Do We Care?

Tags: Business, General,

A while back I was complaining to a business colleague about how difficult it is just to get through a daily newspaper when every day we’re expected to sift through a dumpster load of information at work and home (forget about pleasure reading…).  He calmly said that he reads the first two paragraphs of every news story followed by the question, “Do I care?” If he “cares,” he continues reading. If he doesn’t, he’s on to the next headline. Hmmm…?  Could it really be that easy to place a value on how you spend your time? I think he’s on to something in more ways than one.

The local time is now 2015…and counting.

Holiday vacation is over. Time to get serious about work, school, and routine.

But many of us are doing things a little differently because we’ve made some New Year’s resolutions and are trying to put them into play.

Like trying to manage our time better. Almost everyone struggles with this one. So how do we get it under control and off “the list?”

It’s really a question of having a plan.

Personal development expert Larry Winget wryly noted that “Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.”

So how about a fool-proof, doable plan for acquiring more meaningful time, building better relationships, and achieving more personal success using the same 24 hours (1440 minutes) a day that you had last year?

May I suggest a three-word plan for doing just that? It’s really more of a question than a plan but equally as strategic.

With each task, each encounter, each decision, first ask yourself, Do I care?

If you don’t care about what you’re spending your time doing, or who you’re spending it with, then you probably should be doing something else, with someone else, or by yourself.

…If you’re suffering through another social event with people you hardly know, wishing you could be spending that time with family, friends or customers, then why are you there?

…If you’re complaining about having to go to another volunteer Board or committee meeting, then why did you make the commitment in the first place?

…If you’re going back to the same prospects who obviously have no intention of buying from you, why don’t you face facts and take the harder route finding better prospects worth cultivating?

…If you can’t get home in time for dinner night-after-night, but are never late for a meeting, what does that say about your priorities?

…If you’re unhappy with the way you look in your clothes but hate giving up sweets, carbs, and wine, then why don't you start exercising?

…If you keep your opinions to yourself so as not to offend, then why are you surprised when nothing ever changes?

...If you procrastinate in front of the TV or burn hours checking out social networks, why are you so amazed that nothing ever gets done on time?

If you’re doing the same things and getting the same results, it’s because you really don’t care (enough) to move on, out, up, or in front.

Not caring wastes time. A lot of it.

Starting today, figure out who and what you (really) care about, commit to the time and attention required, and I think you’ll be very pleased with how the story ends.

Headline: Happy New Year!

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140

Larry Winget