Are You Living in Reactive Mode?

Distraction. 

Buzz..beep…update this! Respond to that! Avast Antivirus needs to restart your computer. Wait, is that the baby crying? 

If you live in reactive mode, then, like me, it’s hard to get anything done. You feel pulled into a million directions, when all you’re trying to do is something simple: like get a load of laundry done, make a simple dinner, catch up with a friend on the phone (or in my case, write a blog post!). These things are so so easy. So why can it be so hard to accomplish them? Other people make accomplishing tasks look simple. 

My current nighttime reading is Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. Andy was reading it earlier this summer, and it looked interesting, so I requested to read it when he finished. We had a brief conversation the other night about my thoughts so far:

Andy: So, how do you like the book?
Me: It’s really good. I can see how it will be really helpful to me. Probably more helpful to me, than it would be for you.
Andy: Yeah, a lot of those strategies were stuff that just comes naturally to me.
Me: Right. You’re probably thinking, Isn’t this obvious already? Oooo, let’s make a list of action steps, and accomplish them one at a time. Groundbreaking.

While this conversation was conducted in a playful bantering sort of way, it reveals the truth in one difference between my husband and me: he is task-oriented, and I am people/relationship oriented. I believe that both tendencies have their own pros and cons, so this isn’t meant to be a slam on any one way of doing things. What it is, is this: if you are people-oriented, you have to work a lot harder to get those to-do list items accomplished. Because in my people-oriented mind, relationships trump tasks. Every. Time. This can sound idealistic. It can sound noble. But more often than not, at the end of the day, important “action steps” are left undone. Lost in the demands of the people I serve (and love).

So, I need to read books like Making Ideas Happen {which is, of course, geared towards idealistic creatives that have a hard time producing and, you guessed it, making ideas happen}. Andy, and other task-oriented people don’t have to read that book. But, if it was on their to-do list, you better believe they would read it anyway. And gain much satisfaction from crossing that item off. 

• Read Making Ideas Happen 

So chime in, are you task-oriented or people/relationship oriented? If you are people/relationship oriented like me, what strategies have you found helpful to keep you on task?