“While personal leadership is about vision, personal management is about discipline.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 56). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We really do need to know where we are going but we also need to know how to get there.

Matt says, “You know where you want to go from personal leadership, and personal management is the skills, practices, and focus involved in making that happen. It addresses the problem of knowing where you want to go but not knowing how to get there.

“Personal management involves

            • determining your intermediate goals,

            • choosing the activities to which you will give your time,

            • defining and managing your projects,

            • determining your next actions,

            • managing your schedule, and

            • just plain doing the work.”

He goes on, “I find it helpful to use the term time management here. A lot of people don’t seem to like using this term, and I myself try to minimize using it because it seems so mundane: “How can you need to learn more about that?” But it is actually central and not at all redundant—at least not at the pace and with the challenges we have in our day. But if you don’t find the term time management super helpful, try maximizing your time or getting things done, or the like.

“While time management is central, it is nonetheless only part of the equation. For it doesn’t matter how well you are managing your time if you are going in the wrong direction. Hence, time management must always happen in the context of personal leadership.”

Earlier he said, “The way to address the problem of not knowing where you are going is to develop a vision for your life. This involves

            • developing your purpose and mission,

            • developing your values,

            • developing your large life goals, and

            • defining your roles.”

He later says, “That’s what so many miss. And that’s why some people find time management boring—they don’t realize it’s about executing amazing things, accomplishing dreams. It’s the concrete, on-the-ground component of making great things happen.”

We really do need to know where and how, don’t we? 

Yes, yes!