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Monday, June 4, 2012

My agenda


This past week I was listening to a podcast from Eventual Millionaire.  The host, Jaime Tardy, was interviewing a man who said something that has stuck in my mind.  This millionaire said that he got up at 5 AM and worked on his own agenda until 9 AM.  He would write, spend time with his family, and exercise for the first four hours of his day.  Not until after nine o'clock did he get to his email.  His reason for that was that answering his email was reactive and giving in to other peoples agenda.  He wanted to give his first and best hours to his own agenda.

I wonder how many times I have yielded to other peoples agenda just because I thought I had to or because I assumed my agenda was not very important or because I felt pressure to do so.  I remember working in an office and basically having other peoples agenda my first activity.  I would get into the office on time and prepared but I would go to email first thing.  The office was quiet so I would not want to be talking on the phone as others would hear me.  I read and answered emails because it was simply and easy and it gave me the idea that I was working.

Today I am working on my own.  I am working to get my own priorities done early and my check list complete before I respond to other people's needs and requests.  It is not easy.  Email has trained us to view and reply to it first thing because it is immediate and we want to have some activity to show that we are working.  Yet it is not always productive.  Giving ourselves enough preparation time in the morning will make our day more fulfilling and more productive in the long run.

How do you keep to your own agenda?

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