A lawyer attended one of my workshops a year ago. He left the room with a long list of tasks he wanted to achieve.

Now, a year later, he’s looking at the list and realizes that he’s done next to nothing. He’s distressed and e-mailed me for advice.

He explains that things got busy and that between his clients and his family, he simply didn’t have time to get the things on the list done. Now, he’s hoping that I’ve got some advice for him to help him get focused on getting things done.

He says he’s ready to grow his business and execute on the items on the list. But we all know that’s bullshit. He’s not going to do it. He’s e-mailing me for help, but it doesn’t matter what I say. He’s not going to do it.

His e-mail itself provides sufficient evidence to prove that he’s not going to do it. After all, what does e-mailing me have to do with getting the stuff done? Nothing. He’s just wasting more time by e-mailing me. He knew he was wasting his time when he hit the “send” button.

I’m not unsympathetic. I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I’ve let long periods of time evaporate into a nonproductive mess. I look back with regret on the time I’ve wasted.

What should he do? What did I do? What do you need to do?

He needs to do the stuff on the list. He needs to decide, prioritize, and take action. “Do it, do it, do it” needs to become his mantra.

He says it’s his clients and his family that are the distractions. But why are they the priority right now? How many people do you know who put their families on the back burner to focus on other priorities? Plenty. Is it the right thing to do? That’s their call. It’s your call too.

What really matters to him? He’s the only person who can answer that question for him. You’re the only one who can answer it for you.

No offense (which is what one of my kids always says before telling me that I’m wrong), but there’s no magic here. Why aren’t things getting done? Because no one is doing them. Pretty simple.

However, I will add one bit of advice learned from years of struggling to get it done. I’ve got one thing to say beyond “do it.”

Here you go:

The stuff that really matters to you gets done no matter what else you’ve got to do. If you can’t make it matter to you deep down, then it’s not likely to ever get done.

If you’ve got two things that really matter to you, then somehow they’ll both get done. The things you care about get done even when you get busy.

Here’s what I mean. If you prioritize building your referral network by doing more lunches, coffees, etc., you still won’t leave the kid at the childcare place after it closes. You’ll always make it from Starbucks to the kid before the caregivers abandon your child. I’m not sure how it happens, but you’ll always pick up the kid.

If you prioritize adding valuable material to your website, you’ll still get to dinner by the time your spouse insisted upon. You’ll squeeze both commitments in if they matter to you.

The stuff that really matters to you gets done.

You might find yourself editing website copy while waiting with your child in the emergency room or while traveling to your spouse’s “Salesperson of the Year” award vacation to Hawaii. You might spend time e-mailing with your marketing assistant while dropping your mother off at the assisted living center. You might be busy hitting the “Like” button on your referral source’s Facebook page while you get your pre-cancerous skin cells removed.

Am I telling you to put growing your business ahead of your clients and family? Only if that’s what you want to do. That’s your decision. It’s your life.

But recognize that your list isn’t going to get done—ever—unless you decide to prioritize the items on the list.

I hesitate to do this, but I will since it’ll give you something to do that’ll feel like progress (and because it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d do to avoid the stuff on my list). If you want to read more about priorities, then check out David Allen’s book Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life. It’s good.