There is a specific feeling I tend to get during the summer vacation. Around day three or four, when the intense "wind-down work" is done and the silence really settles.
That is when the question surfaces: am I working on the right things?
Not whether I am working hard enough. Not whether I am efficient enough. But whether what I am spending my time on actually matters.
Why do we put off the prioritization question
In day-to-day working life, it is difficult to ask that question seriously. The calendar is full, the need is urgent, and there is always something demanding attention.
Prioritization is rarely about choosing between important and unimportant. It is about choosing between important and important. And that requires stopping.
The summertime forces that stop, for me. And that is one of its most underrated values.
There is no right moment
I heard myself saying it for several years: 'I will deal with that when things calm down.'
Things never calm down. Everyone who has worked long enough knows that.
There is no right moment. There is only now — or later. And later always costs more. In time, in energy, in missed opportunities.
That is not an encouraging message. But it is an honest one.
What I do differently
Every summer, I take time to write down three questions:
1. What am I doing right now that actually creates value — for my clients, for my business, for myself?
2. What am I doing that does not — but that I continue with out of habit, obligation or fear of stopping?
3. What am I putting off that I know I should deal with?
The answers are not always comfortable. But they are always valuable.
And that investment is what allows the autumn to start with clarity rather than a heavy list of unresolved questions.
If you have thoughts, questions, or simply want to talk something through — feel free to get in touch. I am happy to have an initial conversation with no agenda.
Magdalena Hagström Ståhl
By M Consulting AB
Right person. Right place. Everything changes.