Choose What You Will Suck At
Pre-approve the sacrifices required by your priority
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
This model treats reduced performance in secondary domains as a planned price of concentration rather than an unexpected failure. Start with the result that matters most for the next six or twelve months. Identify which other areas will receive less time, define how much decline is acceptable, and make that agreement before the pressure begins. When a secondary metric slips within the approved range, you can respond with acceptance rather than trying to optimize everything simultaneously. Chris stresses that this is not permission for complacency: maintain what you reasonably can and revisit the bargain. The mechanism is expectation management around finite attention—pre-committing to trade-offs protects the priority from the panic and context-switching that arise when every domain is expected to improve at once.
Origin
Chris attributes the 'choose in advance what you're going to suck at' mindset to Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks during The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Focused progress consumes attention elsewhere
- 02You can pursue anything but not everything at once
- 03Pre-accepted trade-offs reduce panic when metrics slip
- 04A sacrifice can be bounded without becoming neglect
How to run it
- 1
Choose the season's priority
Name the one result that deserves disproportionate focus over a defined period. State why it outranks the alternatives for now.
Pro tip Use a six- or twelve-month horizon rather than an indefinite sacrifice.
Watch out Multiple equal priorities avoid the trade-off instead of resolving it.
- 2
Name what will give
Identify the domains likely to receive less attention because of the priority. Be specific about time, performance, or progress that may decline.
Watch out Unstated sacrifices still occur; they simply arrive as surprises.
- 3
Set acceptable floors
Define the minimum maintenance level for each secondary area. Separate a tolerable slowdown from genuine damage.
Pro tip Keep a basic floor rather than abandoning the domain entirely.
Watch out Do not pre-approve harm to health, safety, or essential obligations.
- 4
Accept the price
Make the deal with yourself before the demanding period begins. When an expected decline appears, recognize it as the chosen cost of focus.
Watch out Acceptance is not the same as pretending the cost does not exist.
- 5
Review the bargain
At planned intervals, test whether the main priority still justifies the sacrifices and whether secondary floors are holding. Adjust if the trade-off has become unsafe or unnecessary.
In the wild
Chris describes a year containing a book, live shows, his podcast, and other work. He accepts in advance that his fitness may decline somewhat while intending to hold on to it as well as he can.
→ Expected fitness slippage becomes a conscious price rather than a reason to abandon the main projects.
Common mistakes
Calling everything a priority
If every domain must improve, none receives the concentrated attention the model is designed to protect.
Using sacrifice as neglect
The model allows bounded trade-offs, not unlimited deterioration or complacency.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for ambitious people planning a demanding project or season with limited time.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for sacrificing safety, essential health care, or non-negotiable responsibilities.
From the transcript
“You can have anything you want, but you can't have everything you want.”
“Choose in advance what you're going to suck at.”
“That's the price that I'm prepared to pay.”
From the episode
Chris Williamson: The Shocking New Research On Why Men And Women Are No Longer Compatible!