Where Do I Start?


Being the one who  runs the practice, as well as the one who provides the service, means that sometimes there’s just too much to do in the available time. I’m sure you’ve had the experience, I know I have; the to-do list that just keeps growing no matter how fast or efficiently you clear the items, sometimes it just can’t be done.

There are many time management systems out there, thousands of books, computer packages and apps to help you “manage your time.” They all have in common a process of prioritising – you decide what’s most important, or urgent, and organise your tasks and your time accordingly.

They all work – once you decide what your priorities are. But for some people that’s the difficult piece, that’s the stumbling block, what do I prioritise?

Speaking with a friend this week she identified this problem, the things she should do for her practice, were not the things that were attracting her. Those things that were attracting her were family related and learning something new, both of which are important to her, but neither of which were going to progress her practice.

I’d love to be able to solve the problem for her, to magically slow down time, so that everything she has on her list gets done. But I can’t. I can tell her what I think she should do, but then that would be my priority wouldn’t it, not hers? Because here’s the thing, my friend, and only my friend controls what goes on the list. She and only she decides what to do, what order to do them in, and also what not to do. And while I can help her to be more efficient, I can suggest processes and strategies, I can’t actually decide for her what her priorities should be.

I struggled with this for a long time myself, and some days I still do. The first breakthrough came for me when I realised I never get to the end of the list. There are always more items, more tasks, more ideas to be added to it. And even if I get someone else to do some of it for me, there will still be more on my list than I can possibly clear.

I have to make a choice, and keep making choices, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day about what I want, about what I’m making important for me, right now. I can decide not to choose, or I can sit here looking at my list waiting for the right choice to emerge, or I can just start somewhere. Which leads me to the second breakthrough.

That came when I realised that the point of my life is not to get things done. The doing is merely the road I’m choosing to walk down in order to have the experience. The experience, what I learn, and who I become in the process, they’re the point. So what I do, or say or think, only has the importance or meaning that I give it. I get to choose that too!

My father told me when I was a teenager, “If you want to live your life, you have to get out of bed in the morning.” I’ve long forgotten the context of his advice, but the principle still applies. So I get out of bed. And photo  (43)then I look at the list. I choose, and go from there.

Choosing is painful at times. It raises all sorts of fears about getting it wrong.  What if I make the wrong choice and regret it?  What if I make the wrong choice and someone else disagrees with me? What about the loss of the things I don’t choose, or the things I never make enough of a priority to do? And so on, I’m sure you could add a few of your own!

Not choosing is also a choice, and a valid one. And it brings up exactly the same fears and feelings. And maybe the most important thing for me to do today is to do nothing, or to do something that isn’t on my list at all, but makes me feel good, like meeting a friend, or playing with a pet, or just sitting on the sofa in my pyjamas. Maybe the most important thing for me today is staying in bed (Sorry, Dad!)

If you struggle to know where to start when it comes to any aspect of growing or running your practice, I’d love to help. Contact me here with your query, or to avail of your free 20 minute consultation.