A friend told me some advice he gleaned from the book 7 habits of successful people. One involved trying to consider what you are doing or will do in a set of quadrants numbered from 1 to 4 from left to right and from top to bottom.
Top are things you must do or should for success.
Bottom are things you don't have to do.
Left side is urgent.
Right side is not.
#1 are things that need immediate attention, from literal fires in your kitchen, to losing your keys while you are outside of your locked house.
#2 are ongoing projects or tasks to which are being done for a ongoing goal. Something like building a guest house in your backyard for a visitor someday. Or a side project. Or planning for retirement.
#3 Addictions. It is good to understand for anyone with a few brain cells left that this one is not ideal. Other things here might be watching TV and so on. Not great place to be and I'm here a lot. It probably isn't good to be entertained on the ride to hell.
#4 Recreation, planning for vacation. Typically not as negative as quadrant 3. Remember that time is more important than anyone alive can really know fully. No one knows when we are told to put our pencils down in the test of life besides God. But while we are here we should enjoy friends and family and make time for others. Even volunteering would fit here well.
I didn't even read the book. But the story about it from my friend was useful recently.
