Managing Demands

Someone shared a piece of advice with me years ago: If you don't have a plan for your schedule everyone else will.

Expectations and demands abound whenever you work with others. Whether you work above, below or beside them there will be expectations and demands. Some people have a difficult time putting them into perspective. Others just find it difficult to say no. I've learned that the best I can be for everyone is a leader on target by disciplining my time and schedule. I have a schedule full of tasks to be completed, and in certain seasons it seems a list of tasks that others want to put on my schedule. Sometimes it is for good reason. For example it might be something only I can do, or it might be because of a level of expertise that I have in a certain area. To the person asking me that task is of great importance, and those tasks are important. But in order to serve them best I have to prioritize them in line with where I'm heading. It may not meet the urgency that others feel, but it is the better path in the long run.

Demands will always abound, but you have to be able to manage the demands.

--Ben