There is a famous quote, “I accidentally became so much more productive today.”  Ever heard it? No? That is because no one says it. The only way to be more productive is to plan for it

Let’s begin by understanding the difference between the Urgent and the Important. Urgent things demand our immediate attention while Important things contribute to our vision, mission, and purpose. Urgent things might be health emergencies or fire, flood, computers crashing.

Important things can look like quality family time, nurturing friendships, prayer, and meditation. Thinking about your future and planning for it is also important.

When something you are about to do is Urgent and Important, it is what we call a Crisis or Problem. When we think ahead and plan for success, we create fewer crises that need immediate attention.

Our days are filled with nonproductive and unenjoyable activities like email and unnecessary meetings, interruptions, and looking for lost communications or keys. We also waste valuable time on Netflix and social media, and mindless scrolling which is numbing but rarely meaningful.

Take control of your personal and professional time by learning to say NO to unfulfilling time wasters and say YES to things that matter whether they are urgent or not. Let’s simplify, eliminate, delegate, and outsource the activities that distract us.

Just like gardening, when we neglect to do the cultivation of a good life- the preparation, planning, delegating, and relationship building, the crises grow, and we live in reactive mode; not really living our best lives. We spend more time pulling weeds and less time picking fruit.

Here’s a quick roadmap: Be sure your goals are written down and communicated with your team so they can support you. This can be your work team, family and friends; we all do better with accountability.

Once you have decided where you want to end up, set a plan and prepare for the roadblocks you may encounter. Lastly, track your progress against your original goals every quarter. Reward yourself when you’re on track or see where you are derailed and get back on track.

Starting a new routine takes practice, do not forget to add a spoonful of grace for your mistakes. When you focus on the Important and plan for your goals, you encounter fewer crises and can then spend even more time on making meaningful memories.