Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time
Victor Hugo
Did you have a short week or long one? Funny thing about time. We distort our sense of it depending on what we are doing and how we feel about it. Let’a examine how 60 minutes feels.
On the treadmill…with no music.
On the beach…with no kids.
In traffic…late for an important meeting.
Taking a nap…after 60 minutes on the treadmill.
There are some things we do where time flies, and others, not so much. Joy makes time transitory, brief, fleeting. Dread makes time feel like our enemy. That list that you are facing is likely filled with more dread than joy. More drudgery than ecstasy. How do I know? You never have to schedule and fight to finish something you love to do.
I make myself finish all my business chores before I can go play golf. I wrestle with procrastination, scheduling conflicts and spontaneous distractions just like everyone else. Funny thing, when it is time for golf the only thing that can stop me is a thunderstorm. Not rain, not a backup on the first tee and not my mediocre golf game…nothing.
But anything can stop me from reading my 400-page continuing education manual and testing for my licensing renewals. Just the other day, on page 12 of that manual, I came up with my top 10 things that keep me from doing important work I hate.
My Top 10 Distractions
- Emails– something more important might come up!
- Phone calls– heaven forbid someone must leave me a message!
- Text– that does not count as a conversation…we’re just texting!
- My wife– it would be insensitive for me not to ask about her workout. Plus, she really looks great when she comes home from the gym!
- MSN homepage– they really make me want to know what Kim and Kanye are doing! What’s a click or two?
- Getting the mail– going to the mailbox is great exercise, plus I have a fetish for reading junk mail and coupons. Mondays are the best!
- The Colbert Report– not a huge fan, but when Natalie laughs out loud, I have to know what was funny! A segment is 10 minutes…tops!
- Youtube– Tony Robbins, Prince, book reviews, and silly cats. The algorithm is set for me to waste 30 minutes!
- PGA.com– they send me alerts when there is a tournament with updates and scores. Rory is playing better since his break-up with Wozniacki and the Fed Ex Cup Race is tightening up right before the Tour Championship, which is held in Atlanta. I have my tickets ready!
- The Sun– rainy days and Mondays always get me down. But when the sun is out, nature calls. More like the golf clubs call, emails…and texts. It would be rude not to answer!
On the surface, this list seems trivial and frivolous – except #4, of course. But these are the types of things that keep me (and you!) from doing important work. All the prioritizing, scheduling and blocking out of time means nothing if you do not sit down and do it.
Buckle down…and do it!
Suck it up…and do it!
You get the point.
I remind myself that since I am not on the PGA tour, and that golf is a privilege. A hobby made possible by me doing my real work. I am the Rory McElroy of sales (you expected me to say Tiger Woods…didn’t you?) so whatever it takes to stay #1, I must be willing to do.
The fun things I love and the arduous things I hate. If I do them or don’t do them, time will wait for no one because…
Time Flies!
