Time crunch. Deciding what's vital and what can wait.

In this age of instant communication overload, our lives are bogged down more than ever with time demands. It seems like everyone has learned just how to make their requirement convincing enough to necessitate your time. The house is burning entreaties of "If we don't act now, we will lose out!" has certainly taken its toll on modern society. As you maximize the 24 hours of the day by working longer to check off that next to do, the smell of defeat lingers all the more with every email, text message, phone call, and snail mail solicitation crying out for there to be 25 hours in the day. Ironically, we can easily slip away into irrelevance through activity if we don't step back and decide what is vital in our life.

Each process and relationship can be deconstructed to a few vital functions. If we pour our attention and effort into these vital functions first, and then give our attentive left-overs to the other demands, we will begin to discover a sense of traction and significance that we are struggling to attain. The concept is derived from the Pareto Principle. For some, there can never be peace unless they have an empty inbox. Yet, at the exponential pace of communication, an empty inbox can mean that you either didn't formulate a deep enough thought when you did reply, or that no one has a need to know your email or cell phone.

This week, be aware of the vital functions as it pertains to yourself, your family, your employment, and your cares. The guilt that we carry to be at everything, or to be everything to everyone, can become detrimental to the vital responsibilities that matter most to your core self and family unit. Take caution when applying the doer attitude. The double edge to the comfort blanket of activity can be that you are doing much, but little when it comes to the significant. 

Win Today!

Victor