Use SMART Goals to Overcome the Tyranny of the Unimportant

Have you ever caught yourself rearranging your desk, or your E Mail files, or checking E Mail, or making a purchase on Amazon, or automatically answering your cell phone, even when you know the call isn't important - when you know, in your gut, that there is more important work to be done? And you just can't bring yourself to make that phone call, or that prospect call, or answer that E Mail request for information, or work on the quarterly reports?

If you answered Yes, welcome to the world of Resistance, that force that always shows up when we are attempting to create positive change and progress - when we try to step out of the box - when we try to confront fear.

Resistance shows itself in many ways - you can't touch it, step on it, feel it - but you know it when it happens. And one of the most frequent ways it shows itself is through the Tyranny of the Unimportant. That force that takes us away from the work that will result in progress and success, and puts us in the middle of "thin things."

The Tyranny of the Unimportant is procrastination at its best - or worst. We're busy as hell - just not effective. And that to-do list with ten things on it has eight things crossed out at the end of the day, but the two top things remain untouched. And we're frustrated and apprehensive.

The sneaky thing about procrastination is that it isn't caused by people quitting or turning their backs on what they have or want to do - it's that they'll do it - tomorrow. And Resistance through the Tyranny of the Unimportant is right there to help.

Procrastinators aren't lazy. In fact, most of the procrastinators I know are some of the busiest, brightest, most motivated, most energetic people you could imagine. They have to - do lists, they work fast and hard and get a lot done - how can people like that be called procrastinators?

One answer - they do the most urgent thing first - but not the most important thing. If you looked at their daily lists of things to do, you would find too much for one person to accomplish, and most of the demands are reacting to the requirements of others. And this Tyranny - to a great extent - is self imposed. Stephen Pressfield, in his excellent book "The War of Art," makes the point that "Resistance," that evil force that only shows itself to keep us from doing something positive, shows itself through the Tyranny of the Unimportant

Pressfield is a writer - he wrote "the Legend of Bagger Vance," among other books. Just like most self employed people he has to be a self starter. People who are their own boss, who don't have someone breathing down their neck, who have to do the important things in order to survive and prosper must overcome the Tyranny of the Unimportant.

So how to overcome this Resistance - this enemy of accomplishment - that form of Procrastination?

First realize that Resistance is the product of fear 'in its many forms. Fear of failure, fear of not good enough, fear of not being able, fear of not being worthy, fear of being told no - the list is a long one. Fear shows itself by trying to force us not to do what we know to be the most important thing. And rather than confronting and overcoming that fear, we direct our efforts to the not so important - and fool ourselves into thinking we are overcoming Resistance by deflecting it. We're not.

And Resistance wins another round. The only way to overcome fear is to confront it - and push through it. And realize that it will come back tomorrow, and the day after that - and the day after that. But overcoming it today makes overcoming it tomorrow a little bit easier. Letting it win today makes it so much more difficult to overcome tomorrow.

The good news about fear is that the things we fear the most are the most important things we must do. Now that's cutting to the chase. If rejection is at the top of the fear list, overcoming rejection is where action needs to be taken. If the fear of a No answer after asking for a line of credit is the most fearful thing to do, it has to be done first. If the greatest fear is public speaking, or developing relationships, that's where success will be found. In addition to turning fear around and using it to identify the really important, take a survey - ask people you know what's important to them. The really successful will tell you, specifically, what they want, and how they're going to get it. From the not so successful, you'll hear answers like "want to be happy," or "successful," or "rich," or "healthy." or the "best." Nice sentiments, but hardly what's needed to overcome the Resistance that will try to keep them from achieving those sentiments. If your answer is at that level, you gotta drill down and define what terms like happy, rich, healthy, success really mean on a personal level - in concrete terms that can be the basis for goals.

Goals are critical to overcoming Procrastination in any form - but particularly in dealing with the Tyranny of the Unimportant. Use those things you fear the most, and the things you've identified as wanting the most, to create SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic and Time Framed. And avoid the temptation to load up on goals. Procrastinators are really great at letting their optimism get ahead of their reason, and establishing a set of goals that is way too ambitious. It's a great way to set up failure, and to not confront the question of priorities. Three to five goals - no more. This is one place where less is more.

Then create a daily, weekly and monthly list of To Do's - and prioritize them. What you use to designate their importance can be any number of things. Some people use "Must Do's", "Want to Do's and "Nice to Do's." Others use A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 as priorities. Going out much further than a month can be a waste of time - an unimportant exercise - things are often so dynamic that a crystal ball would be needed to look further out in the future. The important thing is to do it - and then stick to it, leaving space for the urgent important things that always pop up.

Trust the goals you develop. Then act on your fears through your priorities and your goals.

The reward? You've overcome Resistance - today. You've become more effective - you've confronted fears and become so much better at doing that - and you realize that fear can actually take you where you need to go. And you accept that. And you gain a huge measure of personal control over your time.

Start with truly important goals - and start today.