The weight of all your tasks can wear you down. Build resilience and feel good with today’s habit:
Effectiveness Habit #5: Know Why
It’s all too easy to get lost and disheartened in the day-to-day. When we do, we’ve lost sight of what we’re really shooting for and why.
Knowing the big picture and knowing why that big picture is compelling takes away the drudgery and leaves meaning, focus, and fit. It’s exciting to know that what we’re doing contributes. It helps us navigate the quotidian. And we all want to know how we fit into the bigger picture.
To use this habit,
- Write down a list of the key accountabilities (3-5 sentences answering, “What results will tell me I’ve done my job well?”) for your main work role.
- Write down a list of your and your organization’s goals, objectives, core and aspirational values, and mission.
- Review these at least monthly. More often is better. Recall the intent and more importantly the feeling of the intent of these big picture items.
- Maintain these lists over time.
(If you don’t have your key accountabilities or your goals, objectives, values, or mission, I suggest you build them ASAP. Drop me a line for some tips.)
Next time you find yourself struggling in the minutiae of your work, remember to come back to these lists and know why what you’re doing makes sense. And if what you’re doing does not make sense for the big picture, consider carefully why you are doing that.
I agree – Lists work for me, although my lists consists of sticky notes most of the time, but it helps me get the job done and another thing that works for me when making a list is prioritizing the tasks; with number 1 being the most important or pressing.
Hi Coleen,
You might like the book Eat That Frog!
by Brian Tracy. He describes how you can stay productive by getting your worst task off your plate first thing each day (thus the title).
Mike