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Let me tell you the main difference between those who seem to get to the important things in their life and those who struggle to do so.

To start, consider yourself what are the infrequent yet important things in your life that you often skip due to a perceived lack of time. It could be date nights with your spouse, one-on-one time with your kids, time for prayer and reflection, off-site strategic planning, etc.

If these things are admittedly so important, what stops you from doing them? Perhaps you feel busy. Maybe the urgent things are crowding out the important stuff. It likely has something to do with the perceived lack of time.

I say perceived because it really is perceived. If you’re not familiar, let me introduce to you one of my favorite laws; Parkinson’s law.

Parkinson’s law: work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Here is what this means: you can get everything you want to get done; it all comes down to how you fill your time.

Here is my advice to ensure you get to those important, yet somewhat infrequent, things in your life.

Make a list of the important things you need to do each month and set a reminder for the first day of every month to take 5 minutes and proactively plan in your calendar when you will do those things in the upcoming month.

Date nights with your spouse? Go ahead and put them on the calendar. Time with your kids? Put it on the calendar. Time for deep thinking and strategic planning? You know what to do…

Here’s the thing, once it is on the calendar, everything else will magically fit around it. Many of our tasks and responsibilities could be accomplished in less time, but because we haven’t proactively scheduled our time, these tasks expand to fill the available time for their completion.

I have found Parkinson’s law to be as true as gravity.

The main difference between those who get the important things done and those who don’t is simply those who put them on their calendar.

Schedule the important things first, and everything else will fit around it.

Next week in The Best Minute I’ll share how you can tell if something is a bad idea or if it’s something you should go after.

💭  1 HELPFUL QUOTE

I. Ultramarathoner Dick Collins on how to avoid emotional decision-making:

“Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Well gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.’ And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.”

📖 1 BRIEF BOOK REVIEW

Is God anti-gay? by Sam Allberry

(No rating for this book as I read it to prep for a podcast interview).

This is a helpful and short book on the question many people wonder in our current cultural moment.

Whether you experience same-sex attraction, or have people in your life who do, this little book gives wise guidance and hope.

The way of Jesus is no more demanding for one group than it is for another, and it is equally freeing to all. If this topic is of interest to you, I think you’ll find this book helpful.

Is there someone you are consistently complaining about in your head and can you actually discuss this frustration with them to stop wasting mental and emotional energy?

P.S. The song in real life…

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