A Clean Barn

Leadership

Do you ever find yourself playing digital whack-a-mole—getting caught up in all the problems flying at you through e-mail, text, or another form of digital communication? It is easy to find yourself hammering out responses to the problems that pop up all day long until, before you know it, the day has flown by and you are not really sure what you accomplished.

Productivity is further diminished because you weren't the only one on the communication string; several people were focused on the same issues, multiplying the collective waste of time. Even worse than that, it is unlikely that the problem on the surface was the most pressing issue. It is the tyranny of the urgent!

Often, when a problem pops up, and we swing our hammer to knock it down, we fail to consider:

Is it the right problem to solve? Just because someone else is anxious, angry, or worried doesn't make it your priority.
Is it my problem to solve? Being added to an email distribution does not mean you are obligated to resolve the issue or even chime in.
What is the real challenge here? We need to focus on the most important problem, instead of the first problem.

"Without oxen, a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest." (Proverbs 14:4)

Do you want to have an abundant harvest or a clean barn? When two different challenges are in front of you, which is the most important? If you focus on your short-term anxiety of “keeping the barn clean,” you may risk the long-term opportunity of an abundant harvest. Yes, you need to “clean the stables” regularly, or delegate that task, to maintain a healthy working environment for your team, but don't lose sight of our ultimate goal, an abundant harvest. To get there, you need healthy, strong oxen to pull the plow. No ox means a clean barn, but it also means no harvest.

Give up playing digital whack-a-mole and get out of the digital arcade long enough to think. Only swing at the problems that are your responsibility and are truly worth solving.