I use this analogy for tasks and obligations. Think about it. Especially now, tax season is here. Perhaps the taxman is nagging at you to pay your taxes, have you paid your taxes yet? If not, then the ball is in your court. You've been served and now it's your obligation to hit the ball out of your court. This analogy applies to just about everything in your life. Every obligation that ever comes up. It's like one big tennis match.. all you have to do is keep hitting the balls back to the other side of the court until they stop coming back. It may help you to apply this metaphor to just about everything you can in life. Someone asks you a question that takes some time to answer, let them know you'll get back to them (just keep in mind.. the ball is in your court, the only way to get the ball out of your court is to reply to their question).. A bill is due to be paid (the ball is in your court.. if you don't get that ball out of your court there may be penalties, fines, etc.).. It's not good to keep a ball in your court.. you need to hit that ball back to the other side as soon as possible, let the other party deal with the ball. Isn't that how it is with everything in life? It's usually 2-sided.. you and another party.. the other party requests something, in some cases it's a requirement and you are obligated to reply or submit some form of information.. therefore you need to hit the ball out of your court and back into their court.. this is my analogy for those types of obligations, and has been useful since. This is also a great thing to apply to the workplace when a co-worker or boss requests something of you, it's almost like you're playing tennis with them and your objective is to keep the ball in their court.. "Hey Matt, can you blah blah blah... " I say "Sure thing.." and that same day I'll reply with some form of answer that will satisfy them so that way I'm not going home with any balls in my court.. try to eliminate these obligations as soon as you reasonably can.. otherwise you may forget..
