This will drive my fellow procrastinators wild, but here goes:
Now I could be really annoying and ask why you’re not doing these things. But this quiz isn’t to try to make you feel guilty, it’s to encourage you (in the spirit of yesterday’s post) to start something, to be generous to yourself. Now put the very first step from each item on your ‘to do’ list. And make a pledge to do one ‘next step’ from one of these items every day, or at least every week. And do it. I’m more anal than most, but I find putting these things on my Getting Things Done list (which I’m still using faithfully and successfully, by the way) works for me. In its latest incarnation, my list looks like this, sorted by schedule date (for those not familiar with GTD, N stands for tasks with only one Next Action step, P for projects with a whole series of Next Actions, A for appointments and meetings scheduled for a specific time, and W for tasks ‘on hold’ waiting for someone else to do something):
When I schedule activities, the Urgent items (U) always seem to rise to the top, but I make room for one Important item (I) every day. It’s a pledge to myself. I’ve found there are rarely items that are both Urgent and Important, and that when I realize that an item is neither Urgent nor Important (quadrant IV tasks) it can often be taken off the list entirely. Part of the challenge of reducing the number of Urgent tasks so there is more time for the Important ones is learning to say no. It’s one of the hardest lessons to learn, and I confess I’m still not very good at it. But when I’m forced to shift one of my Important actions to a later date, to make room for something that is neither Urgent nor Important, or which could easily be delegated to someone else, it’s teaching me when to say no. What would you do if you had more ‘free’ time? Enough said. |
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Great little exercise, Dave.I find that while I am very good about creating balance in my life – eating well, getting fresh air, making sure I get enough sleep – I struggle with the guilt I feel for allowing myself the balance.Perhaps it is that Midwestern Protestant work ethic creeping into my subconscious, but I often feel a bit guilty when I hear those around me talk (sometimes brag, strangely enough) about how little sleep they have had, or how many hours they kept the candle burning. We are caught between two extremes – one, to create an endless work day of productivity and efficiency and feel guilty for the other aspects of our life we give up – the other, to choose not to work 70 hours a week and get sleep, sex, healthy food, social time and feel guilty for the time we take to provide for our needs.Does anyone else feel this push-pull trap?
Intriguing exercise. I wonder how nature handles this Urgent/Important balance? Any thoughts? I use my BackyardNature.com website to keep some structure in my time for what is important to me — learning and connecting with nature. Having structure seems to be an important part of that balancing act. Kind of like having a “habitat” as a structure in which to thrive.