How to turn "someday" into "today"

It’s not going to just happen on its own. (Image by jregerman)

What happens when you clear the decks to make room for your work — that most challenging work that you have been putting off but you know you need to do?

For many of us, nothing.

One of the weirder discoveries in observing my work habits, as well as those of my students, employees, and the people I coach, is that time has so little to do with whether something gets done.

The missing ingredient, when we’re not accomplishing what we set out to do, is not time. It’s commitment.

If we’re committed to the work, it will get done. If not, not. It’s as simple as that.

One of my very busiest students, Katie, was a competitive gymnast — one of the best in the state in her division. She was also a musician and happens to be dyslexic. She was also one of my most diligent students: She did every assignment to the best of her ability and turned in high-quality work on time, every time. Despite her intense schedule, she made the commitment to do her work and followed through every single day.

Over the years, it’s been clear that no matter what organizational system we used to track student assignments, kids like Katie will get the work done, and kids who don’t make the commitment will not. These other kids may be just as bright and have just as much time available, but those aren’t the factors that matter. What matters is the commitment.

For years, I wanted to write, but I didn’t actually do much of it. I would start and stop. Now, I have a daily practice of writing. I used to think I didn’t have the time; now I make the time.

This commitment has led to some surprising outcomes. I’ve realized that I can’t hide behind “I don’t have enough time” in any aspect of my life. I’m responsible for all of my choices, so if I’m not making ones that are in alignment with my values, I have no one and nothing else to blame. This has helped me to clarify my priorities and make additional changes to the way I spend my days.

So many of us struggle to do the work that matters most to us. We often have layers of other commitments to disentangle ourselves from. We may have serious obstacles that test our resolve and our ingenuity. We may have responsibilities that prevent us from being able to truly invest in anything else.

If we look at our situation through the lens of commitment, we can either make the changes that make our desired outcome possible, or accept that, at least for now, it is not. Based on our conclusion, we’ll either move forward with the work, bolstered by our new commitment, or we’ll stop beating ourselves up for not doing it, appreciating that the commitments we’ve already made do not leave room for another one.

There’s nothing wrong with doing things halfway if we’re enjoying ourselves and having fun with it. However, if we find ourselves stressed, anxious, dissatisfied, frustrated, or ashamed, it’s a good idea to reevaluate our relationship with the activity that is the source of the negative emotion. When we pay attention to what we can control, we see our choices in a new light. From there, we can build new habits that change our results.

Katie was off-the-charts conscientious at twelve years old. Not all of us have that maturity, but we do all have the ability. We can all follow Katie’s example and commit to doing the work we care about most.