Overbooked, and overextended, it feels like there is more and more we “simply must get done”! When everything starts to feel equally important in your busy day, how do you decide the order of your to do list?

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things matter least. ~Johaan Wolfgang van Goethe.

Preparing to leave on a short vacation intensified my week. Then good news, bad news, that first counseling session I had been anticipating with my husband worked. We began to have some important conversations that were long overdue. Good outcomes, bad timing! Important conversations take time, and there was no way I would get everything I had planned done!

Feeling overwhelmed, even a little inadequate, it was clear my usual strategy of working longer and harder on my “To Do List” wouldn’t cut it. Some things, even important things, would have to wait!

You may have heard about the 80/20 rule that asserts a small amount of causes create most of the results. What do you do when after patients, charts, and meetings, there is no way to complete your “To Do List”?

Allow What Matters To Drive Your Day And Your To Do List

Family, health, a clinical contribution? Listen to your heart and ask, “What will I most regret not having done in life?” Do that. Your happiness depends on it.

  • Go small – consistently
  • Identify what is most fulfilling to you

You’ve  acquired a lot of knowledge, but not at one time. Success is sequential, not simultaneous. Do the right thing, and then do the next right thing.

What is the right thing? It depends on where you are going. When you know, you can make better/faster decisions.

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