Coaching practices for Choosing What to Work on
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Choosing What to Work on, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I never actually decide what to work on
- The work I actually choose for myself
- I look at all the areas where I’m falling short and try to fix everything at once, and end up moving nothing
- Even when I finally sit down to do one thing, the whole rest of the list keeps tugging at the back of my mind
- I open my laptop, fall straight into email and Slack, and by the end of the day I’ve been busy nonstop but the one thing that actually mattered never got touched
Practices that may help
- Make attention direction a conscious, recurring choice
Before starting any work, deliberately choose where to direct your attention — not just what to do.
Attention Management, Made Practical - Carve out self-directed time
Reserve protected time to pursue work you choose, the way innovative teams do.
Drive: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose - Choose one domain to move toward the bullseye this week
Pick the domain where a small move would matter most — not the most important one in the abstract.
Values Bullseye, Made Practical - Engage: choose work from a clear mind
With everything captured and clarified, pick what to do now and do it fully present.
Getting Things Done (GTD), Made Practical - Identify most important tasks (MITs) each morning
Choose one to three tasks that must happen today and do them before anything else.
Zen To Done (ZTD), Made Practical - Circle your top 5 without negotiating
From 25, choose exactly 5 — the ones you’d feel worst about not doing.
Warren Buffett’s Two-List Strategy - Set a deliberate intention before each hyperfocus session
Name the single task you intend to focus on and why it matters before beginning a deep work block.
Hyperfocus: Directing Intense Attention to What Matters Most - Prioritize branches by impact and workability before diving in
The tree shows what is possible to analyze — decide which branches are worth investigating before spending time on them.
Issue Tree Analysis - Identify the single most important output for today
Choose one task that, if completed, would make the day a success regardless of everything else.
Essentialism: The Art of Eliminating the Non-Essential - Follow genuine interest, not strategic interest
Pursue the thing that genuinely excites you — even if you cannot explain why or see how it fits.
The Creative Act: Rick Rubin’s Approach to Making
Related concerns
- Bullseye Competing Priorities
When two values pull in different directions, the bullseye shows you which domain is most neglected and most in need of attention.
Use the bullseye to resolve competing values
- Choose Where To Focus
Before starting any work, deliberately choose where to direct your attention — not just what to do.
Make attention direction a conscious, recurring choice
- Choosing Priorities
From 25, choose exactly 5 — the ones you’d feel worst about not doing.
Circle your top 5 without negotiating
- Clear Tasks Before Deep Work
Reserve specific, protected blocks of time on your calendar for distraction-free focus.
Schedule dedicated deep work blocks
- Focus On One Life Area
Pick the domain where a small move would matter most — not the most important one in the abstract.
Choose one domain to move toward the bullseye this week
- Focus On What Matters Most
Pick the domain where a small move would matter most — not the most important one in the abstract.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.