Essential Projects You Cannot Ignore
One of the keys to successful time management is prioritizing tasks
and distinguishing optional activities from the essential. Those judgment
calls are an integral part of virtually every time management system.
Whether you are writing different “to-do’s” in different
colors of ink or are giving each list item a priority ranking, your
decisions about the importance of activities will have a huge impact
on how you spend your day.
Most of those who run their own business tend to develop a deep and
strong commitment to work and to the overall success of their endeavors.
Long hours are a norm, sleep appears to be optional and almost every
effort is poured into growing the business.
However, those who overemphasize work-related activities at the expense
of truly essential projects may actually see their time management collapse.
That’s because neglect of essential projects will make life,
overall, less meaningful and enjoyable. At some point, the mere process
of chasing after money will no longer subconsciously justify the disregard
of some very important things.
What are these essential tasks? They have nothing to do with record
keeping, taxes, improving advertising copy or handling customer relations.
Instead, they involve being a good father, a good wife and a good person.
These chores are the one’s that give us a legitimate reason to
have our financial goals. We work in the first place for these things.
Your essential projects will be determined your own personal preferences
and lifestyle. Those with strong religious beliefs will consider worship
and essential. Those who feel the need to exercise in order to relax
will label physical activity as an essential activity.
It’s too easy to let these important things slide to the backburner
when one is under pressure to produce or to grow their business. One
invests a great deal of himself or herself in creating a successful
venture and it can feel as though spending every waking hour at work
is more important than virtually anything else.
This perspective, however intuitive it may seem to one looking for
ways to improve his or her time management skills, is actually a dead
end. Over time, one will notice their motivation for work-related efforts
slipping away. That inevitability stems from a subconscious recognition
of life’s declining value, possible feelings of guilt, and a recognition
that one is simply not meeting his or her most important responsibilities
and commitments.
As you triage your activities as a part of your time management strategies,
resist the temptation to elevate those tasks directly related to working
above other truly essential responsibilities. By maintaining a proper
balance you can invigorate your efforts and live a fuller, more meaningful
life.
Work isn’t incompatible with being a fulfilled person. On the
contrary, a great work ethic and a successful business can lead to a
great deal of fulfillment. However, when important non-work tasks are
relegated to the bottom of a “to-do” list, it is invariably
counterproductive.
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