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Matt Mochary’s Mochary Method Curriculum
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Video of Matt talking about Top Goal (2 min)
In startups, fires never cease to burn. One of the most common complaints I hear from CEOs is that they seem to have infinite things to do on a day-to-day basis, yet weeks will go by, and they don't feel like they have accomplished anything. This dilemma results from getting bogged down with the small immediate things and losing track of the important long-term ones.
The Top Goal framework will help you fix this. Greg McKeown, who wrote a phenomenal book on productivity called Essentialism, boils this down to one key concept: Schedule two hours each day to work on your Top Goal only. And do this every single workday. Period.
The earlier in the day you schedule this Top Goal time, the better to avoid other issues (and people) from pressing for your attention. There is also strong, research-backed evidence to show that we have more decision and thought-processing energy early in the day when our brain is fresh and well-rested. Take advantage of this time when your brain performs at its best by doing the essential things first.
During this Top Goal time, do not respond to emails, texts, calls, and messages. Only work on your top priority during these two hours. If you follow this pattern each workday, you will achieve amazing things.
If you have never scheduled this kind of focused work time, starting with two hours a day will likely be too great of a leap. Instead, start by scheduling 30 minutes for tomorrow early in the day. If that goes well, then plan 30 minutes each weekday morning for a week. If that goes well, increase the daily scheduled time to one hour. Continue growing each week until you find the right balance, knowing that the recommended target is two hours.