In past blogs I have written about my ability to delay doing work because of a fear of failing or because of procrastination. Some tasks must be done in a timely manner and we force ourselves beyond our fear. Breaking large tasks down into manageable pieces is one way to achieve the goal. By crossing off the mini-tasks we eventually achieve the overall objective.

Some people have problems with time management and priority management. Let’s assume you agree to help someone with a fairly significant task. The task has no deadline but relies on your part for completion. If you are so busy at work that you are exhausted when you come home, you lack the energy in the evening to do your part of the task you signed up for. So the weekend comes and you decide to reward yourself with a nice big breakfast out with friend, Then 11:00 rolls around and you decide to clean your house. By 3:00 you are scanning the newspaper for a movie to see around 5:00. After the movie it is time for a bite to eat then watch a little TV and then off to bed. Sunday Morning you go to church and linger afterwards to socialize. You have a 3:00 tennis match which lasts until 6:00 then go eat dinner and do a little reading before bedtime.

In essence you have avoided doing your part of the task because there were other things or events that were more entertaining or just plain more fun. Yet the task looms out there and eventually causes stress between you and your friend and perhaps others who are waiting for your friend to deliver something. Avoidance because of fear, or procrastination, or poor prioritization is not the way to structure a success life.

Andy Andrews in his book “The Travelers Gift”, speaks of 7 decisions and principals that help you change the world. #3 is be a person of “Action”. Do what must be done, knowing it will have an affect on you, your friends, and perhaps the world. You have the future in the palm of your hands. You can choose to take action and do what you need to do, before doing what you want to do.
Click on the book cover to read more about the 7 decisions

NOTE: Thanks to all the folks who have ordered the book through Amazon. I hope it helps you achieve greater success in your life. - Eric

This entry was posted on Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 11:26 am and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.