As the famous philosopher William James said, “The art of being wise is
the art of knowing what to overlook.” The real genius is one who knows what not to do. You read it right! Hang
on with me as we review your priorities.
I agree with you, you know your priorities. You may have even used the
Pareto Principle coined by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto to identify
your priorities. You focus your attention on the top 20% of all your priorities
to get an 80% return on your effort. I must commend you on that.
But are you doing
even just the 20% or are you getting off track?
Is it your co-worker who keeps talking nonsense or a family member that’s
nagging you to help him do his tasks? Do people around you demand so many things
from you? Stop blaming people; it is your call to accomplish your priorities. No
one can sap your attention and energy without you allowing them to do so.
The people and projects that make the most noise and create the greatest
pressure are not necessarily the most important. Maybe because of the pressure,
you give in. This attitude will cause
you to forfeit your ability to put your best time into the things that really
matter. As a result those bigger and more important things begin to crumble and
crash, leading to bigger problems and pressures.
Review your
attitude.
Are you always saying, “Yes”? Remember, you have your own goals to
achieve. Before you say “Yes”, check your schedule and your priority list. Do
you have the time and energy to help? Evaluate if doing what was asked from you
will keep you off track. If it would, you must say “No”.
Are you overly competing? The
attitude of “Anything you can do, I can do better,” prevents you from
delegating and collaborating. When you delegate, you will have more time for
the more pressing tasks you need to do. When you collaborate you are able to turn
good ideas into great ideas. By collaborating you will utilise the skills of
other people. You are never good with everything. Some other people will have a
particular skill better than yours.
Do you choose to enjoy now and work later? There is nothing wrong with
taking a little break from the grind. However, you must know when to go back to
work and to your priority. The social media is such a huge temptation. You
would want to know what your friends are doing now at Facebook or what they
posted on Instagram. Your games on your phone could be taking more hours from
you than your priorities. You don’t have to totally abandon what you enjoy or
your social life but you need to limit these distractions. It is still better to be productive now and
save playtime for later.
Reviewing your priorities and sticking to them will make you achieve
your goals.
What is your priority? Is it to earn money?
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