What's important

It’s probably reasonable to think that my blocks of “Focus Time” and non-negotiable evenings to spend with family limit my career prospects.

Maybe. But here’s what actually limited my career: spending years saying yes to everything that looked like “career growth” while my actual work - the creative stuff that energized me - and family time happened in stolen moments late at night (or even late night weekends!)

Then I realized that I was living someone else’s definition of success. The “visibility projects”, the various committees I joined, the OKRs planning meetings that went nowhere. Meanwhile, I was exhausted and clearly not thriving, even burning out on multiple occasions as I’ve shared in previous posts.

I now have three simple rules:

1. If it consistently drains me, I stop
2. If I’m doing it to impress someone, I question it
3. If it doesn’t get calendar time, it doesn’t exist

That last one might be interesting. Values without calendar blocks are just motivational poster material. Now my “focus” blocks are as real and important as meetings to execute on projects. My Friday afternoon mentoring sessions? Non-negotiable.

Aligning with your values isn’t just about finding yourself - it’s about being disciplined enough to follow through. This is why scheduling yourself matters. When you treat your real priorities like actual appointments, something shifts. The gap between who you want to be and who you are starts closing.

Try this for yourself: Block one hour for something you claim matters but never “have time” for. Guard it like a critical meeting with your VP. Because it is.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s dinner time with the family…