Are you doing what matters most right now?
I hate that question, but it is such a critical question to ask and answer honestly. Too often , the answer is “no”. We fritter a huge chunk of our day away on absolute rubbish, activities which add no value at all to our lives.
I hate that question because I, like many people, have the incredible knack of staying busy and filling my day with a bunch of activity, but sometimes finish out a day and wonder what the heck I actually accomplished that would be worth writing home about.
So, how do you make sure that you’re being productive, and not just busy? Here’s my best quick thoughts:
1. Plan out your day, don’t just let it unfold. Just letting things happen as they happen is a sure recipe for being busy but totally non-productive. It’s so obvious, but I’m amazed at how many people don’t start each day out with a game plan, a list of key objectives that need to happen. Personally, I’m a huge advocate of 90 day goals, and creating structure in my life to stay focused on the big picture.
2. Constantly be asking yourself whether you’re doing what matters most right now. I used to do some consulting work at a government department years ago where some of the folks would wander over to check out what I was doing, and there was an older lady there who was kind of like an old boarding school matron who would yell at them like kids and tell them to go and sit down and do their work. I was always a bit shocked at how she kept them from being distracted, but they obviously needed it. And sometimes we all need that… and that question pushes us to go back to our desk and do what matters.
3. One of the great steps you can take to getting stuff done in your life is to intentionally stop doing some other things. Sometimes our most important list isn’t our to-do list, but rather our not-to-do list, killing certain activities and habits which drag our time and attention away from what matters most. And social media is sometimes one of our biggest enemies. The key task in our age is to filter all the crud coming into our lives and figure out what is actually worth taking in and what is worth not spending any time on at all.
As with much of life, if you don’t take control of it, someone else will.
Right, I’m off to get some stuff done… :-)