Too many people spend time on things that are not important to their business or personal goals. They suffer distraction from what is truly important. They spend time doing things that are important on other peoples’ to do lists, rather than their own. 
In my time management seminars, I ask people to write down in column A the five things that most consume their time. Then, after that is completed, I ask them to complete column B, which is what five things are the most important in their lives. There is usually a stunned silence as people compare those two columns.
The key is to determine what is truly important to you, and to make sure that the items on your list are advancing those important things. Sometimes it is not that easy to articulate clearly what those truly important items are. We all get so caught up in the day today morass of activities, that it can be very easy to lose sight of those things.
Here are two exercises to try:
- It is helpful to stand back, and take a macro view of your life, your career, your family, your health, etc., and ask yourself, “if this area of my life was at its peak, what would be happening?”
- Another exercise I use is to ask people in my seminars to envision themselves at age 90 and looking back on their lives, and listing the five things they are most proud of accomplishing.
As an example, someone might identify that being healthy was one of their values, and that it was really important to them. Yet, nowhere on their daily or weekly action lists was any exercise scheduled. By developing clarity on what is important, you can make space in your life for that activity.
And by making the time to assure you are taking action on those priorities, you’ll be surprised at how more satisfied and gratified you feel.
