I usually think that I have a firm hold on my priorities, as I am fairly introspective. What confounds me, though, is that I continually have trouble making the progress I desire in the things that I hold as important. It covers the gamut: my martial arts training (Kung Fu), cardio work, technical projects, and of course this fitness blog. After having a note to write another article at the top of my lists for over a week (I tend to write lists in the hopes that it will motivate me to do the written tasks sooner), I finally sit down and can reflect on all of the things I’ve done during the week that weren’t as important to me.
It’s not that I don’t know my priorities. Yes, they are sitting on a list (or many lists), but more importantly I know what I really want to accomplish. The problem is that when I’m short on time I keep pushing off the hard work in favor of simple tasks.
Procrastination
Well yes, I’ve always been a procrastinator. That in itself isn’t bad – I tend to think that waiting in some cases is better, such as when you can accomplish two things at once or otherwise reduce the total time to accomplish your tasks. Going to the store once rather than every time you need a single item makes sense.
Other times, procrastination means you get less done. Waiting a few days before practicing my martial arts techniques often means I just skipped an opportunity to practice. Do that frequently enough and you go from practicing four times a week to practicing twice. Your training can suffer before you know it, and you’ll be struggling to regain your health, not maintain it.
It’s easy to be too busy today, and what’s the harm in just waiting to tomorrow? I’ll get a better workout and appreciate the exercise more if I go when I can commit the time for a good workout. Maybe I can still do some good by tending to my notes so they’ll be ready when I get to practicing, right?
Self-Denial
In the end facing my self-denial is necessary if I want to achieve my most important goals. While I know where the results stand on my priority list, I need to remember that how I choose to spend my available time says more about my priorities than what I think I want to get done. Otherwise I’ll fill my odd minutes here and there with lower priority things and wonder why the things I really want to do are not getting done.
Yes, doing things right takes time. It’s very tempting to push off important tasks until you have the time to do them right. However, the small joy in achieving some accomplishment shouldn’t take priority over making progress on your real priorities.
Priorities
OK, now that I’m back to keeping my priorities straight, how do I actually get things done?
Well, there are actually a lot of books and philosophies about getting things done, such as the aptly named, “Getting Things Done” book. Without proposing an entire philosophy or getting into something big, here is my simple suggestion:
Start with your biggest priority items, even if it means only getting partway through or not being as thorough as you’d like. That way, even if you are too busy to do more, you at least worked on your top priority.
Resist the self-deception that getting anything done is better than getting the right things started
If you still don’t feel like the important stuff is getting done, re-assess where you are putting your time. See if any other non-essential tasks are taking time from your real priorities.
Yes, that means some things aren’t getting done. Maybe a lot of things. It can be very hard to let anything go, but it is more important to accomplish your priorities than it is to get all the little things done. More little things will keep popping up, no matter how many of them you knock off, so don’t do yourself a disservice by focusing on them rather than your true priorities.
With those things in mind, got this article written (with a small diversion to practice some of my Kung Fu defensive techniques – my martial arts training is definitely a priority) across the small pieces of time I had today, rather than picking small 10-minute tasks to fill each bit of time I had.