Resist the pull of urgency bias
So, your 2018 strategic planning session is in the books. You came. You spoke up. You filled dozens of sticky pads with ideas. Now what?
Fast forward to September 2019. Which of those ideas have you put into practice? Which ones are still sitting undone? How would you explain it if someone asked why you didn’t complete your objectives? Would it go something like this?
“Well, I just didn’t have time to get that project.”
“You didn’t have time? Why not?”
“I got busy doing something else and just never got around to it.”
Good Intentions. Poor Results.
All too often, we tell ourselves little white lies. Worse yet, sometimes we even believe them. We trick ourselves into thinking that getting “X” done now will give us the freedom to do “Y” later. The reality is we let too many menial tasks flood our schedules, and we never get around to the important things that matter.
When we focus all our energy on completing those “quick projects” on our to-do list, the major objectives and decisions that will have a significant, positive, lasting impact on our organization never even get started, let alone finished. The little tasks sneak in and steal our attention. If they feel urgent, we’re inclined to move them to the top of our priority list. And when that happens, it’s all too easy to put off “Y”—and maybe even “X”—until tomorrow. And in the words of the great philosopher, Garth Brooks, tomorrow never comes.
