“When I find that I don’t have time for what matters, I will stop doing things that don’t”
This has been one of my mantras since the beginning of the year. Sometimes we allow things that don’t matter to cloud what should be a priority. A lesson I have been learning and still struggling with over time is categorizing issues into urgent vs important. This is from a lesson I learned in the ‘Seven habits of highly effective people. ‘Highly effective people know how to manage their time wisely, they don’t allow time wasters to take up their most precious time.
It takes both discipline and wisdom to identify the things and people who matter and to put them as a priority and to put off what is both not urgent and not important. If your family and spouse matter to you, then find time and give them the best of you. If it’s your body and health, give it your best time and attention. If it’s your spiritual life, then be intentional and prioritize it. Whatever it is, the best you can give is quality time.
There is a quote that says: “the most effective people make their important things, your urgent ones. The most ineffective people do the exact opposite. “ Where do we lie? Do we allow people to dictate what matters to us based on their urgency, or are we in control of ourselves? How many of us get annoyed that someone keeps pulling us along in to their issues, but we have no power to say NO yet we feel wasted each time? It’s time we starting being effective and take control of our time.
“If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got – Lee Iacocca ” To get a male perspective on this, check out Mitchell’s post HERE
