I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.
I’ve tried my hand at time management.
Which I’m okay at.
But at times, I still busy myself and over commit to things.
Part of me really likes being busy.
And another part of me has a hard time saying “no.”
And I know, I know…saying “yes” to one thing means saying “no” to something else….so I should say “no” to good things so I can say “yes” to better things.
But at times, those “better” things add up. So I renegotiate my priorities, in hopes to lessen my busy schedule. And start the cycle of time management all over again.
Lately, I’ve been reading this book that completely changed the way I think about time management.
The author states the following:
“I use to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.”
This was an ah-ha moment for me, and I completely resonate with what the author is getting at.
I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.
Time management isn’t as much about what I’m saying yes and no to as it is about what I’m putting my energy towards to succeed at.
So this week, I’m looking at my schedule differently.
I’m focusing on the things that do matter – like my speaking engagement on Tuesday night, a soft launch for a mentoring program, cooking dinner for my fiancé, and watching Veggie Tales with my nephews on Friday morning.
And I’m setting aside the things that, when it comes down to it, don’t really matter – like the petty differences between my top three choices of charcoal tile for my kitchen remodel, the dirty dishes in the sink after cooking my fiancé dinner, checking my email every few minutes (thus distracting me from my super-cute nephews), and Dexter (which I absolutely love…but I’d rather be successful at life rather than watching television).
Join me, in fearing success at insignificant things.
Peter Chee
Great post Annie. You always have such great insight. It’s one of those things that I stray from doing a lot — focusing on things that matter less than the biggest most important things. One thing that I have been trying to be better at is handing off things that someone else on the team can do and I spend the time on the things that only I can do.
Sami Dyer
You’ve been better at this btw Peter Chee :]
Sami Dyer
It never seems to amaze me how much you take in from life. You present yourself in such an experienced, confident way yet you are always soaking in new information! I always look forward to what you have to say. Great blog Annie!
Jamie
I like that you bring this up Annie. It’s like when people say, don’t sweat the small stuff. As I get older I think I spend just as much time, if not more worrying about those little details. I think some catastrophic event will happen if they’re not done, when in actuality life will go on. From what I’ve noticed we feel like we have control when we focus on the small things. The big picture ideas and events seem further away and at times less attainable. It’s a good idea to do as you mentioned, to re-focus and view things from a new perspective.