$5 / Hour Tasks vs $100 / Hour Tasks

In every job, whether you are a waiter or a rocket scientist, there are key tasks and there are important tasks. How successful you will be in any job or career will be directly related to how much time you invest each day doing all of these tasks. What we know about key versus important tasks is that important tasks tend to be activities that are simpler, less stressful, tension relieving, and more easy to get motivated to do. Key tasks on the other hand are job duties that offer the most value. Key tasks are critical to the outcome and result in the greatest benefits for a company. They increase the bottom line, and without question, they are the hardest to learn and perform. If you want to succeed in a job, and life, you need to resist the urge to focus your time on important tasks.

While some tasks are "important", they are not key. They are not the tasks that an employer would pay you the highest salary to be proficient at performing. If you want to impress your manager or your employer, or if you work for yourself, you must identify those tasks that are key versus important. As you will see when you list them out, which you should, you will easily notice those duties that are goal achieving and not tension relieving. As mentioned, you can apply this to any job, including a waiter. While polishing silverware and folding napkins is important, what you get paid for is extremely attentive service to your customer, sush as ensuring their beverage never runs out.

Let's take the recruiting profession for example and examine some key versus important tasks.

$5 an hour important tasks:
- Organizing desk and computer
- Taking coffee breaks
- Going out to lunch
- staring at networking sites.
- Updating a website
- Chatting with co-workers
- Redoing resumes
- Updating online profiles
- Reading / categorizing emails

$100 an hour key tasks:
- Calling hiring managers
- Calling passive candidates
- Marketing candidates to companies
- Sourcing candidates directly
- Following up with managers
- Following up with candidates
- Setting daily goals
- Most things phone related
- Asking for referrals

If you want to really get ahead in life and a job, identify, perform and become proficient with key tasks. You will be noticed by those who count. Ask yourself this throughout the day. Is what I am about to do something that an employer would pay $100 an hour for or is it something that anyone could do and is worth $5 an hour. But wait, those other tasks are important too. When should I do those? That's easy, before or after work, or during lunch. Remember, you work eight hours per day to survive and everything over eight hours is for success.