The Five-Area Focus Filter
Protect attention by accepting only commitments that serve five priorities
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 91%
The Five-Area Focus Filter converts broad values into a concrete decision rule. McCormick names five areas—God, health, family, business, and investing—and declines activities that do not fit one of them. The power is not the particular five; it is the bounded list and the willingness to enforce it. First define the few areas that deserve meaningful time in the current season. Then classify each optional commitment. If it serves none of the areas, decline it even when it is enjoyable. Redirect the recovered time to the priority that would otherwise lose it. McCormick uses golf as his example: he loves it, but with four small children he prefers to spend those four hours with family. The filter therefore makes opportunity cost visible before the calendar fills up.
Origin
When asked how he would rebuild after losing everything, McCormick explained that his life was narrowed to God, health, family, business, and investing, with activities outside those areas excluded.
Core principles
- 01A short priority list makes trade-offs explicit
- 02Every yes consumes time from something else
- 03Enjoyable activities can still be wrong for the current season
- 04Protected focus compounds effort
How to run it
- 1
Choose the priority areas
Name the small set of life domains that deserve your finite attention in the current season.
Pro tip Use nouns broad enough to cover real responsibilities but few enough to force trade-offs.
Watch out A list that includes everything filters nothing.
- 2
Define each boundary
Write what counts inside each area so convenient rationalizations are harder later.
- 3
Classify the commitment
Before saying yes, identify which priority the activity directly serves and what time it displaces.
Pro tip Compare the commitment with the specific alternative use of those hours.
- 4
Decline outside items
Say no or not now when an optional activity serves none of the selected areas.
Pro tip A genuine interest can remain on a later-season list without entering today's calendar.
Watch out Do not use the filter to neglect unavoidable civic, legal, or caregiving duties.
- 5
Review the season
Revisit the priority areas periodically as family, health, and work conditions change.
Watch out Do not revise the list merely to justify every tempting opportunity.
In the wild
McCormick loves golf, but a round takes about four hours. With four small children, he chooses to spend those hours with his family because golf falls outside the five areas on which he is currently focused.
→ The filter resolves an attractive trade-off in favor of a declared priority.
Common mistakes
Choosing too many areas
An expansive list allows every activity through and removes the framework's forcing function.
Ignoring opportunity cost
Classifying an activity as good is insufficient; its time still comes from another priority.
Is it for you?
Best for
People with many attractive opportunities who need to protect work, health, family, faith, or financial priorities.
Not ideal for
People facing emergencies or transitions that require a temporarily broader and more flexible set of responsibilities.
From the transcript
“my life boils down to five areas God health family business and investing”
“if it does not fall in those five areas I don't do it”
From the episode
JT McCormick: Rise Against All Odds
JT McCormick