Priority v. Pleasure
Work first, play later. It’s an age-old adage that works on its face but underneath there are a few things to work out. We have limited time in our busy lives and sacrifices must made at the altar of Priority v. Pleasure. In this case, we must root out what exactly our priorities and pleasures are.
The first element of the case is defining what exactly is a priority. For some people it’s their family, for others it’s a career or their entrepreneurial venture. Having an honest self-assessment and determining what *has* to stay in your life is a priority. Everybody is different. Here is a list of my daily priorities in no particular order:
- Keeping the family happy, if you can’t have peace at home, good luck elsewhere.
- I exercise as if my life depends on it, because it kind of does.
- The fuel you put into your body matters, eat mindful of its impact.
- Get that work done, the sooner the better.
With our priorities parceled out we can move onto the case for pleasure, because without pleasure what’s the whole point of fussing over priorities? A la The Shining, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” For some people pleasure is watching shows, hosting game nights, or maybe even re-organizing their sock drawer. The problem with pleasure is it feels great, and we don’t want it to end, but eventually we’ll reach the end of our day. Prioritizing our pleasures of greatest value helps separate the “wonderful” from the “nice to have to have around” in an environment of competing priorities and indulgence.
Once priority and pleasure are defined, we enter the gray zone of actually parsing out our priorities and pleasures to determine where they fit into our busy days. This will be a different process for everyone, but the goal is the same. I prefer to get the essentials done as quickly as possible, as I like having some breathing room in my day in case there is some unforeseen nonsense. This is a case of blending comfort with discomfort, of prioritizing the essentials in order to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
In the case of Priority v. Pleasure, priorities are essential, and pleasure is what make the whole rat race worth it, but the race has to come first. The horse pulls the cart. Work first, play later.
