Ah, this day was written for me…and you, my dear busy one. I could feel it when I started to read and was getting a little nervous by the end of the chapter. This quote sums it up…
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” -Diane Ackerman
Does this describe you? It most certainly describes me. I often feel I’m just trying to get through, kill time until the next stage, hang in there until I reach the “promised land.” So I rush and race through things traveling the length of my days and never really reaching to the depth and width that it probably deserves.
Here are our thought-provoking questions for the day:
- What consumes most of your time each day?
- How satisfying is it?
Embracing the 80/20 Principle
Have you heard of it? In action, it says that 20% of your activity brings about 80% of results. And about 80% of what you do is WASTED TIME! Think about it. Take a look at your life and time. Would you agree? Ready to make it different? There are four steps…
Step 1: Keep a time journal this week for how you spend your days.
Step 2: Evaluate the biggest time waster and what the payoff was.
Step 3: Write a short list of alternate activities you can do next time.
Step 4: How would you describe your current season of life?
Here are my results:
Step 1: Trying to figure out the best way to track my time. Think I’m getting caught in the details of what needs to be done instead of just doing it. Story of my life. Okay, I’m going to choose some way to track my time before the end of the day tomorrow.
Step 2: Biggest time waster for me is email and online stuff. Payoff is entertainment and distraction from real work and real relationship.
Step 3: Relax. Spend time with family. Exercise. Do real work. Plan. Take pictures. Scrapbook. Create digital album. Blog. Read. Memorize Scripture.
Step 4: Spring is seeing dead things fall off and new life beginning to show. I’m reminded that it’s vitally important to nurture things during this season as they could get destroyed easily at this fragile stage.
You ready?
Take five minutes now to answer the questions. If you don’t do it now, who knows when you’ll come back. Find a way to track your time this week. I’m sure it will be revealing.
Until tomorrow, focus on the 20% and let the 80% go!
