Are you busy? Of course you are! That's life. It's life for most of us, anyway.

As a matter of fact, we love to boast in our busyness ... all the way down to utter burnout!

I believe that most of us can do more, need to do less, and that it's possible to do more and less at the same time.

In other words, it's possible to do less of the 80 percent of the things we do that don't matter as much so that we can do more of the 20 percent of the things that do matter.

In the realm of blogging and online marketing, it's possible to manage blogs in multiple niches even while holding down a full-time job, raising a family and resting adequately.

But there's a cost.

The cost is, I don't get to waste my life. That is, wasting my time and my energy, and even my money, isn't an option if I want to squeeze all that I can out of life.

To rephrase it all, it isn't so much about How much can I do? as it is about What should I be doing?

What really matters?

Rest matters. Wrestling with my kids matters. Reading them stories at night matters. Date nights with my wife matter. Annual vacation matters. None of those things are a waste of time.

Clicking around the interwebs desperately in search of quick cash, however, is a time-waster. Further, it's an emotionally draining experience that doesn't really do anyone any good.

This is why concentration matters so much. Instead of multitasking (which most human brains aren't wired to do anyway), spend 20 minutes really concentrating on one task that really matters.

Peter Drucker, the renowned business leadership guru, used to talk about the power of planned abandonment.

He taught that there were always areas of a business that needed to be purposely left alone and allowed to atrophy. To continue to try to keep them alive is a drain on resources, and sometimes shutting them down is a drain as well.

So, just—let it go.

If you've managed a niche site for a while that takes a lot of time but doesn't earn any revenue, focus on something that will have a better payoff potential and purposely neglect the one that was draining you of your resources.

Concentrate on what works, on what matters. Get up early and spend the first few hours of your day in silence, concentrating on the things that influence people, that impact your world, that move needles and accomplish results.

Give it a shot. Concentrate.

What is one thing you might need to purposely neglect for a season? And what is one thing that needs more of your concentrated energy for greater impact?

Brandon Cox has been a pastor since he was 19 and has served churches, large and small, including serving as a pastor at Saddleback Church. Currently, he is planting a purpose-driven church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as editor of pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastors' Toolbox, and authors a top 100 blog for church leadersas well as a blog about men's issues, a blog about blogging and a blog about social media.

This article originally appeared at bloggingleaders.com.

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