I recently heard a message in church that really caught my attention. The minister’s point was that every day has “an order of the day” for which the day was created. Using principles and stories, he illustrated and demonstrated the validity of this important axiom. It got me to thinking of how this applies to life as a professional.

Every day has an “order” that is yours to fulfill. When you do, you close the day with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that you have contributed to the health and well-being of your clients, your colleagues and your community.
You also know the frustration and disappointment you feel when you don’t.

How easy it is to become distracted from the order of the day. Even if you know what you should be doing, you become distracted by social media, conversations, tasks and activities that don’t relate to the “order.” You know you are diverted from what’s important, but you justify your actions by thinking you will get back to the “order” right after this one thing. Of course, in the meantime, another distraction comes along and you decide to knock it out too.

How easy it is to become deluded into believing that you’ll get to the “order” eventually. You assume that once you catch up by knocking out the other things, you will be able to concentrate on the important things. The truth is that you have too much to do and you will NEVER catch up. All the good things that need to be done are ripe to delegate, negotiate or reschedule. But no, you’ll play the catch-up game that you will never win.

Here’s the question: what is the order of the day for you today? If you know what it is, you will have a better chance of fulfilling it. And if you keep it in front of you, you will finish the day having accomplished it. Don’t let the order of the day pass you by and your significant contributions to be less or lost. Commit to the order of the day.