Learning to let go of the small things and focus on the important stuff

I don’t know about you, but at times I seem to find myself barely able to keep up with everything that I have going on. I use tools – like Evernote, Trello, and super-optimized email and calendar processes – to help me manage through my day (both personal and business). But even with those tools and processes, there are times when I feel like I’m barely able to keep my head above water!

When I was younger I would have let these times really bother me. I’m someone who likes to check things off a list, knock things out, and make visible progress. So when I feel like there are a ton of things that aren’t getting done, it can make someone like me fairly anxious.

But lately I’ve grown more patient in how I handle these times. Right now, for example, I’m smack in the middle of juggling a lot of things. It would be easy for me to worry about the other things I’m not getting to.

However, I’m ok with it. I know the things I’m doing right now are more important than the rest of my list. I’ve also grown to accept that I can’t do everything, that some things won’t get done and that’s ok, and that some opportunities will pass me by because I wasn’t able to make the time for them. And perhaps, if I wasn’t able to make the time for them, they weren’t something I should have been doing in the first place.

Having my Trello list is actually helping tremendously with this. I don’t “worry” about things until I’ve moved them into my “High Priority” stack. I can also look at emails that I’ve boomeranged many times and realize that maybe those things aren’t super important.

But I think more than anything, I’ve just learned over time that its ok to let things go. No one can do everything they put on their list. It’s the important stuff that must get done and that’s where your focus must be.

Or if that doesn’t work, you can always attend a time management seminar…if you can find the time ;)