"A little sumpin’, that’s all they want; just a little sumpin’. If this was one of my ice cold Lagunitas beers, that would be great, and I might even have you take a seat and we could yuk it up for a little while. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Every day we are all pulled in different directions, by people, organizations, volunteerism, our kids and family, or whomever, that want just a “little something” from us. It could be 5 minutes to hear their pitch or another board meeting or a kid’s doctor’s appointment. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, there are always hands out, competing for our attention, and taking that most precious of substances: time. Wouldn’t it be nice to work 40 hours a week? You know, show up at 9am and punch out at 5pm. Those of us who live in today’s reality know it’s more like get out of bed between 5 and 6 am, promptly start checking emails within 15 minutes, work all day (the best you can while giving that little something) only to make a face visit to your local networking event before we can get home, cook dinner, clean up, pay bills or perform other household duties, and go to bed before midnight to be ready for that alarm goes off again tomorrow.
In 2019, this is the cycle that I am determined to stop. In my first meeting of the year I announced that “2019 is the year of Optimum RTS!” What does this mean? Well, if Optimum RTS does not get a direct result from our efforts in some tangible way, we will no longer make time for those activities. This sounds harsh and maybe it is, but our time is limited, and we need to spend it where it either makes us productive or happy, and preferably, both. At 52, with the limits of time coming more clearly into focus, the desire to achieve goals on my terms is more important than the fleeting and minor disappointment others may feel when I kindly tell them “No” to their “little something” request.
How do you feel about all the “little somethings” that come your way? What do you plan on doing differently in 2019?
PS - if you’re in Stuart and you notice my garage door open, come and knock. I probably do have more than one Little Sumpin’ in the fridge, and I would love to spend some time just talking about (enter subject here)!" John Dalton, Owner Optimum RTS
