Deadlines vs. Lifelines: Choosing What Truly Matters
How do you focus on what lasts beyond the urgency of today?
In the rush of life, it’s easy to be pulled by deadlines—work projects, meetings, and endless to-do lists that fill our calendars. But what about our lifelines? The people, conversations, and quality time that remind us who we are?
Unlike deadlines, our lives don’t have clear end dates. Deadlines come and go; they’re measurable and finite. Short-term and pressing. But with life’s most meaningful moments, we rarely know when “time’s up.” It’s easy to assume we’ll always have time to capture stories, gather memories, or hear the experiences of our parents or children—until one day, we realize those moments are gone.
When you’re busy and well-intentioned, the time between what you intend and what you actually do grows farther apart. We push our lifelines aside in favor of deadlines easy, believing there’s always “tomorrow.” But tomorrow turns into next week. Next week into next month. Next month begets another month until tomorrow turns into a phone call and a ringing regret.
These moments teach a sobering lesson: Tomorrow is never promised. No matter what our schedules say.
Deadlines keep us moving forward and moving fast. But lifelines keep us grounded. When we proactively make time to listen and share each others’ life stories, we can become a living library, becoming the legacy we live and the one we leave behind.
If you’d love how to prioritize lifelines proactively, here are three tips:
1. Schedule Story Time: Just as you would block time for work, set aside time to talk with family, listen, and capture stories. Treat it as a commitment to your legacy.
2. Keep It Simple: Lifelines don’t require elaborate plans—ask a family member about their favorite memory, a meal they cooked this week, or what they’re looking forward to.
3. Make It a Habit: Small, regular moments of connection add up over time to create a rich legacy that outlives any deadline.
Deadlines will come and go, but lifelines—relationships, stories, memories—make life worth living. Choose to prioritize what truly matters, starting today.
And when you're ready for the next step…
1. Upgrade to paid to unlock the full archive of my writing and join our next community workshop: Self Preservation - Making Space for your Memories (Monday, November 11 @6pm Eastern Time A class prioritizing yourself for people who put others first)
2. Learn more about 1:1 coaching and apply for a complimentary, commitment-free discovery session with me here.
3. Go out and make a memory you’d like to make a story. It’s worthwhile.