"Action expresses priorities." -- Indian statesman Mahatma Gandhi. As Scottish poet Robert Burns pointed out in his poem "To a Mouse" in 1785, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!" In other words, no matter how carefully you plan, things still go wrong. Among the most important schemes of the modern office worker, and therefore those most likely to "gang agley," are our priorities. Most of us compile exhaustive to-do lists and make serious efforts to triage our schedules, but sometimes priorities collide in ways we don't expect. A specific project may come due earlier or later than expected, conflicting with existing priorities; an emergency request may also raise its ugly head, or a superior might … [Read more...]
