If I looked at your calendar for the week – could I tell what really matters to you?
If I looked at your team and decision process - could I tell what you're trying to do?
If I looked at your budget – could I see what your priorities are?
Those of us who kept a diary as a teenager will remember how cringy it was to read an entry from the year before. Who was this drama queen and why did they used to think this stuff mattered so much?
What about how we spend our time as an adult? We do a lot of things that are far less important than they seem at the time. For fun, pick up a to-do list from a month ago. You might be surprised, or slightly amused at how much of it seems irrelevant now.
Amusing as it might be, it’s also dangerous. Minutiae is the mint plant of your task garden. In small doses it's fine, but it will spread as far as you let it and soon crowd out the best stuff. It's frustrating how hard it can be to make space for the things that really matters to us.
“Your actions reveal how badly you want something." – James Clear
In our personal lives, it’s often self-care and entertainment to go first – sleep, exercise, nutrition and quality time. At work, it's the big picture stuff – strategy, team bonding, cornerstone projects – while BAU rolls on undeterred.
Nothing important happens by accident. Having goals and deciding to do things is great, but not enough to make them happen.
We have to align our intentions to reality. If something that matters to you, put your money, time and energy where your mouth is.
Schedule it. Systemise it. Spend money on it. Nurture it. Change your process. Change your operating model. Bring new people in. Toss old projects out. Invest in new technology. Cancel time-wasting meetings. Start new relationships. Put it in your diary. Put it on the wall. Buy the right outfit. Make it real.
How can you align your intentions to reality?