STEP #5:
Reevaluate Your Project List

Now that you have a full inventory of everything you’re committed to this week, you have the chance to ask some difficult but incredibly illuminating questions of yourself:

• •  Which goals or priorities you say are important to you don’t have any projects associated with them? (These are called “dreams,” since they aren’t likely to happen in the near term.)
• •  Which projects you’re spending a lot of time on don’t have any goals associated with them? (These are called “hobbies,” because without a goal in mind, they are likely “just for fun.”)
• •  Which projects can you cancel, postpone, reduce in scope, delegate, outsource, or clarify?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with dreams and hobbies, by the way. They are just as important and necessary parts of our lives, but don’t confuse them with your projects and areas.

All we’re doing is aligning where your time and energy are going with what is truly important to you. In the bustle of daily life it’s too easy to let them drift out of alignment. Before we know it, we’re neglecting everything we claim matters most to us, while pouring our precious time into things we know aren’t important at all.

The five steps I’ve just taken you through can become part of a “weekly review.” You can walk through them once a week, or anytime you feel overwhelmed or stretched too thin, and I guarantee you’ll emerge in minutes with a newfound sense of clarity and purpose.