Don't focus your attention on minor problems.

It is important that we learn to manage our energies when facing the problems that arise. We do not necessarily have to be aware of every problematic situation, but we must know how to discern between what truly demands our attention and what is not essential for our progress and emotional stability. Life, in all its complexity, is plagued by adversities and situations beyond our control, which often causes us to be biased in the face of eventualities that are not as important as we may think.

During the development of this guide we will be talking about the importance of knowing how to distinguish between important problems and minimal problems, so that we learn to focus on the former without wasting our energies on the latter.

How do we know if a problem is really important?

When we are faced with several problems at the same time, the smartest thing to do is to start by classifying them into major problems and minor problems. Major problems are easy to detect because they meet a number of general characteristics such as:

They cannot be postponed If we do not eradicate them in time they could bring about very harmful consequences Our development is hindered by the presence of these problems.

On the other hand, a minimal problem is nothing more than an adverse situation, something that has not turned out the way we expected and therefore causes us a feeling of anxiety or frustration. While these problems are annoying, they do not impede our progress or demand our urgent attention. Many of these problems can disappear with the passage of time or by taking small actions, so focusing on solving them can be a poor use of our time and energy.

Attend to your minimal problems only when you have solved the important problems.

Once you have solved the dilemma of classifying your problems between minimal and important, you will proceed to focus your attention on the important problems. As you solve these problems, you will have more time for those that are not urgent. You can work on your minimal problems when the important problems have disappeared, so that only those that have not been solved over time and that depend on minimal involvement on your part will remain.

This is consistent with the idea of working first on the more complex situations and then focusing on the simpler ones. Normally when we are able to solve that which requires the most work on our part, the rest will be perceived as a trifle, which we will be able to execute even in the moments when our energies are not in optimal conditions.

Combine the solution of minimal problems with important related problems.

This idea may seem contradictory to the one we have previously stated. While we have recommended focusing first on solving the important problems before attending to the minimal problems, a strategy that can sometimes be useful is to link the minimal problems with the important ones that are related to them.

This means that if you are working on an important problem, but you detect that there is a minimum problem that shares the same solution, because it is related to the important one, you proceed to execute actions so that both disappear at the same time. This will allow you to save time and energy in having to deal with them separately. Once again we insist that this resource only applies to problems that share the same nature, in no case should you neglect an important problem to work on another that is not urgent.