One Fire At A Time

One Fire At A Time

An Alarm sounds and people react immediately. Some get scared, some stay calm, yet others are skeptical..."Is this a real fire," they ask? Soon brave men and women are in their trucks racing to the rescue. As they arrive these heroes look at the building-four areas are burning rapidly. Four separate fires. These firefighters are going to be extremely busy, but they will be successful if they stay calm  and fight one fire at a time.

Have you ever been frantically busy...a million things to do and no time to do them? It probably sounds like every day, right? I was listening to the radio today while working at me desk and the commentator said something that caught my attention... that Firefighters are taught to put out fires One Fire At A Time...

The reason is pretty clear. If the firefighter is too distracted no fires will be extinguished. Only by concentrating on one at a time will all the fires be defeated.

The One Fire At A Time principle doesn't just apply to putting out fires in buildings and forests it also applies to our lives. In any given day we all make countless decisions and have a multitude of tasks. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed. The key is focus.

As a kid I remember teachers telling me to "focus." Once I got in trouble because I asked, "focus on what?" Although my classmates giggled (the reason for my getting in trouble) I really was being sincere. Focus must have and object. So, before we can focus we must prioritize.

I have three generations of nurses in my family and the use the work "Triage."  In the emergency room the Triage Nurse decides what patients need to be treated first. A broken wrist, although painful, is not as crucial as a sucking chest wound. This is the one fire at  a time concept.

In the same way before you start your day's activities pause. Put pen to paper and decide what needs to be done. Concentrate on one activity at a time. When done, check it off. This is fighting fires one fire at  a time.

Agree with yourself that some tasks are simply "daily activities" that must be done. Just do them. By doing this they are off the list and you can move to other fires.

So, what are your fires? What is it that you need to accomplish? Often times the fastest way to getting things done is through slowing down and attacking things...

One Fire At A Time

Don Bonnell

P. S. If you are working from home lack of organization is one of the biggest time wasters... here is a solution ...http://ezsteps123.com