Get It Done

You probably don’t know Daniel Lawrence Whitney but you know his persona, Larry The Cable Guy, made famous by his catch phrase “Git Er Done”. You may remember “Carpe Diem” seize the day from Dead Poets Society. And, if you’re young, conversant, and text, “YOLO”, you only live once. They all say the same thing—don’t put it off until tomorrow what you need to do today.

The National Society of Procrastinators Meeting scheduled for today has been put off until tomorrow.

It’s easy to put it off. There’s plenty of time. You don’t want to do it anyway. There’s always tomorrow. Then doesn’t get done. Or it gets done at the last minute in a haphazard way with less than optimal results and you promise yourself to do it earlier the next time. Until the next time.

I like to get things done. When I was in school and had to give an oral report I always wanted to be first. Not because I liked being in front of the class but to get it over. And I realized that if you went first no one had a standard to judge you from—you were the first. I had the same thought process when I spoke at my first big conference—I was happy to be the opening speaker because no one had gone before. Of course I inadvertently set the bar rather high for that conference when the evening offering met half the budget. I like to get things done.

There are advantages to getting things done besides the thing being done. Getting one thing done clears the board to get the next thing done. Getting things done creates a reputation for getting things done. And people want to work with people that get things done! Getting things done speaks of organization and the ability to prioritize—both of which are required to succeed in today’s fast moving world. And there is a certain level of self-satisfaction in getting it done.

So why do people put off what needs to be done when it would be easier to just get it done? The easy answer is laziness. I don’t say this in an unkind way but there are some folk who are (to use a southern colloquialism) “just plain lazy.” Distraction is another enemy of getting it done. I’m interested in so many things that it’s easy for me to become distracted. I’ve had to learn to focus. So must you. But the greatest enemy of getting things done is not seeing the reward.

First of all—if there’s no reward, personal, emotional, financial, all three or a combination thereof, why are you doing it? Don’t waste your time on meaningless activity. There has to be a clear cut, qualifiable, and preferably quantifiable, reward. So what’s the reward?

When I was on the road I loathed booking meetings. But booking meetings was what kept us on the road. So I looked to the rewards—I knew that most of my meetings increased the

churches numerically and financially, I also knew that people’s lives would be radically changed, and I knew that I would prosper as well. So I set up a system and a specific time each week to book the meetings that changed the lives. I still didn’t like it—but I got it done.

What do you loathe that you put off that you know will make your life better? Look to the reward. Set up a specific time to do it. If it is something that you have to do on a regular basis set a specific time and a system—everything is easier to do if you have a system in place. Look to the rewards. I hope you have many.

Daniel Lawrence Whitney attended a Christian K-12 school where his father was the elementary school principal. He attended college. He was born and lives in Nebraska. He is not southern and not his persona. He is worth 80 million dollars. He gave 5 million dollars to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida where there is a Wyatt Whitney wing named after his son. He and his wife continue their philanthropic work. He “got er done.”

Get it done.

If you don’t go “Behind The Door” you’re missing something. This week I’m sharing eleven things that will help you to “get it done.” These are the things that busy, successful, people use to stay on track to accomplish the things that make for a better life. You don’t want to miss this stuff!

If you already have your password you can go “Behind The Door” right now—just hit the button that takes you there. If you don’t have the password you will need to hit the “Sowing” button and sow a seed into this ministry. The default setting is $20 but you can raise (as some do) that amount or lower (as one or two do) that amount. I set it up this way because I want everyone to be able to go “Behind The Door.” Remember—“What you sow is what you grow” and “One times one is still one.” I’ll meet you ”Behind The Door.”