Fast company Article #3 5-8-00

You can do anything-but not everything.

David Allen the author of this article argues that the real challenge is not managing your time but maintaining your focus. Allen says that you can only handle so much stuff at one time. If you try to take everything on at once you lose your ability to respond appropriately and effectively. I think at one point in life everyone has had too many things on his/her plate or in the oven as some people say. We have our job, our kids, and things to do around home. It just keeps pilling up. I know as an educator with one income in the family, it takes more than just my teaching salary for us to get by. So many times I find myself working other jobs that take up alot of my quality time away from my family. I think that many people find that they have to much to do and to little time to do it. One thing I found interesting in this article was that stress comes from not finishing what weve started, rather than having too many things to do. If you let to many things build up on you without finishing them this could be the biggest burden. Allen says that you have to dig into the mess and clean up your old unfinished business. Productivity is about completion. To really prioritize your list of endeavors you need to think ahead to where you want to be in the future. How much can my heart my health and my family handle? Have I made enough money or do I want more? Where do I want to be five years from now? These types of questions, Allen says, will help you priorities your list of to-dos. Learning to set boundaries is very hard for some people. You can do anything but not everything. Allen says to control your aspirations, to simplify things. Yes, your job is important but there are alot of other things in the world that are much more important than your job. You cant do things until you learn how to slow down. Dont let yourself get wrapped up in all of the stuff coming at you, you lose your ability to respond appropriately and effectively. You need to learn to back off and think about things at a different level.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2000