Time Management: Warren Buffett’s 3-Step Productivity Method
Warren Buffett developed a brilliant three-step strategy for improving personal productivity. It helps you define your priorities and plan your actions effectively — because a well-defined goal is already half of success.
🛩 The Pilot’s Story
Mike Flint was Buffett’s personal airplane pilot for ten years. (He had also flown for four U.S. presidents, so his professionalism was unquestionable.)
One day, Mike discussed his career with Buffett, and the billionaire offered him a simple yet powerful exercise consisting of three steps.
Step 1: Write Down Your Top 25 Goals
Flint took some time to think through his ambitions and write them down.
You can start small — try writing 25 things you’d like to accomplish this week. Putting your goals on paper helps clarify what truly matters.
Step 2: Circle the 5 Most Important Ones
Next, Flint reviewed the list carefully and circled the five most important goals — those that would have the biggest impact on his life and career.
If you’re reading this at home, pause for a moment and complete the first two steps before moving on.
Step 3: Eliminate the Rest
At this point, Flint had two lists:
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List A — the five circled priorities;
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List B — the remaining twenty goals.
Flint said he would focus on the top five but still work on the others when possible. Buffett interrupted him:
“No, Mike. You got it wrong. Everything you didn’t circle is your ‘Avoid-At-All-Costs List.’
From now on, these are the things you must ignore completely until you achieve your top five.”
🧠 Focus and Win
Simplicity and minimalism are the foundations of success.
There’s nothing more powerful than clearing away the unnecessary. Removing everything that isn’t truly critical frees your time, energy, and attention for what really matters.
It’s not easy to give up on interesting ideas and projects — even if they’re not essential — but those “almost important” things are the ones that derail us most.
Every action produces a result. Even neutral tasks drain your time and energy, preventing you from moving forward.
Buffett’s method is a brilliant way to set clear priorities.
Items 6 through 25 may seem important — and they often are — but compared to your top five, they’re distractions.
Spending time on them leads to 20 unfinished projects instead of five fully completed ones.
🎯 Eliminate the Nonessential
Focus deeply.
Finish what truly matters or remove it entirely.
The greatest enemies of productivity are not failures — they are the pleasant distractions that don’t bring real progress.
