Tuesday
Sep132011
Beware of "Fillers"
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 08:00AM
Have you ever eaten at a buffet? Have you noticed how the buffet is set up? Well, you find the salad first and in the middle of the buffet you find a variety of other foods like vegetables, fruits, breads, pasta, potatoes, etc. At the end of the buffet are usually the meats like roast beef, chicken, shrimp, ham and/or fish - the high quality and more expensive items found in the buffet.
The owners of the buffet are smart and strategically place the quality/expensive foods at the end of the buffet line and the "fillers" (fillers of your stomach and plate) at the beginning. This is in hopes that by the time you near the end of the line; you don't have enough room on your plate. And, this strategy works! As you near the end of the line (the meat section) with a full plate, you think to yourself, "I will eat what I have and then come back for the good stuff." But, by the time you finish what is on your plate, you are near being full and have just enough room for the dessert.
Most people approach their day the same way they approach the buffet line. They fill their plates up with a bunch of "filler" activities and don't save room for the "meat" - the things that will truly make a difference. "If I have time, I will come back and focus on the meat...the things that are most important." But the day fills up with with less important activities and by the end; they are tired and just have enough time for some dessert.
Beware of filling your daily plate with items that are not important. Start with the meat and then come back to your "things to do" list and add the "filler" activities.
Be sure to always save room for dessert!
tagged productivity, self control
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