The main thing

This is such a hard thing to do, yet it sounds so simple.

Keep the main thing the main thing.

All kinds of books on organization and management expound on this. One of my favorites is Stephen Covey's "First Things First."

I highly recommend reading for personal development, but I will save you some time on this one. Figure out what your main thing is, and then make sure that thing is taken care of. You can take care of other things, too, but they come second to that main thing.

And don't worry, you can have several main things. I do. I think we all have to have several main things.

Mine are:

• My health, physical, mental, spiritual. If I am not at my best, I can't give my best to others. Don't neglect this because I know women especially can neglect themselves. This is time for praying, thinking, reading, moving and otherwise being good to myself.

• My children. They're why I do what I do. They're my heart.

• My relationship. Having a healthy, happy relationship is such a blessing, so that doesn't need to be neglected.

• Then comes my career. I love what I do. I love being a features editor. I love being a writer. Don't tell the Boss Man, but I am amazed I get paid to have this much fun. And I have to keep this as a priority because my name is not Mrs. Rockefeller. I need to keep the lights on. But this is fourth on the list in value. And that is OK, because I bring a healthy, happy me and a healthy, happy life to my job and to my craft, and that only makes me a better employee and a better writer.

Then whatever doesn't fit in these isn't a red-hot emergency, so I don't sweat it.

Make your main things list, and it does not need to look like the list above. Yours is unique to you, mine is unique to me. But once you know what the main thing is, then its easier to keep it the main thing.