It’s real easy for me to get immersed in the details of the day. It makes me feel good to be busy and “productive.”

But I need to spend time getting back to the basics, the big picture. Why? Because it gives perspective to focus on the most important things.

A recent example was an offer I had to do some work for a group who approached me. I love what they do, but it’s also more work for me and I’m cautious about taking on obligations right now.

Fortunately, I’ve learned to slow down my tendency to immediately say “yes” to things which sound interesting. Instead, I took a day to consider how this fits into my priorities – of life, of my business, and my general workload.

It even got down to some specific “big picture” questions:

  • How does this relate to my purpose in life?
  • Does this serve my business purpose?
  • Five years from now, would I regret my decision to say “yes” or “no”?

For this particular case, I ended up taking on the work, but that’s not the point. There are plenty of other cases where I’ve let opportunities pass me by.

Because it’s all based on my Big Picture.