Stop wasting time

This morning I started working on a marketing project for iPrioritize that I'd been putting off for a while. About an hour into working on it, I was less than enthused about the whole thing and I started asking myself why the f*** I was doing it. I thought about it for a second, and realized that it was going to take a ton of time and it was unlikely to bring value to the company compared to the other things that need to be done. So I stopped doing it, started working on some more important stuff, and that was that.

I'm sure this has happened to you. Then you think back and wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea to do that in the first place. Then you move on to the more important things...if you're lucky enough to be in the position to do so.

I thought back to my time as an engineer and realized that not being able to drop pointless work was one of the things I hated most about working for a large company. There were times when I'd ask my project manager why I was doing something and all I'd get was a shoulder shrug and a "my boss wants it so just do it." Sometimes I'd go to his boss and fight it (this is what made me a not so good employee), other times I'd say screw it and just do it anyway.

I've done some of the most boring and repetitive work I can think of, but I didn't mind doing it if there was a PURPOSE. I think so many companies don't bother to think about why they do things. They do them just because they've "always done it that way." They don't take the time to really evaluate whether or not what they are doing adds value to the company. If something isn't helping the company reach its goals, it shouldn't continue to be done. It's that simple.