Tweet

Essential Projects You Cannot Ignore

Written by: Jeff Casmer

Article Overview: One of the keys to successful time management is prioritizing tasks and distinguishing optional activities from the essential. Those judgment calls are an integral part of virtually every time management system. Whether you are writing different “to-do’s” in different colors of ink or are giving each list item a priority ranking, your decisions about the importance of activities will have a huge impact on how you spend your day.

Essential Projects You Cannot Ignore

One of the keys to successful time management is prioritizing tasks and distinguishing optional activities from the essential. Those judgment calls are an integral part of virtually every time management system. Whether you are writing different “to-do’s” in different colors of ink or are giving each list item a priority ranking, your decisions about the importance of activities will have a huge impact on how you spend your day.

Most of those who run their own business tend to develop a deep and strong commitment to work and to the overall success of their endeavors. Long hours are a norm, sleep appears to be optional and almost every effort is poured into growing the business.

However, those who overemphasize work-related activities at the expense of truly essential projects may actually see their time management collapse.

That’s because neglect of essential projects will make life, overall, less meaningful and enjoyable. At some point, the mere process of chasing after money will no longer subconsciously justify the disregard of some very important things.

What are these essential tasks? They have nothing to do with record keeping, taxes, improving advertising copy or handling customer relations. Instead, they involve being a good father, a good wife and a good person. These chores are the one’s that give us a legitimate reason to have our financial goals. We work in the first place for these things.

Your essential projects will be determined your own personal preferences and lifestyle. Those with strong religious beliefs will consider worship and essential. Those who feel the need to exercise in order to relax will label physical activity as an essential activity.

It’s too easy to let these important things slide to the backburner when one is under pressure to produce or to grow their business. One invests a great deal of himself or herself in creating a successful venture and it can feel as though spending every waking hour at work is more important than virtually anything else.

This perspective, however intuitive it may seem to one looking for ways to improve his or her time management skills, is actually a dead end. Over time, one will notice their motivation for work-related efforts slipping away. That inevitability stems from a subconscious recognition of life’s declining value, possible feelings of guilt, and a recognition that one is simply not meeting his or her most important responsibilities and commitments.

As you triage your activities as a part of your time management strategies, resist the temptation to elevate those tasks directly related to working above other truly essential responsibilities. By maintaining a proper balance you can invigorate your efforts and live a fuller, more meaningful life.

Work isn’t incompatible with being a fulfilled person. On the contrary, a great work ethic and a successful business can lead to a great deal of fulfillment. However, when important non-work tasks are relegated to the bottom of a “to-do” list, it is invariably counterproductive.

Related Articles
  Nurturing Creativity at Work
  Some Call It Non-Strategic. I Call It CRAP
  Stakeholder Management - With Effectiveness Comes Efficiency
  Project Managers and Project Management Software
  Managing Projects Through People

Article Tags: backburner, being a good father, chores, customer relations, different colors, disregard, financial goals, good person, good wife, important things, legitimate reason, optional activities, own business, personal preferences, physical activity, prioritizing tasks, religious beliefs, strong commitment, successful time management, time management system



Related Forum Posts
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="Nana":1fo9wjn7]I like spell check because sometimes I don't realize I am spelling a word wrong, so rather then continuously spelling that word wrong I'd like to know the correct spelling. Also, if I know that I can't spell a word I'll use spell check as a means to learn the correct spelling. One can improve their English using a spell check if they actually take the time to note the correct spelling of the word.[/quote:1fo9wjn7] When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.
Re: How to Manage Your Emails - Kevin - I have a lot of subfolders and I've been creating rules for new emails, using outlook. In a perfect world this could be done as the messages come in so 'future' messages will get routed right into their little folders - the thing is, you have to remember to scan those folders or you miss the incoming messages. Some of my Subfolders - Vendors Current Projects Estimates Past Clients Forums Friends and Family My Websites GT - [quote:3xmyx5l3]Hi, Russell: Sad to say, I am visually oriented ... which (for me) simply means "Out of sight, out of mind." (Hey. The wife has been saying that second part about me for years!) I haven't been able to take advantage of email filtering options - or, I haven't made the attempt to. My concern is that I will get lazy about checking all those filtered files and will miss something important. I like to see it in my inbox in the order they came in so I KNOW it's there and can deal with them one at a time. For me (being visual), it would be frustrating to have to check SEVERAL folders each time I look at my mail just to see if something new came into those folders. I want it front and center so I don't miss it.[/quote:3xmyx5l3] In this case you could track incoming emails if all previous msgs are opened - Then you scan n your subfolders for new 'unopened emails'. It works for me - though I get your point completely...
Del Castienne - International Business and Project Brokers - In addition to the above, Del Castienne is an international brokerage firm specializing in various entrepreneural services. Del Castienne is more than just a brokerage, as we facilitate Private International Venture Capital for Business and Projects from Commodity Speculation Transactions, MBO, MBI, M&A, Bridging Finance, Patents, Branding, JV, Corporate Advisory Services, Business Plan Development, etc.. Del Castienne is linked to 1200 private international Venture Capital consortiums and Funding Syndicates with a funding capacity of $ 115 billion and 5000 international Investment Bankers and Business & Project Brokers. This in itself should provide you with a gateway to the best source of funding in the world. Through Del Castienne any entrepreneur can have up to a potential success rate of 25% (conditions apply) with absolutely no up front costs. Del Castienne charges a maximum of 5% commission which is far below the international standard of 10% - 12% on project value. If you are tired of running back and forth with countless dissappointments, please give us an opportunity to assist you. Our minimum Venture Capital amount is $1 million and we a Commitment Letter can be provided with in 30 days after formalities are in place and your information was received.
Re: My Favourite 7 Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time - Hi Evan, I have a new suggestion for "Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time" and a suggestion for your Learning from the Masters series: 1. Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time = Christopher Columbus: "... he saw the possibility of treasure and commerce where others saw only danger. He committed so wholeheartedly to that vision that not even dozens of rejections and ongoing penury could dissuade him from pursuing a journey to Asia via the West. He built on his technical strengths as a seaman to plan a viable journey and eventually marshal an expedition." - Christopher Hoenig, 6 Essential Secrets for Thinking on a New Level I bought Hoenig's book about 10 years ago but couldn't make head or tail of it then... reading it now and finding it inspirational... 2. Nomination for Learning from the Masters video: Dee Hock, founder of VISA. (Source = Hoenig.)


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Importance of Master Data Management (MDM)

Bootstrapping Your Start Up Business.

Emotional Intelligence in Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.