Listening to a podcast last night, I loved this insight:
Overwhelm is often a result of looking at your to-do list and thinking that it all needs to get done today.
It’s probably true that it all needs to get done, but it probably isn’t true that it all needs to get done today. (By “needs” I mean that the world would implode if it doesn’t get done.)
The thing is, only this moment exists.
So no matter what you do, it simply can’t all get done now.
So the only relevant question is what is the most important thing that I can do right now? Because like it or not, this is essentially the only choice that we have.
So a big overwhelming and time-wasting approach is thinking about it all rather than thinking about the one.
I’m not a fan of not having choices, but even I have to accept this as true.
For more:
The One Thing book
Hal Elrod’s podcast episode
Wow! Exactly what I needed to hear (read) today and here I am, being gifted by this post of yours! Thank you!
I make my list and then have a coding system to prioritize that helps me greatly to stay focused on the most important (and usually timely) items. If there is a deadline, those always get pushed to the top, but it’s equally important to make time to get to the important but not urgent tasks as well. GoGoSprint is perfect for this!
I used to get discouraged by my lists because they were so long. Dr. Shannon Irvine helped me change my perspective on this. She has 3 must-do tasks each day, and once they are done, her day is a success. Anything beyond that is extra, and she can continue based on her prioritization.
Frozen 2 had some sage wisdom that builds on this. “Do the next right thing” My clients know that it is always best to approach this moment from the calm stillness inside for an added bit of clarity! We only have this moment and I am delighted to share it with you!
Me, too! 🙂
You’re so right that mindfulness improves every experience and most certainly this kind of analysis.
This is so relatable. I realized a few years ago that prioritizing is like a muscle – if you don’t do it, it feels near impossible to pick the most important thing. The more you do it the better you get at it! For me, I had to work on prioritizing in retrospect in order to help build the muscle. I reflected on, what was the most important thing I did today? What was really important but didn’t get done?
I love this retrospective prioritization exercise! And you’re absolutely right it takes practice. You’d think they’d teach us more about it in school, right?
It’s so interesting how the other things on the list get in the way of the one we have the opportunity to dive into NOW. We do less than we are capable of on the job at hand because part of us is not present and is fretting about something we can’t do anything about.
I find the grace of giving my all energizes me rather than drains me (up to a point of course) for the next opportunity.
I just revisited this book, and it was a great reminder, as is this article! Thank you.
It’s such a powerful question to ask Shlomit. And particularly the ‘right now’ part.
Thx for reminding me. Needed that ‘right now’ 🙂
This is such a great book. Really forces you to drill down on what’s truly important.