Trying to Help Everyone Can Make It Hard to Help Anyone
Trying to do too much is something I’ve struggled with for most of my life. I see people struggling with things, and I want to help them. I believe helping others is how we’ve been called to live. The problem is that some people are only concerned with getting what they want. That makes the load heavier for people with a servant’s heart.
Just today, I spoke with one of my subcontractors and asked him how his day was going. He told me, “Not so well.” He then proceeded to tell me what he was dealing with.
He had become aware of a situation involving a single mom with kids who had moved here from another state. Before coming, she had arranged to rent a house. When she arrived, however, the house was a disaster. It was unlivable in its current state. She tried to get the landlord to take care of the problems so she could move in. The landlord told her she wasn’t going to fix anything and, on top of that, wasn’t going to rent the house to her.
Then the landlord told her she was going to report her to the authorities and have her kids taken away because she didn’t have a place to live.
My subcontractor got involved and stepped in to help this woman and her kids. Now he has to answer questions from law enforcement officers. None of this drama was part of his plan for the day.
I had called him to see if he had finished the last couple of little things on a job he’s doing for us before the sheetrock installation started tomorrow.
“No,” he said.
He had planned to finish them before the afternoon’s situation came up. Now, he will try to get there tomorrow, but no later than Saturday.
Stepping up and saying yes takes a portion of the limited time we have.
My assistant and I have been discussing how I’m trying to do too much. There just isn’t enough time to get everything done. But there are so many important things that need to be done.
The thing is, we only have a limited amount of time.
It’s up to me to spend it wisely.
One of the things that has allowed my tendency to overpromise to creep back in is letting lower-priority things take control instead of staying in control myself.
Periodical “step backs” help me maintain control. This includes regularly reviewing my goals and plans. I do this by breaking big things down into smaller pieces. I break the year down into quarters, months, weeks, and days. At each of these intervals, I’m supposed to stop and review where I am, where I want to go, and what the first next thing is to get there.
The problem is that I’ve let outside forces take control of my schedule. As a result, I have postponed or skipped some of these “step backs.” This has resulted in a loss of clarity and focus.
It’s up to me to be intentional and take the actions needed to get things back under control.
For me, overscheduling can sometimes help me be more productive. When I have too much to do, I get more done. Hard deadlines help me stay focused. But having too many deadlines on too many things can pull us in too many directions.
“Stepping back” helps me clarify my focus. So, I’m going to “step back” and get refocused.
I’m going to start by calling some prospective customers and letting them know I don’t have time to prepare proposals for their projects right now. If they don’t want to wait, I understand.
I don’t like letting people down. The problem is that trying to do too much means I’m letting someone down anyway.
Okay, I’ve written enough. I need to make those calls and shorten my list.
PRIORITIZE AND FOCUS!
