Successfully Navigating The Expected and Unexpected
From morning till night, our schedule is often a busy mishmash of tasks. Some are important, others are not, but each has a priority, start time, and an ending. Even the simplest of task can require maximum effort and seemingly has little payback in satisfaction of a job well done. And at times the most un-enjoyable task is the one that we definitely need to focus on and complete successfully….
There are a couple of things I do, and I wish I could say this happens every day, but sometimes it is simply picking up what I started with on a previous day.
- Plan. Always have a plan. For each day. Each task, and all of the pieces that make up the task. Plan for everything.
- Prioritize. A plan in not important if you do not set some kind of order. What’s most important? Necessary? What goes to the top of the list? Bottom?
- Documenting status throughout the day and updating the plan is constantly…
The one thing that wrecks a schedule of successes are the things we do not plan for! As the unexpected rears it’s ugly head, yes, ugly, then having a structure for the day can help you encapsulate the unexpected into your plan. Reorder the priorities. Continue documenting everything. Get busy with the new plan!
Face it. The Unexpected…Always Happens.
Though some shine in the face of the Unexpected, we have been around those who cannot handle it very well. Emotions are lost to the wind. Helplessness sets in. If they are not careful, they simply quit doing everything, even the unexpected, and curl into a fetal position.
The Apostle Paul wrote about how a group of people responded. Read this and tell me what you think about their situation.
“Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could–far more than they could afford!– pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5 MSG)
There are some who rise to the unexpected challenge and finish with glowing accolades.
And there are others who don’t…
Which kind of person are you?