We all have them- a list of truly important work items that we need to get done, work that we never seem to actually get to working on. Unfortunately, most of our time, attention and energy tends to get eaten up tending to the thousand mini-fires that crop up during the day... all those little emergencies that ultimately serve to simply keep you spinning your wheels instead of moving forward. While there are a lot of ways to shift your focus from these mini-crises towards important work, one of the most effective methods is simply doing the important, long term work first thing in the morning- before you even have an opportunity to be distracted by all the inconsequential work.
Of course, to follow this habit you need to first be able to recognize what work actually deserves your attention, and what works simply demands it. As a quick rule of thumb, the more a piece of work yells at you to get it done, the less likely it is an important piece of work. For instance, little bits of work that come to you through e-mail do not tend to be that important. Really, little bits of work that arrive through any form of quick and easy communication do not tend to be that important. E-mail tends to be a really good medium for transmitting distractions, and nothing more.
Really, truly important tasks tend to be too large to shoot off in an e-mail or a text message. They tend to be more in depth and have rewards that sit far down the line. For instance, when I identify the truly important work that I need to get done with during the day, I often look at my work through the lens of which of the tasks have the highest "force multiplier." The theory of the Force Multiplier basically says that some work has added benefits for getting it done now and not tomorrow. For instance, some work builds momentum the longer it is out there complete. Mini-crises tend to have little to no long term impact- they tend to disappear as quickly as they appear. They have a small or sometimes non-existent force multiplier. But important tasks tend to have a small or non-existent immediate impact, but their importance and their impact tends to grow and build as time goes on. They tend to be not so glamorous or gratifying in the short term, but they tend to produce real results that inch you towards your goals in the long term.
Once you are able to identify what work is most important in the long term, it's crucially imperative that you get this work done first thing in the morning. This is the best time to complete tasks because you tend to have your greatest well of will power and focus as soon as wake up and start working. You haven't contended with all the little interruptions that the work day brings, your energy and focus haven't been sapped by all those tiny distractions. Resolve to identify your most important tasks for each day, and then resolve to get that work done first thing in the morning, and you'll be shocked the progress and momentum you'll make in your work and your life.
