Dear Yogesh,

I first read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as a teenager, and I loved it. I even bought the FranklinCovey planner and spent years defining my roles and working on important-but-not-urgent tasks related to them. I appreciated clarifying my values and tried to keep them at the center of my life, even though I didn’t always succeed. Recently, I discovered the GTD system, and I’ve found that executing based on context (rather than roles) works better for me. I actually get more done with less stress. Who knew!

That said, I feel like I’m drifting from my values. I’ve only just started with GTD, so maybe I’m missing something, but I often find myself at the end of the week having accomplished a lot—though not everything I wanted to, and certainly not what matters most to me. How can I better focus on the things I value most?

Signed,
Amit

Dear Amit,

It’s true that once you’ve gotten a handle on operational productivity, like you have with GTD, it’s easy to get caught up in the momentum of simply getting things done. This is a common phase many people go through. At first, GTD offers a sense of achievement as you clear out tasks, but eventually, you may realize that you’ve been moving fast without necessarily staying true to your bigger goals and values.

What you’re experiencing is likely a “swing” period. You’ve unlocked the ability to handle the day-to-day more effectively, but now you’re starting to recognize the need to refocus on the bigger picture. This is a natural and important part of the process. When you revisit your higher purposes, goals, and values now, it will come from a place of greater confidence and clarity.

Think of it like learning to drive a car. Initially, you focus on mastering the mechanics of the car itself—the steering, the gear shifts, and all the small adjustments. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can shift your focus to where you actually want to go.

Now that you’ve incorporated GTD’s powerful thinking process to manage your everyday tasks, you can apply that same structure to your higher-level goals. Ask yourself: What’s making me feel like I’m veering from my values? What’s grabbing your attention about this? What’s the next action you can take to address this misalignment? And what’s your desired outcome?

By applying the same methodology to your higher priorities, you’ll find that you can still get things done while staying true to what matters most.

Best of luck,
Yogesh

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