If you don’t know why you are doing something, is it just folly?

I exercise to stay in shape, read in order to gain new perspectives, and write in order to sharpen my creative skills. I work in order to help others and support myself and my family. All of this creates a demand on my time.

The busier you think you are getting, the more you need to think about what you are doing in order to reduce the clutter. I have found that when I stop using the word busy and start actively managing my time then I become more effective. The filter I apply to sort through whether I should do something right now, later, or at some point in the future is why.

Knowing why you do something directly connects your action to a specific purpose, cause, or direction. It’s the difference between being a blunt object versus a sharpened tool, or being blurry versus being in focus.