Finding what's worthy

I aspire to connect deeply with my work. This often involves asking a bunch of questions to myself and others. A favourite guiding question of mine is:

Is what I’m doing worthy of focus?

Worthy of my focus. Worthy of attention. Worthy of resources.

My focus could be on anything: a design task, a product feature, a research activity, a meeting, a conversation. Anything that’s simply taking up time and brain capacity.

Focus isn’t free.

Sadly, focus is a finite resource. To me, focus should be used intentionally. It better count towards making a meaningful difference. Exploring if something is worthy of focus invites intentionality into one’s daily life and work activities.

The ‘worthy thing’.

There is something visceral about the term ‘worthy’. It has a relational quality. The commitment between two or more things.

Is it worthy for me, or am I worthy of it.

There is a misconception that the ‘worthy thing’ needs to be mighty, it can also be humble. Similarly, it can be tempting to feel that what’s worthy must be complex or novel when perhaps the simple or easy thing is most apparent. Less can be more. That’s why committing to the right worthy thing, is an honourable thing to do.

Finding what’s worthy of focus for you or your team, creates a connection, binding you and the activity. You respect its place and honour its significance. Committing to an activity is easier if you understand its impact to your team and your work.

Diagnosing what’s worthy.

Diagnosing what’s worthy can be difficult. But doing so can help bring small tactical activities on track, or even help you step back to unpack the inherent aspirations of a major initiative.

The act of diagnosing what's worthy can involve decomposing further questions i.e:

If not now, when? If now, what not?

Completing a diagnosis may not immediately present you with concrete answers, but it should leave you with a feeling of newfound clarity.

Clarity comes from reflection, therefore the diagnosis is a reflective act. It can be helpful to do this with pen and paper, or throwaway material. Being able to easily dispose of your reflection aids in its ability to loosen your grip, disarm yourself and diagnose freely. I’ve also tried this through taking a walk with an AI voice agent.

Worthy of pride.

Is what you’re working on worthy of pride? I hope so!

If something is worthy of pride, you yourself likely believe that the substance of what you’re working on will make a meaningful difference, to someone, or even yourself in your craft. You took it upon yourself to commit to the activity that will create impact.

Asking yourself if what you’re working on is ‘worthy of pride’ serves as a sense check to test if what you’re working on is ‘worthy of focus’.

You should feel proud of it.

Stay curious when finding what’s worthy together.

Each individual view on what’s worthy is unique and precious. A view manifests itself in the gut, and no two guts are trained the same. Some guts have seen more things, more meals; others may have seen less. Perhaps others have recently had a refreshing cleanse or new nourishment.

When you feel a churn in the gut, hold onto it for a moment, perhaps write it down so you don’t forget it, but resist the urge to lock gaze with it and stay curious a little bit longer on diagnosing what’s worthy together with others.

TL;DR

Will this make a meaningful difference to our direction? Will this help others? Am I best placed to work on it? Am I proud to work on it? Is it worthy of focus?

I’d love to hear what you’ve found to be worthy of focus in your work. ✌️

Connor