Don’t pay for the stuff that’s urgent. Pay for the stuff that matters. They’re not the same.
You’ll eventually get around to the urgent stuff – that, or it will go away – but you won’t always get around to the important stuff.
I think it was Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, who made this idea super popular, but someone before him probably said the same thing. And that’s the point. No matter how popular this advice is, we still forget it in practice.
Pay the important first.
- With money.
- With time.
- With energy.
- With focus.
- With empathy.
And actually, if you want to start now, start at the bottom of that list, not at the top.
