Lately I’ve been sharing Michael Hyatt’s Proficiency/Passion model with a lot of people. It’s a great way to get clarity on why you feel how you do about the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities you have. It also helps us think about the characteristics of the work we really want to do.
Let’s dive in.
Axes
Proficiency is on the x-axis. Higher proficiency is to the right of the origin, and lower proficiency is to the left. Passion is on the y-axis with more passion above the origin and less passion below.
Zones
This model is explained in Michael Hyatt’s book, Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less. As in the book, I like starting with Zone 4, where we lack proficiency and passion. For good reason, this is called the Drudgery Zone.
“Basically, these are the things you hate doing and aren’t any good at anyway.”
Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus
I bet something comes to mind readily that falls in this zone for you. These are the items that get checked off last on your to-do list, or slide from day to day…to day. You just don’t like doing these tasks.
Zone 3 is where we’re proficient at something, but we have no passion for it. Michael Hyatt calls this the Disinterested Zone.
“Most of us are naturally inclined to avoid Drudgery Zone tasks, but we often get stuck in a rut doing Disinterested Zone activities simply because we’re good at them.”
Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus
For me, I have to schedule a lot of meetings. I’m fairly good at it but I really am not passionate about scheduling or using Outlook. It’s necessary for me to do my job, but I don’t want a job where that’s all I do.
Zone 2, the Distraction Zone, is where we’re passionate about something but not proficient.
“The Distraction Zone is made up of things that you are passionate about but sadly have little proficiency for.”
Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus
Interfering, meddling tinkering – these are all possible signs you are in the Distraction Zone. I drift into the Distraction Zone when the software developers start discussing code or design and I jump in to offer some insight. Yes, I was a software engineer, but not in this context and not for a long time. When I butt out it’s better for the team, and better for me because I can focus on activities where I actually add unique value.
And that brings us to Zone 1, the Desire Zone, where you have both proficiency with the task and passion for it.
“The Desire Zone is…where you can unleash your unique gifts and abilities to make your most significant contribution to your business, family, community…and maybe the world.”
Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus
That’s exciting!
How many of your daily tasks are in the Desire Zone? What steps might you need to take to get there? (The rest of the book Free to Focus focuses on these questions.)
tl;dr
Consider your daily tasks and determine how passionate you are about them, and how proficient you are at them. We’ll make our greatest contribution if we can shift our work into the Desire Zone, where we are both proficient and passionate.
engineer your life
- Draw the passion/proficiency grid and plot your day-to-day tasks.
- What might you want to consider eliminating, adding, or continuing to move more of your tasks into Zone 1, the Desire Zone?