"What is urgent is seldom important, and what is important is seldom urgent." -Dwight Eisenhower

A Rare Occasion

A few weeks ago we had an insanely warm day... for February... in Illinois. It was sunny and reached 60 degrees!

The Never-Ending “To Do” List

It was a Monday, and I had the day off. There was plenty on my "to do" list -- a messy house to pick up, piles of laundry to catch up on, grocery shopping, emails to respond to, a dentist appointment in the afternoon...

Throughout the morning I was busy checking things off the list. Before I knew it, it was afternoon, and I had only 15 minutes to get out the door for my 1:00 dentist appointment.

Yikes — I hadn’t even taken a shower! 😬

A Pause

I glanced out the window. I instantly felt sad.

I was sad that this beautiful day was flying by so fast, and I was disappointed that I had spent it inside. Now I had a dentist appointment to rush to, the house was still a mess, and my kids' after-school sports activities would soon consume our afternoon/evening.

An Important Decision

In that moment I made an important decision. I decided that my seemingly urgent "to do" list could wait.

Nobody was going to die if I responded to emails a little later, or if the house stayed messy a little longer. However, a piece of my soul was dying from not taking advantage of the beautiful day outside.

I quickly showered, brushed my teeth, put on some clean workout clothes, and headed out the door to my dentist appointment. (Poor dentist. I'm sure I was a sight, lol. 🙂)

The dentist and his assistant commented on the beautiful day and asked me what I had planned for my afternoon.

No Regrets

No more sadness or regret for me. I proudly told them, "After this I'm going for a long walk to enjoy this weather while I can!"

And that's exactly what I did. I walked for an hour and a half! I didn't even listen to my headphones. I just took in the beautiful afternoon, enjoying every second of it, knowing that this weather wouldn't last, and feeling so fortunate to have this opportunity... in Illinois... in February.

The Result

You know what? The world didn't fall apart. 😉

My “to do” list was still waiting for me when I returned (unfortunately), but my energy level was higher, and I was able to work through the tasks more efficiently.

I'm so glad I took advantage of the opportunity because that weather certainly didn't last. In fact, the cold and wind returned with a vengeance in the days that followed.

That sunny February afternoon now holds a special place in my memory, as an afternoon where I MADE the time to fuel my soul and feel alive, by simply taking in the beautiful world that awaited outside.

NOVEMBER UPDATE: A similar day about 9 months later…

Don’t let the urgent crowd out the important.

Prioritizing the IMPORTANT over the urgent is challenging. There's so much pressure to do the opposite.

But when we start seeing these "urgent" tasks for what they truly are (usually not that important in the grand scheme of things), we find ways to MAKE time for the important — those things that improve our quality of life and our sense of well-being.

“The urgent finds you. You have to find the important. Importance is not fast. It is slow. It is not superficial. It is deep. And as a result, it’s extremely powerful. When important matters go wrong, they undermine everything. When they go right, they sustain everything.” -Stewart Brand

How about you?

When have you intentionally set aside your “to do” list to prioritize something more important? What did you gain from the experience? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave me a comment below!

This post was originally published on February 24, 2020.

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