While projects are important, not everything is a project.
There are facets of your work and life that don’t have a clear end goal or deadline. We call them “areas of responsibility.”
An area of responsibility has:
Work-related areas include your job duties, whether that is management, customer service, financial analysis, strategy, coaching, direct reports, or advising. You also have areas of responsibility in your personal life, like your health, finances, personal development, and relationships, which will continue in some form for as long as you live.
In all the examples above, the areas have no particular outcome to be achieved. There is no finish line you can reach that allows you to “complete” your health, or “finish” strategy once and for all, or “check off” finances as an ongoing concern.
Instead of a goal, an area of responsibility has a standard you’re trying to maintain.
For example, if you’re responsible for an area at work like leading product development, there is a standard of performance (or a “quality bar”) for the product you are responsible for. That may include upgrading its speed and performance, fixing bugs quickly, and approving new updates to be released.
For your finances, your standard may be that you pay all your bills on time and provide for your family’s needs. For parenting, it may be that you spend quality time with your kids every evening and make sure they are always loved and protected.
Maintaining your areas is an ongoing process. It requires thoughtfulness and self-awareness to sense what you want and what’s missing in each one. An area is not so much a prize to win as a dance to enjoy. This is the realm of daily habits, meaningful rituals, and timeless values that transcend any particular project.