I often use a phrase to describe people (like me) who develop beautiful lists and plans but never act: planning does NOT equal doing.
When sharing this recently with someone, the other person shared an old family saying that I love:
Motion without movement.
So often we’re guilty of cluttering our calendars, lengthening our lists of tasks, and basking in our busy-ness for anyone who will look. We gladly play the martyrs of our self-imposed excess work that results from doing a bunch of pointless things. Equally as great is the old Peter Drucker quip: there is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all!
Instead of spinning our wheels in an ever-deepening mud rut and going nowhere, we need to do a few things more often:
- When a new idea, task, or commitment comes along, clarify our personal desired outcomes or end goals as soon as possible
- Identify the next tangible action, at the most granular level possible, that moves us closer to that outcome
- Keep track of all these things in trusted, externalized repositories that we review regularly to ensure meaningful, real forward progress
- Create tracking mechanisms to ensure that motion has forward movement and not just activity for the sake of doing stuff
This is how we ensure movement. This is how we ensure “doing”.
If you’re running around in circles chasing your own tail, give these tips a try. And remember that wonderful phrase often:
Motion without movement.
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