Make Your Plan a Priority

To build a happy life, make your plan a priority and cut away the excess.

I’ve learned as much about life from playing the steel drum instrument, a.k.a. “pan,” as I have from studying the teachings of my many personal growth mentors. That’s why, in my writing, I use the steel drum instrument as a metaphor for life.

In my post, “Inside-Out Personal Growth,” I asked you to commit to “stretch” as a person through intentional, personal growth. Next, in my post, “Map Out Your Plan,” I explained how to map out your life plan. Finally, in my post, “Commit to Your Life Plan,” I discussed how “grooving your notes” requires you to make a full commitment to your life plan.

Now it’s time to make your plan a priority and cut away the distractions.

Cut Away the Excess

The next step to building a steel pan is to cut away the excess, unneeded portion of the barrel’s skirt (the shell), leaving only enough length to act as a sound resonating chamber for the instrument. The length of the chamber varies depending upon the type of pan being built.

Higher pitched steel drum instruments, such as the tenor pan, produce shorter sound waves, while lower-pitched instruments, such as the bass pans, produce longer soundwaves. Therefore, tenor pans require a short resonating chamber (around 7-8″ of the skirt), while bass pans require a long resonating chamber (the full length of the original barrel’s skirt).

Make Your Plan a Priority

You’ve given your life plan a lot of thought. But even if you are the most organized person in the world, you only have 24 hours a day and a limited amount of energy and resources. That’s why it is important to use your limited time, energy, and resources wisely.

One way to do this is to identify and cut away those excess activities in your life that distract you from the pursuit of your goals.

I’m not suggesting that you give up all activities that you do for enjoyment – far from it. These activities should be prioritized, taking into account the other major areas of your life. Then schedule your time, energy, and resources accordingly.

Let’s be honest – you already know where the “excess” is in your life. Activities that eat up valuable time, energy, and money.

Like my hobby that got out of control.

Wrong Priorities

While working on my website Creative Pandemonium, I realized that I was falling further and further behind on my plan. When I thought about it, I realized that I was spending far too much time and energy on one of my favorite hobbies – cooking.

Over the past ten+ years, I’ve come to LOVE cooking. I like watching cooking shows, studying recipes, meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, and of course, the actual cooking and eating part! Clean up – not so much…

Cooking, was distracting me from making my plan a priority.

Whenever an email showed up from one of the many cooking websites to which I subscribe, I couldn’t resist opening it up to check out the latest cooking tips and recipes. That would get my mind thinking about new recipes that I wanted to try out, which then led me to add items to the grocery store app, etc., etc. etc.

Cutting Away the Excess

Though my hobby is fun, it isn’t my true passion. I don’t want to run out and buy a food truck or open a restaurant. I enjoy cooking as a hobby – not as my work, which means that I have to treat it as a hobby.

Though, I didn’t go “cold turkey,” (pun intended).

I limited the days that I allowed myself to play in the kitchen.

I now cook dinner one night during the workweek, and one or two meals during the weekends. The rest of the week, Sandy and I stick to eating quick, simple meals – with far less cleanup! Occasionally, we go out to eat or order delivery.

As a result, I have recouped at least five productive hours a week, which I now invest in my true passion – Creative Pandemonium. I can get a lot done in five hours, and over the course of a year, it adds up to over 250 hours!

I made my life plan a priority.

Identify and cut away those excess activities in your life that distract you from your life plan. You don’t have to give them up completely. Make sure that you prioritize them, taking into account the other major areas of your life. Then schedule your time, energy, and resources accordingly.

No wrong notes,

Mike

I hope that this post has inspired, motivated, or educated you in some small way. If so, please consider joining the Creative Pandemonium community. It’s free – click on this link: Join the Band!