Interestingly enough, as I write this, I’m a little pressed for time myself! Oh, the irony…
So what do you do when you’re in a time crunch? What do you do when…
- There’s too much to do?
- You’re behind on things that have to get done?
- Everything feels urgent?
- You realize you’re not going to get it all done?
- To top it off, more stuff is being added to your plate by the moment.
We’ve all been there. Interestingly enough, I’m there today. There’s just not enough time for me, today, to get through the things that need to get done. And, chances are, you can probably relate.
So what do you do in that moment? Simply this:
Separate the important from the urgent…and do the important first.
I recently heard someone say “The important is almost never urgent…and the urgent is almost never important.” However, it’s easy to find myself putting the urgent ahead of the important…and, as a result, the important- the thing that really matters- gets squeezed out.
The opposite should actually be true.
Regardless of what is urgent…the important needs to come first and foremost. Because- while the urgent offers the most immediate feedback (reward), the important is what keeps us going for the long haul.
Jesus demonstrated this perfectly:
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”- Mark 1:35-36 (NIV)
Obviously there were some urgent things that needed to be done. People had needs. People needed to be healed. Demons needed to be cast out.
And yet…instead of waking up early and jumping on to His to-do list…Jesus went off to a solitary place and prayed. Why?
Because He knew the most important thing He needed to do each day was connect with His Father- regardless of the urgent needs around Him.
In fact…after spending time with His Father…watch what Jesus said next:
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.- Mark 1:38-39 (NIV), emphasis mine
Were there urgent needs? Yes…yet Jesus was willing to leave some of those undone. Not because He was unmerciful…but because He understood His purpose and it was His time with His Father that kept Him aligned with that purpose.
What Jesus teaches us here is this:
Sometimes you won’t get it all done. Sometimes you will disappoint people
But if you put the important ahead of the urgent…
- You’ll get the very thing you need to keep you going.
- You’ll stay focused on the “Why.”
- You’ll actually make progress towards the goal.
Progress doesn’t happen by us doing a bunch of things. It happens when we do the right things. And that starts by putting the important ahead of the urgent every single time.