List B?

Now, Mike told Buffett that he'd start working on his List A right away, and also work on the other 20 in his spare time. Although the 20 things are not as urgent as the top 5, they are still important to him, and he still plans to give them a dedicated effort. That was when Buffett told him the main strategy :-

“No. You've got it all wrong, Mike! Everything you didn't circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you've succeeded with your top five."

According to Mike, this was the main reason why Warren Buffett was so successful. He also used to make lists as a student- “He knew what to do now, and what to do after you've achieved ‘what you were doing then.”

Your list of goals is too long...

Now, you might be wandering, how is this strategy related to your studying? Why did Buffett make such lists while he was just a student? Does this really help a student in his studies? Well, let me answer these ones too...

Why do we study? Obviously, to pursue what we are interested in, to achieve our goals, to be successful in life. Right? So, what stops us from studying effectively? Our Focus. We want to study, but we can't focus on what we are doing. Who doesn't want to get good marks, be it competitive exams, or board exams, or even a secondary school exam. But what holds us back is our other priorities.

Ignoring the other distractions from your life like- negative people, electronic gadgets, girlfriends and all isn't too hard. But cutting out your interests and things you care about is what makes it difficult to follow the regular flow.

For instance, you are preparing for IIT-JEE. But at the same time, you want to be an actor (because mimickery is your hobby), or you want to write a Bestseller book (because writing fascinates you), or you want to own a startup (because you want to be rich), or you wanna be a rockstar (because you crave for fame). Now, all these future plannings are revolving in your brain while you are solving a Maths question. So, you lose your focus in what you are actually doing, what, for you, is the topmost priority right now, to make it to the IITs with a good rank. And if it's not, why are you doing all this shit?

So basically, making this list helps you to eliminate the 20 of the important future goals from your brain (It DOESNOT mean these are distractions, but if you have 5 more urgent goals to tend to, even these 20 would serve as a distraction), and focus on what you are studying more efficiently. And once you have achieved these top 5 in future, who cares whether you write a book, or play a guitar, or star in a movie, your life is secured man!

So you have to decide making these lists if what you are studying actually falls in List A? If yes, then forget everything & get back to study. And if not, well study is important in life, and you have to study anyway, but you can prioritize your other important goals too.

As James Clear writes for TIME, "Spending time on secondary priorities is the reason you have 20 half-finished projects instead of five completed ones. Eliminate ruthlessly. Force yourself to focus. Complete a task or kill it. The most dangerous distractions are the ones you love, but that don't love you back."

Remember, it's all about mastering your priorities.

Happy Studying ;)