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The word 'proactive' was originally coined by German psychiatrist Victor Frankl when describing a person who took responsibility for their life, rather than blaming outside circumstances, or other people. Now the word has come to mean acting before a situation becomes a source of confrontation or crisis.
'Proactive' entered the collective consciousness when Stephen Covey included it as an essential "habit" in his influential management book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Being proactive means taking conscious control over your life, setting goals and working to achieve them. Instead of reacting to events and waiting for opportunities, you go out and create your own events and opportunities.
Which, of course, never happens because you are too busy 'fighting fires'. However, if you do take the time to be proactive, you will probably find you have more time. After all, if you can anticipate and plan for 80% of your tasks, when the unplanned 20% come along, you will have a lot more time to deal with them effectively.
How do you start?
The first step is to make a list of all your regular tasks. It takes time to do this, and in a...