Living Life by Design

A little while back my wife broke her collar bone in an ATV accident. We found a fantastic surgeon with a great reputation to repair the damage. The surgery required screws and a titanium plate. Side note…if you’re going to break a bone, make sure it’s not your clavicle. Before surgery, my wife asked me to use a Sharpie and put a happy face along with her initials on the shoulder that needed the surgery. The nurses all got a kick out of seeing the happy face. The surgery was a success and my wife is on the road to a complete recovery.

We both laugh about the happy face but what if the doctor had operated on the wrong shoulder? All his skill, renown and years as a surgeon wouldn’t have made a difference because he would have performed surgery on the wrong shoulder.

The same thing happens with traditional Time Management. There have been thousands of books & articles published on the subject. There are more planners & systems out there but the fact remains, focusing on how quickly & efficiently we do things won’t help if we’re not focused on the right things. We need to do more than just focus on doing things right (Time Management). We need to focus on doing the right things right (Personal leadership). So, instead of making another list of all the things you want to accomplish today, simply ask yourself:

“What are the one or two things I could do today, that if I accomplished would make most everything else unnecessary or at very least, easier to accomplish?”

Stop being caught up in “doing” and ask if what we’re doing really needs to be done. Seek out the things today that will actually help you reach your goals…

Ask…