“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – Steve Jobs
People talk constantly about how busy they are. For some people it’s a badge of honor, as though being busy is the ultimate goal in life. For others it’s a complaint, as though what they’d really like to do is sit around all day with nothing to do.
Neither perspective is correct. We should be busy. No one is put on this planet to sit around and live a life of leisure. Despite what some may say, the point of life isn’t to hurry up and retire and then just play all day.
At the same time, simply being busy isn’t the point, either. Filling your time with trivial, impact-less tasks that pass the time but don’t change the world isn’t anyone’s purpose. Just because you’re going full speed from sunup until sundown doesn’t mean you’re successful.
What are you actually spending your time doing? When there is space to fill, are you purposefully filling it with things that matter? Or are you allowing whatever creeps in to just take up your days? Unfortunately, for most of us, our time is filled for us, based on what someone else wants or needs.
We can’t let that happen. We have the right and an obligation to make sure that what we’re doing with our time matters. We don’t have to do or not do things simply because someone else said so. We are in charge of what we do with our time, and we have to use it wisely.
That’s especially true for leaders. I can’t remember the last time I met a leader who wasn’t busy, but I meet leaders every day who aren’t really doing anything meaningful. That might sound harsh, but it’s reality.
Most leaders fill their time with things that make them comfortable, or make them feel safe, or make them feel smart, or make them feel important. Too many of those things don’t have an impact. They just fill the leader’s day, day after day after day.
Think about your days, your weeks, your months, or even your years. What are you really spending your time on? Is it stuff that really matters? If the you looked back on the things you spent your time doing a year ago, would you be embarrassed? Would you even remember you’d done those things?
Most of us allow our days to be filled with things that don’t really matter. Don’t allow that to happen. You have the ability and the responsibility to fill your days with what counts. Don’t let others do it for you.
