Priorities and Checklists

I've been away from working on this blog for a while, mostly because my competing time obligations said that something had to give, and this blog turned out to be it. All jobs that compete for your time should be assigned priorities. When I do this, I find that one of two things happens. Either I do the right thing and tackle the top priority job, or I do the wrong thing and tackle lower priority jobs that are easier to accomplish. Recently, I have been doing the right thing - working on my latest novel. In my book DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life, I discuss the importance of setting priorities, but I overlooked the self-satisfaction priority of accomplishing something. Sometimes it is important to your ego to be able to check some tasks off of your long list. At these times it is natural to do a few easy and short things so that you eliminate any feelings of guilt and feel free to tackle the high priority difficult and long job. Writing in general, and working on my next book in particular, is usually my top priority. However, I find that I do better writing if I take some steps to clear a few tasks off of my list first. You have to strike a balance that suits your own personality. Procrastination should not be an option. Do something; it's better than nothing.