IS IT PRIORITIES OR JUST AN EXCUSE?

It has been over a month since my last post of coming full circle around the convergence target.  It was as if completing that milestone pushed my attention to the blog way down the priority list which in some ways is OK.  There is certainly a need to adjust and focus based on the priorities of the day but clearly identifying an excuse vs. a priority is key.

EXCUSES

I could go on and on with excuses as to why I haven’t posted.  My Lizard Brain has enjoyed continuously calling them out.

The Lizard Brain thrives on excuses!

• “Its the end of the fiscal year at the day job which is always very intense with heavy deliverables.  Everything else can wait”
• “Yard work is growing daily.  You have to keep up with it or it will consume you.”
• “Your second son is graduating High School.  Getting him into a good college with scholarships is the only thing you should be thinking about.”
• “Stop wasting your time on this thing”

BY DESIGN

I could also claim my hiatus from JTC has been by design.  The top three bullets from the lizard brain are actually very valid and do require an increased portion of my available time.  I consider myself well above average when it comes to time management and I owe a great deal of that skill to David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (See all Time Management Books) (affiliate link) and the GTD process of productivity.  One of the key elements to the GTD process directs how to choose your next action in the moment based on four criteria:

• Context – what could you possibly do, where you are, with the tools you have available?
• Time Available – If you only have 30 minutes available don’t start something that really needs 2 hours of focus.
• Energy Available – Even if you have the 2 hours available – is your energy level and mindset correct for the task at hand?
• Priority – Given that the above three criteria are met – what is the highest priority item for completion?

My thoughts and really one of the main points of the JTC concept is adding one more criteria to this:

• Balance – Priority can be subjective.  There can certainly be numerous items with very similiar priority that could be accomplished with the Context, Time, and Energy available.  When that happens, balance comes into play to make that final decision on the next action to take.  What area of your life is out of balance and in need of more focus?



PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!

Was the month long hiatus from JTC due to priorities or excuses?  A little bit of both.  The last month has certainly had priorities that would reduce the frequency of posting but I have strayed away from the balance criteria over the last month.  There is no valid reason for a month long gap between posts that was not planned.  Unfortunately the regression from balance has also effected the other points of focus causing them to slip backwards as well.  The good news is that I know it and can course correct.  The journey continues and its a long exciting road.

I want to give a quick shout out of gratitude to my good friend Paul Hendricks for reaching out with what I know would have been a swift kick in the rear to get back on track if I wasn’t already kick starting myself.  Check out his blog at www.paulehendricks.com

Are you setting priorites or making excuses?