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A “What Matters Most” Wake-up Call

What matters most to you – in life and at work?  

No really, what matters most?  We get so accustomed to plowing through never-ending to-do lists and going through the motion of our days without pausing to really address that question.  Until, one day, the answer is staring you in the face and there is no denying it as much as if you had been caught with your own hand in the cookie jar.   That happened to me recently when my 8 year old son barricaded the entrance to my home office with a note saying, “You are not doing work, Mom”. 

A “What Matters Most” Wake-up Call

You can imagine all the “reasons” and “explanations” I gave him for why I work, but in the end, what mattered most was that my son was declaring his need for some uninterrupted “mom time”. 

It is in those moments when life’s choices become as clear as if we had been hit over the head by them.  But not all our choices throughout the day have that utter clarity because we tend to approach everything as urgent instead of focusing on “what matters most”.

How do you decide what gets your attention?  What behaviors do you demonstrate consistently that either keep you focused on “what matters most” or off-track on something else?  Many of us have an “open door policy” and allow distractions and interruptions that become barricades for doing what matters most.

In my “WAAMM™: 5 Steps to Managing Work and Life Priorities” program, I talk about the 4 levels of prioritization and tips for managing priorities.  I’d love to hear from you.  What do you do to stay on track and focused on what matters most?  Please share your tips and ideas and I’ll include them in future posts!

WAAMM™ stands for What Actions and Attitudes Matter Most and is a principle for setting priorities, staying on track and choosing powerfully.

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Spring Forward

As a Midwesterner, when the calendar says “First day of Spring”, I admit to getting a little giddy.  It helps when you see the daffodils peeking their green stems up out of the ground, when you hear the birds chirping in the morning and when everything just smells like “spring”.  For someone who has not lived through a cold and snowy winter, these things may seem poetically lame (as was recently told to me by my friend who has lived her entire life in Southern California), but it’s truly a season for new and renewed life.  It’s a time to get out of the dark and welcome fresh ideas and new opportunities. 

 What matters most to you as you transition into this new season?  Where you can move into something new or how can you welcome a new opportunity?  If you’re unsure, then let the spring surroundings guide you.  Physically take yourself outside and use all your senses to take in the newness of your surroundings.  Ask yourself these 3 questions:

  1. What is going well for me right now?
  2. Where in my work or personal life do I want to create something new or fresh?  And, what would it look like if I achieved the results I most want?
  3. What would be the costs of staying status quo and what would be the benefits if I achieved the results I most want?

Next, decide what steps you can easily take to moving forward.  Remember, this is a time to “Spring Forward” so take the opportunity to launch into What Matters Most for you.

Happy Spring!