Look Up

There are a lot of things you can be doing right now. We’re all busy, busy, busy. All the time. But what if I told you that all of the time you’re spending doing those things you’re doing could be a completely waste?

Many of us live out of a to-do list, or a task manager. We wake up, check our email and then see what we have to do for the day. And from that moment, we’re playing a game of catch up. Emails need to be replied to. Projects need to be completed. Meetings need to be held. And if you’re pointed in the right direction that all works beautifully. There’s nothing to say that emails, projects or meetings are inherently unproductive.

But if you don’t look up every once in a while that entire system falls apart, and hours, days or even years can be wasted. So what does it mean to “look up”?

Looking up means drawing a line between those big hairy audacious goals and your day-to-day work.

If you are working toward something meaningful, your goals are likely to require a lot of time and effort. Looking up means drawing a line between those big hairy audacious goals and your day-to-day work. It means checking that your daily to-do list maps to monthly goals, which map to even larger yearly goals. In short, it means knowing where you are going at all times and always being able to answer the question “Why am I doing this?”

In a world of endless email and mind-numbing noise, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds. In fact, it’s easy to work long hours and late nights when you’re in the habit. Challenging yourself enough to ask the important questions is hard. Asking “why” is hard.

If you can’t answer why you’re working on that thing you put off momentarily to read this article, here’s my advice: Put that to-do list aside tomorrow. Call in sick. And then go figure out if the thing you’re working on matters in the first place, or if you’re marching aimlessly towards inbox zero. The goal isn’t to clear your inbox or cross off that final to-do; It’s to know where you’re going and then get there.