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So, I think I have finally figured it out – I’m afraid they aren’t going to wait for me!  Who are “they” (Maybe “they” should be my readers, and I could use my fear of them not waiting for me as motivation to post more consistently, and more often)?

They – are opportunities.  As I fight my required yet despised daily ritual, going to bed (I like to be up at night, but the rest of the world requires me to be up during the day) I realize that I am not good at keeping a routine.  Actually, I am always telling myself that I need to do many things more “consistently”.  But, I never do.  More importantly I realize that, I can never keep to strict routines, because I am afraid that by committing to a routine I will miss out on an opportunity!  What if I neglect passing opportunities because I’m too drilled into maintaining my routine?

Time is not waiting for me, and this is not the world that would allow me to miss out on an opportunity… can anyone afford to turn away when opportunity knocks? 

In business planning, you always have to calculate the “opportunity cost” of investing in something new, or just moving forward with a plan.  The amount is measured, for analysis reasons, by estimating the single most impactful opportunity you would lose out on by making your choice.  THE SINGLE most, not all the potential opportunities – just the single most.  This opportunity cost is often, if not always, mutually exclusive from what you will gain from the choice or option you pursue.  Unfortunately, I’ve never been good at only assuming or measuring just one, identifiable, most-impactful opportunity – and I’ve never liked that I have to miss out on it.  I’ll take that cake, and a napkin – because I’m eating it too!

I like to take these realizations and turn them into a question or challenge for myself.  So, this time I see two focus points: 1. I need to learn how to keep “routine” tasks exciting so that I don’t actually feel like I’m in a routine (and thus not blind to our distracted from passing opportunities).  2. I need to ensure I am giving full attention to whatever I am doing, and not allow myself to get distracted by fear that I might have mis-allocated my time.

Published by Damien B

I started this blog as a challenge to myself, to get better at writing and comfortable with tech. I now use this to dust off ideas, share thoughts, and generally have fun. My day job? I'm a management consultant. I enjoy learning about technology and how to make the best use of it. So, it is fitting that I've built my career around helping others leverage technology and improve work for the people who use it. I'm a pretty safe person to share thoughts with; I try not to be judgy; I enjoy a good sense of humor and don't take offense to much. I appreciate open minds, and do my best to assume positive intent. I love to hear about ideas and thoughts that differ to my own. If nobody ever disagreed with me, I'd never have the privilege of being enlightened, nor the chance to learn and grow!