November 13th - What's important now?

The story...

I was busy being a Dad, Husband, Boss, Subordinate, Peer, Son, Brother, Coach, Volunteer, Friend, Head-of-the-Household and Good Man.  Everything wasn't getting done and I needed a new plan and perspective.  What do I do first?  Do I work on a chunk of my most important long term goal or do I complete a simple less-important task to quickly remove one from my long list?  I was taking an Engineering Management course at the time that introduced me to the "Eisenhower Matrix."  It was a diagram that helped me make sense of this "time management" dilemma - it was also easy to share and explain to others.

The Eisenhower Matrix

I wrote my top priorities and related tasks on my white board for both me and all others who might want to spend my time differently.  When I needed a break, I completed a few urgent non-important tasks from my in-box.  On Saturday mornings, I threw away a weeks worth of unimportant tasks from the bottom of my in-box - eventually those requesting them gave up or did 'em themselves.

An unexpected outcome, of my behavior change, was that other people took notice and set similar priorities.  The important was getting the attention and results they deserved.  Those generating unimportant tasks either eliminated the tasks or accepted the authority and responsibility for getting them done themselves.  The culture was changing and some of it began with me - along with a little help from those who came before me and my professor coach.

The most important priority, within the only church in town, will be walking rightly with God (Micah 6:8).  Other activities will have a lesser importance.  People will focus on the main thing and not major on the minor things that often results in a wandering self-focused life.

Just for today...

"...things that are urgent are rarely important, and the things that are important are rarely urgent . . . If I imagine I am in a dark room and that God is my only source of light, then my best hope for navigating around the furniture will be to bring that source of light with me."  Courage for Today (p. 318)

If you work on your mind with your mind, how can you avoid confusion?