In a recent column in The Atlantic, about the benefits of keeping an updated master list of all your projects, David Allen comments:
By the way, there are no problems — only projects. A problem is only a desired outcome undefined or lack of commitment to its resolution.
The idea of committing to one’s projects or to the actions needed to complete them is an important one. This isn’t about abstract commitments, or the over-played notion that everything we do must stem from our passions.
It boils down to this: are you really going to do this task? Are you really going to do whatever it will take to move this project forward into completion?
For most of us, there is some satisfaction in simply drawing up a complete list of projects and their associated actions because you can begin to really understand all that you are doing and want to do. But just because you have something on your list doesn’t necessarily mean that you are truly committed to it.
The tasks on my own lists that have been there for a while — the ones I think of as being kind of stale — are typically things I feel less energized by or interested in. Often they are tasks imposed on me by other people or institutions. In those instances, figuring out what my commitment is requires digging a little deeper.
Here’s an example: the Dean’s office at my university requires that I submit my annual report by next week, a task I’ve been putting off for a while. I’m not putting it off because I don’t know how to complete the task, or because I’m nervous about it in any way. It just hasn’t reached a priority level greater than my other projects. Soon the urgency of the deadline will bump up the priority on this task and I’ll get it done. But although deadlines can often influence my choices with brute force, I’d rather connect with some level of personal motivation so that I’m not just chafing under the due date.
If I really think about it, what am I committed to here? It’s not the Dean’s office or the task itself. But I am committed to my own vision of myself as a responsible member of my department and university, which includes submitting required paperwork on time. I’m also committed to behaving collegially towards those who serve on the committees that review these forms, whose work is made more difficult by late submissions.
I’m not excited about filling out this paperwork. There are other projects I’m working on that are engaging, interesting, and that will help me grow in ways that completing required forms probably won’t. But if I pause to reflect on the deeper values and commitments behind the less exciting tasks on my lists, it helps me take action on them.
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