Moving to What's Important

I trust that you have attended to all of the VITAL items in your planner - bills to pay, phone calls to make, meetings to attend, cookies to bake - all of the absolutely must do responsibilities that pile into life. This may also include the 1-2 minute items that I mentioned in my last post. These are must-dos that can be put off, but since they are a quick fix, it is best to take care of them now during a pause,  while you remember them and also so that you can cross them off the to-do list. Crossing off is a powerful, empowering physical and mental movement.
Now for the items on your list that are IMPORTANT. You must do them, need to do them, are going to do them, however, they are not immediately essential. Tomorrow works and so does next week. This might be a bill coming due, an assignment to complete, or a part of the house or garage that needs cleaning up or repair. If they are on the IMPORTANT list, they must be done in a timely manner, just not so soon or in such a way that the crunch gets the best of you. If you discover that you are putting these tasks off again and again, it is time to re-evaluate the significance of the item. Is it really important, a must do? If so, immediately relabel it VITAL. If can it be shuffled to the the TABLED section of your planner, do so. Paying property taxes might fall into this latter category - they are vital, and important, but taxes come due at varying intervals throughout the year. If you just paid in March, the next taxes are not due until August so you have months before payment comes due. Take a breath - July is ample time to get this critical tax paid.
The next blog will compare IMPORTANT and TABLED, the value of each and the pitfalls that you might incur. For today, examine the IMPORTANT items of this week, determine when and how you will accomplish each, and solemnly swear just get them done.