How to Make Rule #2 an Integral and Consistent Part of Our Daily Work - 2

Today we continue with how to consistently and successfully apply Rule #2 to our work. Here are the 2 Rules again: 

1. I will always take more time than is necessary to do everything. This is the way to avoid being in a hurry and getting excited.

2. Since I will invariably have more things to do than time in which to do them, and this prospect preoccupies me and gets me all worked up, I will cease to think about all I have to do, and only consider the time I have at my disposal. I will make use of that time, without losing a moment of it, beginning with the most important duties; and as regards those that may or may not get done, I shall not worry about them.

We'll continue to break #2 down and comment on each section. We left off last time with

"...I will make use of that time, without losing a moment of it, beginning with the most important duties..."

and emphasized the importance of the will. We have to make the decision at the beginning of the work day to make full use of the time we've determined we will have at our disposal. And with that decision, we must not waste a second getting down to the task at hand. That means no distractions, no gabbing with our neighbor, no responding to emails or texts (unless they're critical and must be addressed this second.)

So what I do is look at my task list, which is always right next to my laptop, and get on that task which is most important to be done first. It's called "prioritizing" and its critical that we know how to do it. Here's a breakdown of tasks that helped me develop the ability to prioritize. Divide your tasks into one of the following:

• Important and Urgent 
• Important but not Urgent
• Not Important but Urgent
• Not Important and not Urgent

Use this enough to categorize your tasks and it will become second nature over time. The first, Important and Urgent, gets your full attention right away. And it's best to finish that task, not just start it. (After all, it's urgent, right?) The last, Not Important and not Urgent drops to the bottom and may stay there not only until day's end, but could sometimes be put off for a few days.

There's some give and take with the middle two. Depending on the nature and proximity of the urgent deadline for the "not important" task, you could put it off a bit if you're mind just has to tackle that important task that you know will pay off in some way at some point. My experience has been that important stuff more easily engages my mind and more easily elicits the energy needed to attend to it. Sometimes what's not really important requires a real super-effort to get into. And if you can get the important item out of the way, while leaving enough time to meet the "less important" item deadline, that can work to your advantage. Besides, leaving less time for that not important but urgent item helps you gin up the energy you'll need to get it done on time, even if you're not really super-engaged or enthusiastic with what the task requires. Let the deadline work to give you a good stiff push to finish of that not important but urgent item. 

"...as regards those that may or may not get done, I shall not worry about them."

Personally, this last section's tough for me. What about you? I had an easier time of it when I was an employee. Not that I could always just leave the job behind in the office and come home with nary a care in the world. But there was a bit more "separation" than is the case now that I run my own business. Since "the buck always stops here," it's often the case that my mind ruminates on items that need tending during "off hours." Part of this may be the fact that, in a certain sense, there are no off hours for a business owner. While there's truth in this, it's still not a workable model if you're going to have a full life, with family, friends, hobbies, etc. And it's definitely not a workable model if you're going to attend to building your Interior Life each and every today.

While I can't claim to have conquered this one yet, I can tell you what's been helping me at least find some success. It's a combination of will-power and persistence. You have to understand why not worrying about things is so important to light a flame under your will. Realizing that you simply need time - consistent and reasonable substantial time - to build your Interior Life has been a serious motivating factor. Keeping this factor front and center, you then work at this over and over and over again. And you keep at it no matter the results.

Some days I've done a pretty good job here; others not so much. But you just can't let yourself be discouraged. And avoiding discouragement is, again, a function of will-power and persistence.

You know, now that I think about it, taking into consideration that I'm only a few weeks into working at incorporating these two rules into my work day, results have been surprisingly good. In fairness, I had previously recognized the need for more separation and less rumination about work when I'm not "on the job." But with this go-round, prioritizing building the Interior Life really has proved a much better motivator than those that spurred my previous efforts.

I guess at some point you grow up and take full responsibility for your spiritual life, no excuses. (But, man, it's taken sooooo long!) For this I can only thank God. It's His grace that's been the catalyst and the sustainer. All I have to do is cooperate with that grace.

So there's a stab at how to make Rule #2 an integral and consistent part of our daily work. Hope you found it helpful.