I see too many people over-committing themselves to events, work, people, and activities that do not bring them satisfaction. A few years back, my own iCal (my mac’s calendar and scheduling software) would not accommodate the number of to-dos that I had to accomplish, and my first reaction was annoyance at the program’s limitation. But then I stopped and I thought to myself, how did I get to a place where I had so much going on that my own software did not think my to-do list was within reason. It was that day that I began to see the harmfulness of this myth in our culture, to ourselves, to our families, and to our work places.
Instead, I decided that I wanted to prioritize what is truly important to me; and for me, that meant being both committed to my family and to my professional life, but that also meant that other things needed to slide. Obviously, putting our commitments into practice is where this prioritization gets sticky. After all, it is hard to say no to someone asking for help.
I try to keep 4 simple words in mind when I am faced with any decision, be it responding to an email from a student or making travel plans: high priority-high yield. Essentially, high priority-high yield means that you put your effort, time, and resources into activities, people, and work that will yield a lot for you, be it emotional support, professional recognition, personal development, connection with others and so on.
One of my close friends has a sticky note with those words written on it above her telephone; that visual cue helps to remind her that she has the option to let the call go to voicemail or to keep the call to a minimum. I keep it more as an inner mantra, reminding myself to try to let the small stuff go and spend time and effort on that which makes me happy or will help me accomplish other goals.
