There are 2 traps ambitious creatives fall into:

• Having a surplus of goals you are passionate about, pursuing them all, getting overly stressed, and therefore getting mediocre results.

• Sacrificing the truly important things in life: meaningful relationships, health, adventure, etc., in exchange for career success.

I have studied countless hours of content from productivity gurus throughout history.

Here are the top 3 principles from James Clear, Lewis Howes, and Stephen Covey to help you prioritize and achieve your career goals, avoid overwhelm, and still have time for life's gems.

MANAGE YOUR 4 BURNERS

James Clear describes work-life balance as the "4 burners theory."

Imagine your life is represented by four burners, each symbolizing one major quadrant of life:

• Family

• Friends

• Health

• Work

The theory states that to achieve high levels of success at one of the quadrants, you must take fuel away from one or more of the others.

The lesson here is that "work-life balance" as we think of it is a myth, time and energy are finite resources, and that the most successful people often sacrifice one or more of the 4 burners to put more fuel into another.

It is incredibly liberating to accept the fact that you DO NOT have to maintain perfect balance in all areas of life at all times.

BREAK LIFE INTO SEASONS

Lewis Howes approaches his career and life goals by thinking of life in Seasons.

Lewis is always clear on what his #1 goal is for each season. For 6 months, his one and only goal will be growing his podcast. That's "podcast season." For the next 4 months, it will be to write his book, and for the next 5 months it will be to learn Spanish.

If you break your life into Seasons and are very clear on what goal is the one and only priority for that Season, you can easily break down a year into 3 - 4 seasons and accomplish 3 - 4 very big achievements.

This approach is far more effective than trying to grow a podcast, write a book, and learn Spanish all at the same time.

As Gary Keller says: "the most important thing is to keep the most important thing, the most important thing."

The lesson here is that you CAN actually accomplish all your goals and fuel all 4 burners, just not all at the same time.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

When people think about breaking their life into Seasons, the natural question that follows is: "how do I pick which goal to focus on this season?"

The answer comes from Stephen Covey: "begin with the end in mind."

Knowing that you are going to die and could die at any moment is a very powerful guide that will help you make decisions that lead to a more meaningful life.

Take your list of goals, imagine you are on your deathbed, and think about what goal you would regret the most, if you did not pursue at all. That will give you clarity on what goal you should focus on in your upcoming Season.

If you follow these principles to help you prioritize your life, the worst outcome is that you spend 4 months pursuing a goal that you ultimately realize won't lead you to happiness.

You still come away with new skills and invaluable clarity that you need to go in a different direction.

If you neglect these principles and continue juggling everything, you risk living your life in a constant state of overwhelm, never achieving your most important goals, and looking back on your life with regret.

Follow me @kiyoshijhayashi for more tips on habit change and developing a meaningful career as a musician.