Talane’s Blog of the Week, March 19, 2007

A Classic Tip from Talane . . .
Ask Yourself, "What Is Important About Today?"
Excerpted from bestselling book Coach Yourself to Success by Talane Miedaner

It is easy to become so preoccupied that you forget what really matters most. When Peter Lynch, a successful investment banker, was asked why he left his high-powered job on Wall Street, he said, "When I am on my deathbed I'm not going to be saying, I wish I had spent more time at the office." He wanted to pack lunch for his daughters and be there while they were growing up.

To help cut your work time in half, every morning ask yourself these three questions and jot down the answers:

What is important about today?
What must get done today?
What is important about the future?

By answering "What is important about today?" you may discover that today's big event is your son's birthday, and you want to leave work early. It makes planning the day easier and helps you focus on the important things without getting distracted by everything else. When you ask "What must get done today?'' you'll start to see that most of the time relatively few things must get done. This can be very liberating. If you have a lot of "musts" then you haven't been in the practice of asking the third question, "What is important about the future?" This question forces you to plan.

If you focus on these three questions, your life will become easier. You can't manage time, you can only manage your activities. Items that aren't on this list of three questions are generally a waste of time - consider just skipping them.