The Tyranny of the Perpetual
The Tyranny of the Perpetual
“Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.” ― Charles E. Hummel, Tyranny of the Urgent
I recently returned from a trip to El Salvador, where the pace of life is tempered by heat and culture.
In Central America (at least from my perspective), time is fluid. Some activities begin on time; others start when everybody arrives. I can’t recall any sense of urgency in anything we did.
It was a working vacation for me. As a design professional and agency owner, I always have a sense of urgency because of launch dates, deadlines, and milestones. I sat at the kitchen table with the patio door open to a view of the blue sky, palm trees, and flowers to catch up on my backlog of projects.
I began working when I was 16 years old, working in a warehouse and delivering appliances. I’ve worked the rest of the past 45 years in design, meeting other people’s deadlines. It can be exhausting.
I seem to have an endless to-do list, and I desperately want to get caught up! The tyranny of the urgent has become the tyranny of the perpetual.
I know it’s a problem — or an opportunity — we all encounter. We all have the choice of how we deal with it.
I’m going to turn it into an opportunity.
I will hire a virtual assistant to manage the perpetual tasks that don’t fit my strengths to increase my value to our clients and agency.
I will continue implementing processes and systems to make the perpetual and recurring more efficient and profitable.
My time and capacity are limited. I will say no to projects that don’t align with my expertise and interest.
Putting this strategy into action sounds simple, and what I must remember is this:
The joy of life is sweeter when the pace of life gives us time to enjoy what we’re doing instead of racing to complete it.