My company went through a major re-org at the start of this year. This marked the end of the unit I had been leading for the past 8 months as everyone moved onto new roles.

On the last day before the new structure came into force, I scheduled a farewell session with the team. But as the day progressed, meetings and tasks were piling up as the entire department was in the midst of quarter planning.

When I got the reminder notification for the farewell, I wrestled with the dilemma of whether to cancel and reschedule it or proceed as planned. Eventually I decided to step out of my “urgent” meeting and join the farewell session.

As the team came together and shared their memories on the accomplishments and camaraderie of the past months, one oft-repeated but seldom-remembered life lesson was reinforced.

Make time for what’s important.

There will always be urgent work. But some moments will be lost forever if they are not lived and cherished in that instant. It’s up to us to consciously choose to make time for the important over the urgent. That makes all the difference.