There’s always something that’s demanding your time. People and things that fill up your calendar. You’re busy, you’re in demand, and that makes you feel good. Is everything relevant though? Do you need to be in all those meetings? Could somebody else handle some of those? Does anything on your calendar for today, contribute to your end-of-year goal?

Project managers use critical path analysis all the time. It’s how they focus on what’s important, and make sure there’s no time wasted on activities that aren’t essential to moving forward. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s worth taking 10 minutes out of your day to learn about it. It’ll save you a lot more time and effort than 10 minutes.  

Sure we’re not all project managers, but in essence it boils down to asking yourself “Is this next activity going to help achieve my end-of-year-goal?”  

Just because you can add value to something doesn’t mean that you should. You’ve got a goal, there’s steps/milestones you need to achieve. Look at your calendar, and all those other demands for your attention – only do them if they’re on your critical path for success.

Try it for a week and let me know if it helps you move the needle.