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I make lists. I like lists. They keep me organized and help me prioritize my work. They also help me track where my time is going.
Recently I have found myself focusing a great deal on my lists. Crossing things off my list has become a large priority. Just yesterday I crossed 6 things off my to do list while at work. I really like the sense of accomplishment that comes from taking my highlighter and marking a list item. Yesterday I noticed that as I was working frustratingly hard to cross a particular item off my list, I was missing the why. I was flying blind, more concerned with crossing something off my list than what it really meant to the organization. This caused me to rethink what I was doing and refocus. It turns out that stepping back and observing the bigger picture actually sparked my creativity! Getting to your destination is a lot harder without watching where you are going. How is the means – Why is the ends
Many blogs and articles I read now are noticeably written to answer the questions of how. HOW the author can get more readers, HOW the author can get more comments, and HOW they can produce articles faster, without actually examining WHY they are writing in the first place. By asking WHY are people reading, WHY do people comment and WHY does this article actually need to be done, I believe, the HOW will become more evident.
Thinking for a little bit about the why can really help gain perspective. It allows you to step back and look at whatever you are working on as an observer rather than a participant. This perspective can offer some unique insights that you may be missing.
Think about the task you are doing now, or even a task that you are not really keen to accomplish and try to think about why this task is important. It might just help you gain some perspective and spark your creativity. Who knows, you may even find an easier way to accomplish your task!
