Busy Doing the Right Things

“It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” – Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark

We all know we should plan.

As in, really plan things out – five year plans, maybe even ten year plans, we’ve heard it all before.

Here’s why you don’t do it, and why it doesn’t work:

• It’s a whole to-do of its own: You’ve enough to do as it is, so sitting and trying to tell the future doesn’t make the cut.
• It’s baseless: The things you write down aren’t based in reality and you’ve no idea if you can actually achieve them.
• It’s forgotten about: The plan was made, then got left in a file on your computer, only to be found months or years later when it’s no longer true.

Here’s why you should do it, and what makes it work:

• It’s a to-do that eliminates other to-dos: When you know precisely what you need to achieve this month to stay on course, a lot of tasks that don’t make that happen suddenly disappear from view.
• You know what to do now: Rather than baseless list-making, the years can become months, the months can become weeks. Now you know exactly what you need to do.
• Remember to plan or forget to live: Nobody realizes all of their life goals by accident. They do so intentionally. A forgotten list is a forgotten life – plan to really live.

We can choose to be busy doing the right things. We can choose to set course and focus on each step with fervor as we approach each one.

Or we can let time pass us by.