This week I travelled to Stockholm. Although work trips are an exciting opportunity to travel, I must admit I wasn’t particularly energised by the idea. I’ve been somewhat worn out over the last few weeks. I had just travelled to London, I had a fairly intense work period and I’ve had to do quite a few tasks with contracts for my apartment.
But it was important for me to go. From a professional perspective, I attended a conference which was extremely rewarding. I ended up meeting at least 5 key contacts who I had previously emailed but never met in person. I also spoke to new people with fascinating perspectives. In all, I probably got several months’ worth of knowledge in the space of a few days.
And for me personally, it was also an opportunity to go out and see more of the world. Travel can be enriching for the soul, and taking new culture can be deeply inspiring. I’m really glad that I managed to have some time to go to the Vasa Museum. which holds the warship Vasa.
The ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. The ship was commissioned by the Swedish King to demonstrate Sweden’s power. It was to be a massive, impressive ship with 72 cannons and over 450 staff.
Unfortunately, whilst the ambition was sky-high, the planning didn’t match it. The boat was built too thin, and the weight of the cannon were extremely cumbersome. The ship’s short voyage out the dock only lasted around 30 minutes. It tilted so far water started flooding in. The ship had barely made it outside of its harbour in Stockholm.
333 years later the Vasa was found and pulled out of the water. It is 98% original, and over 40,000 artefacts were found buried in the sea.
Both travelling to Stockholm and taking time to visit the museum were me realising what was important, over what was urgent. For my work, it was extremely beneficial for me to leave my day-to-day grind and meet people in a new environment. I could have succumbed to thinking it would be too much effort, or perhaps a lonely experience as I was travelling solo. But going out of my comfort zone landed me with a world of opportunity which I would not have come across otherwise.
Even when I landed in Stockholm, I could have just sat in my hotel to catch-up on emails. After all, there were quite a few ‘urgent’ tasks. I could have told myself that I didn’t want to fall behind on work. Yet, what is the point in travelling to a vibrant city when there is no time to learn from the experience?
In reality, few tasks are genuinely urgent. In the working world, we create workplans and deadlines. These are important to overcome inertia and to drive a project forward. And yet, when is it really that big of a deal when a single ‘urgent’ action is delayed?
The irony is that people who are constantly focussing on the urgent tend to be ones who are finding it hardest to meet them. Those people who can balance the important activities with the urgent ones can bring much-needed perspective. It can also break the of a hamster-wheel cycle of work.
To give a concrete example, I am a huge advocate for proper file structuring, perhaps to the point I’m rather pedantic on the point. I saw this as an important piece of work, because I realised how the effort of spending a few hours organising files correctly would improve efficiency exponentially. Now, when someone asks me for a document, I can find it within 10-15 seconds. The same goes for my team. This is in stark contrast to having to dig around files and cause more stress, which I see soaking up a whole lot of time for others.
But this is not just about our work lives. If we are too busy to invest quality time into our relationships, family and friends we will find ourselves increasingly distanced. We’ve all seen marriages break down over a lack of intent; it is due to the urgent tasks constantly taking over the time spent with a spouse. It can also show up as burnout, which can often mean someone disappearing for a few weeks on sick leave or simply grinding through at low levels of output.
The person who can balance the important activities with the urgent can keep themselves and their relationships happy and healthy. When life hits hard times, they have a good networks of friends, and they can see that there is more to life than the next email.
When you move to a state of focussing on what is truly important, the shift in your life will be truly transformational.
How much are you prioritising the important over the urgent?