My 24 Pyramid

By Tim Brown | May 5, 2020 |

So I have this diagram that I try to live by…

Now, it started out with a simple “24”, but I’ve expanded it into sort of pyramid more out of a way to organize it versus a pyramid of hierarchy. Hierarchies are important in my two favorite models though; Steven Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people and John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, probably the greatest coach of all time. Wooden’s Ted talk is one of those items that contains more snippets of wisdom, than I’ve ever seen in any talk ever, anywhere. Now, I will buy that there are some commencement speeches that provide greater thought and are close. The whole thing I made looks like this:

To break it down, 2 and 4 represent, as you can guess, 24 hours in a day. The simple fact is that everyone gets the same 24 hours and it’s how you use those 24 hours day after day that matters. And how, over a period of years, you can really start to separate yourself from others if you use your time wisely. It’s really the difference between success and failure. This idea is a huge talking point by Eric Thomas who captures this concept extremely good and with an emotion that is really unmatched. “If you just write down your 24 hour schedule for me and you let me look at it, I can tell you where you’re going to be in 5 years, I can tell you where your going to be in 10 years, I can tell you where your going to be in 20 years if you keep that schedule”.

The line with an upside down V actually represents a pair of legs hitting the ground running. Too often it takes too long to get going for the day, so get going early. This is a repeating theme of reminders for myself. My routine also involves something I memorized way back in high school “The beginning of a new day”.

The Top G = Great

Good: Don’t let the good get in the way of the great. It’s way too easy to focus on the good and forget about the great.
Noise: Don’t let the noise around you keep you from great. The don’t let the distractions distract you.

P = Pomodoro Technique

I use the Pomodoro technique constantly. It’s a way to focus effort over a time boxed period of time. For a while I’ve done longer and shorter durations, than the 25 minutes, but oddly I end up back at 25 minutes being ideal. I personally use this app: . There are 100s of them though. This is a real way to make progress real for me. I break them down into different activities and have one specifically for Quadrant 1 activities too. That way it’s crystal clear where my efforts were focused on for the day. Either I did them or didn’t; did I let the distractions distract me? What was my Q2 MBFFF ratio to Q1 POMs?

FTF: Put “First Things First” is simply Covey’s Habit 3. Remember, it’s about more than time management. Habit 3 is about life management as well; your purpose, values, roles, and priorities. What are “first things?”
Move. Motion today matters. Know you are doing the right things, so go now and press forward; as Nike’s motto says “just do it”. Hesitation and inaction is a choice too.

G = Grind

It actually stands for a phrase “got to grind, got to hustle, seize the day and make it count”.
* The Os are another phrase “One Day, or Day One?“.

Do I do this everyday? No. Most days, yes. Most days by lunch I’ve done multiple POMs in what Covey would call Quadrant 2; there is no reason to have not to right? Overall, the most important idea or approach you can get from this is ideas and concepts only. You have to internalize your own. Think through what you want and make your own. You won’t follow or internalize someone else’s ideas nearly as much. The commitment of living through it won’t be there as strong, so think through what you want out of life.

? = The Question Mark

I actually don’t have a definition for the question mark at the top. I consider the pyramid complete with a missing piece. I’m always after that missing piece. Always.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
- John Wooden