A book I am reading – Happy Sexy Millionaire by Steven Bartlett tells me that a human being can juggle a maximum of 14 balls. Apparently, it’s not possible (till now) for a person who is good at juggling to manage more than 14 balls in the air.
In this world that demands more, more, more from each one of us and where many of us are also in search of more, 14 is a good reminder. Each one of us has a limit to the number of things we can devote our energy and attention to. Focus and prioritisation are about choosing which 14 I choose to juggle.
Living consciously or intentionally is about choosing the colour and texture and size of the 14 balls I have in my arc of influence. When I am at the top of my game, I get to enjoy the experience of juggling all 14. However, there may be days I want to only juggle 4 and those days force me to be clear as to which 4 matter to me. Or maybe it is about which four I cannot afford to let drop?
What are the 4 balls that you really want to keep in the air this year? Health. Family. Work. Nature. These are the four that pop up when I ask myself to choose.
My plan to lose a kilo of weight every month (project 90×52 where my target is to get to 90 kgs by my 52nd birthday) remains top of this list. The compound interest approach to making the right food choices daily and fitting in time to exercise is the solution.
Making time for family and finding a way to be with them is another priority. I am often lost in my phone when I am supposedly spending time with my wife and I want to change that.
Doing Work that matters. Maximise my impact by focusing on things that really matter to the organisation. Identify a few key things that only I can do and then drive them to a successful conclusion.
Nature. Spend time with trees. Go for long walks with Cookie. Making the effort to find new green spaces and explore my world is another note to self.
Simple things that I must make the effort to integrate into my life. As my frequent flyer miles start clocking up again and days get longer and meetings merge into one another, I remind myself that I must juggle my priorities and have fun while keeping 14 balls of my choice in the air.
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A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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