What's your "what for?"

On a drive from Ojai to Los Angeles this morning, I took the "quiet time" to listen...not to the radio, not to my voicemail, not to a book on CD; instead, I decided to listen to my own mind.

Over the past few months, I've noticed a theme of over-promising (to myself and to others) and then scrambling through late(r) nights, and over weekend days to get those things done. Today, I went through a "thought experiment" I call

...so that...

with several of my projects.

I think of a project, and identify a successful, valuable, end result. Then, I say to myself, "I am going to achieve that outcome so that..." and I fill in the blank.

As soon as I fill in the blank with one so that, I do it again; this time with THAT as the prompt. "I am going to achieve _______________ so that..."

It sure takes a while, but some of the clarity I experience on the other side is well worth the exercise.