Things That Matter Most

So I've noticed for quite some time that at work, I'm getting more and more to the point where I spend my time working on the little things.  I pretty much just manage bigger projects, not actually do them.  So I spend my time either helping my team understand and work through how to do their part, or taking on some of the smaller things that I can take off of their plates so they can keep working on the big things.  In fact, I have a quote on my wall at work:

You can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them.  The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.  -Scott Adams

And so I spend my time removing obstacles.

Sometimes it feels unproductive.  Sometimes I still try to get work on other bigger projects done, all to no avail because I spend my time working with others on their stuff.

So I have to go back to the title of the post.  What are the things that matter most?  Am I spending my time doing the things that make the biggest difference?  Sometimes doing the small things, and removing those seemingly small obstacles is pretty important.

There are also different spheres for this discussion.  This post started out thinking about work, but the same concept applies to other areas, such as family life and spiritual things as well.  Obviously some of those spheres cross over each other.

It's an interesting exercise to take some time and consider each of those categories and prioritize your time.  Doing this will help you make sure that you're always spending your time on the things that matter most.

While I was writing this, I thought of a conference talk by President Uchtdorf a couple of years ago, "Of Things That Matter Most".  It's a fantastic talk about making sure that with all the things we have to do, we need to refocus our lives and center our attention on those things that matter most.  His conclusion, and I agree with him, is that the more we refocus our attention to these things, and just get back to the basics, the more joy we will find.

Realistically, this thought exercise makes me think I have a long ways to go before I can honestly say that I spend all my time doing the things that matter most.  Something to work on.