I MADE a wonderful rediscovery this week. I took part in a ‘management awayday’. There were the usual plethora of charts, presentations, discussions, post it notes and stickers and team challenges (fortunately no role play), seemingly essential ingredients to a successful awayday. That our forebears managed to kill a mammoth without post it notes to help them plan their attack is a mystery; maybe cave paintings are the Neolithic equivalent and the consequent extinction of the mammoth, firm evidence of the existence of pre-historic management consultants.

I was reminded of the importance of being able to distinguish between things that are important and things that are urgent. Important activities are ones that help us to achieve our personal or professional goals. Urgent ones are most often things we are expected to do to help other people achieve their goals. Some things are important and urgent – just go with them. The difficulty is sorting a ‘to do’ list that also comprises things that are ‘urgent but not important’, ‘important but not urgent’ and ‘not urgent and not important’.

One of the keys to achieving success at work (or living life to the full outside it) is to learn how to stop urgent but unimportant things squeeze out the important. One answer? Ignore them.

Older readers will recall that before e-mail we had ‘In trays’ and ‘Out trays’. My ‘In tray’ was invariably bursting; letters, requests for information, quotes for bits of work, initiatives to be turned in project plans, staff appraisals, request for articles, TV and radio interviews, papers to read, memos to note... One day the tray broke under the weight of it all. “Put it all straight in the bin,” a wiser person suggested? “I can’t do that,” I recoiled. “They might be important!” “Are they,” she asked? Fearing the worst, I followed her suggestion and binned the lot.

After a week, the world did not end; only two people had called to ask why I hadn’t answered their request. The rest of the ‘urgent’ items melted into oblivion. A useful reminder that, at work, it’s possible to let some things go and focus on what is really important and with school holidays on the horizon, an even more important lesson for home. A dog, a cat, a teenage son, an untidy nature and a full-time job; tidying the house is an ever pressing and urgent task. But it’s not one of my life goals. Whereas spending time with my son while I have the chance, watching him enjoy the last vestiges of freedom before he has to grow up and making the most of time away from work, are.

So the house is likely to be a tip when you next come round. Blame it on a management consultant and an unexpected rediscovery during an awayday!