The Critical Question: What Should I Do Right Now?

I just had an interesting and slightly stressful experience. Within about a 5 minute time period, I had the following take place:

1. My brother contacted me about a design-related issue he wanted to talk through.
2. My coworker popped into my office and asked me if I wanted to take a quick walk to a nearby cafeteria.
3. I was trying to read through an article on instructional design leadership.
4. My boss sent me an instant message asking if I could meet with him briefly about something he was concerned about.
5. My wife called and asked me if I could meet with her the kids for an impromptu lunch.
6. All of this happened with several other design, reporting, and management tasks calling for my attention from the back of my head.

Which would you do?

I imagine this is a common situation for many people these days. The options are endless, and the right decision is not immediately obvious. But we have to decide and move forward with confidence, adjusting our actions based on how things seem to be going. And hopefully we have guiding principles that provide us with guidance on how to move toward what is most important..

A few reflective questions:

• How do you focus on what is important to you? 
• What should you do right now? 
• What will help you achieve your goals? 
• What will uphold and support the values that are most important to you?
• What is absolutely essential?