I have been about 90 percent on writing down (Jotting) every commitment that comes into my world. Oddly, the ones I’m most likely to overlook are the most obvious and visible duties.
Ignoring the Big Rocks
For example, today my boss asked me to kick off a project that I’d been asking to do for some time. That was about 9:00 this morning. I didn’t Jott it until 2:00 p.m. In between, I Jotted at least half a dozen tiny little tasks, like updating a blog entry and shifting ownership of an email distribution list I no longer manage.
I suspect that I’m willing to hold onto the big projects because I trust they’ll have obvious ticklers to alert me that I need to work on them. That’s a dangerous assumption. Another project, which comes due on December 4, is STILL not in Jott, nor are any of the tasks associated with it. My memory has proven insufficient on this project, as I’m now scrambling to tie up several loose ends.
Lesson Learned
The lesson is here is simple: Take care of the Big Rocks; they’re no more likely to take care of themselves than are the little pebbles.
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