Careful: you might not want to confront this question
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This might be uncomfortable. But let’s take a minute to ask: What are you not getting around to? It might be the most common productivity struggle: not having time for things you consider to be really important. When I work with people 1:1 or in a group setting, they often tell me some version of this story. They got a new job and it’s a very busy one—and now they haven’t worked out in half a year. Somehow their weekly schedule just filled up over time—and now they haven’t played their favorite instrument since forever ago. They wish they could spend more time playing with their kids, but after they take care of all of their other obligations, parent - child time just falls through the cracks. Now look. From time to time, this is unavoidable. If you’ve just had a baby, you can’t expect to be setting new personal records at the gym. (You’ll just be trying to have a good night’s sleep!) If you’re on a trip, you might not always get your daily meditation in. If your parent is sick and you’re caring for them, you might not be able to go on as many hiking trips. It’s an illusion to think we can always spend “enough” time on everything. But there are probably things you’ve been wanting to get around to for years… but that never seems to happen. There’s a moment when good reasons for why the thing hasn’t happened become excuses. So whether it’s a new business project, digitizing your childhood photos, or just simply going on dates with your partner— When it’s not happening nearly as often as you want, for a long period of time, there’s a misalignment. The gulf between how you spend your time and how you want to spend it is too great. There are ways to fix this. We won’t go into the details today. (Although if you insist, my program Big-Picture Productivity is all about that.) For now, can you take one minute to reflect? Ask:
Just open a note on your phone or on your computer and answer these questions. Don’t overthink it—write down whatever comes to mind first. Then go about your day. But let your answers percolate. What’s not happening… and why not? You might glance at your written answers as you pull up your notes throughout your day or throughout your week. And slowly, with time, you might have some insights… Insights about what you could change to fix the misalignment. Insights about how to align your values with how you spend your time. Aligning these two is massive. It removes a constant background disturbance in your mood, if you will. Anyway. Go on. Write it down. And feel free to share. |
Peter Akkies
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