You are in control.
Most people spend the day reacting. Then they wonder why the project is running them instead of the other way around. Two habits fix that: take initiative, and do the important thing before the urgent thing.
Be Proactive
Initiative means recognizing our responsibility to make things happen. Covey called this being proactive, and most of what follows in this post is his. There’s a real difference between people who take initiative and people who wait. Here’s how to embrace proactivity:
- Act or be acted upon: Don’t let circumstances control you. Take control of your actions and decisions.
- Combine creativity and resourcefulness: Use your imagination and available resources to find solutions and push projects forward.
- Understand true proactivity: Read what the project needs before someone has to ask you for it.
- Focus on yourself: To improve your situation, start with the one thing you control entirely. Always ask, “What am I going to do about it?”
Put First Things First
Organize and execute around your priorities. Effective prioritization is less about managing time and more about managing yourself and your actions within that time. Here’s how to master it:
- ‘Self-management’ over ‘Time management’: Recognize time itself isn’t something you manage or modify; it moves independently. What matters is how you manage your actions within the time you have.
- Focus on relationships and results: Rather than getting caught up in tasks, prioritize preserving and enhancing relationships and achieving meaningful results.
- Distinguish between urgent and important: Urgent matters demand immediate attention but might not contribute to long-term goals. Focus on important things and recognize that they might always feel urgent (which is probably why they’re at the bottom of your to-do list). Prioritizing important tasks requires more initiative and proactivity but is essential for long-term success.
- Be solution-minded: Bring the fix, not the flag. If you’re raising a problem, raise it with an option attached.
Avoid Redirection
One of the most frustrating aspects of professional environments is when individuals redirect tasks or blame instead of taking ownership. For example, if you are a product architect, it’s your job to know your product inside and out. Failing to do so diminishes your role and effectiveness. True ownership means understanding your responsibilities deeply and taking action to address issues directly, not passing the buck to someone else.