Have you made that list yet? Have you sat down and thought through the things that you do and what you give your time to?

Some of them are really important – those ought to be the blue chips. Some are important, but not as vital as the blue – we will call those red chips.

Some are not even that important, but we do them anyway – we will call those white chips.

Blue is vital – you have to do it. Red is something you have to make sure is done – maybe you have to do it, or perhaps you can delegate it, but it isn't as important as blue. White is something that you may want to do but isn't really necessary that you do it. It doesn't have the significance of red.

Often we start off our day by seeing to the white chip jobs because they are easy and we get a sense of completion by doing them. The truth is that we should always work on the blue chip things first – as they are the ones that really count!

When you see the job, the task or the challenge, think blue chip! Is this what matters – because if it is then you need to see it through.

It might be harder to deal with the blue chips, but the satisfaction is even greater, because you did what made a difference! To read on click here