“Priorities will tell you everything you need to know about a person.”
-Anonymous
How do the words above resonate with you?
Pause here for a moment and free yourself from distractions:
Take a deep breath in... exhale slowly... deep breath in... exhale slowly... deep breath in... exhale slowly... calm your mind and be present...
One can't deny the truth in the words above.
priority /noun/
-the fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important.
-a thing that is regarded as more important than another.
What are your priorities saying about you? Think about that seriously for a moment...
“If it’s a priority you’ll find a way. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse.” -Jim Rohn
How have excuses complicated your list of priorities? Spend some time here...
prioritize /verb/
-designate or treat (something) as more important than other things.
-determine the order for dealing with (a series of items or tasks) according to their relative importance.
On a scale of 1 - 10, how well do you prioritize?
Gay Hendricks, Psychologist, writer, and teacher in the field of personal growth and relationships states:
Through correct prioritizing, visions become reality.
Prioritizing, fortunately is a skill that can be learned.
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things."
It’s a common misconception that being busy equates to progress. Prioritizing is key skill that benefits both our personal and professional lives. for some helpful tools to add to your toolbox, take a look at this article:
How to prioritize work when everything’s important:
by Caitlin Bishop wework.com
By implementing prioritization strategies, you can drastically change the arc of your workday to really make the most of your time in the office and at home.
1. Have a list that contains all tasks in one: To give yourself a complete picture, it’s a good idea to include both personal and workday tasks on a single task list. Once everything is written down, prioritization typically happens according to the importance, urgency, length, and reward of each task.
2. Identify what’s important: Understanding your true goals: Prioritization is key in achieving long-term goals. Understanding what you’re really working toward helps you identify the tasks most pertinent to those future outcomes. It can be a good idea to break larger goals into smaller, time-related goals. For example, a yearly goal can be deconstructed into monthly to-do lists, which then lead to weekly tasks, daily priorities, etc. Be honest with yourself about the lasting value of each task, and always have the end-goal in mind.
3. Highlight what’s urgent: Your to-do list should provide full visibility of deadlines, helping you to identify which tasks must be completed promptly and to plan ahead according to future deadlines. Creating deadlines even when they’re not formally required is also important otherwise, you will continue pushing back important tasks simply because they aren’t time-sensitive. This strategy can also be helpful in increasing productivity and reducing procrastination.
4. Prioritize based on importance and urgency:
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People suggests:
Urgent and important: These tasks should be done first
Important but not urgent: Block off time on your calendar to get this done, without interruption
Urgent but unimportant: Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
Neither urgent or important: Remove from your to-do list
Most Important Tasks (MIT) methodology:
*These tasks should be chosen more for their importance than their urgency.
This strategy involves creating a separate list of just 3 tasks that must be done that day.
To decide, ask yourself goal-oriented questions:
What tasks will have the biggest impact on the end result?
What can I get done today to further my progress toward that goal?
5. Avoid competing priorities: A tactic for staying focused on one important task at a time is identifying likely distractions, concurrent tasks or ad-hoc requests, and actively avoiding them throughout the day. This means you should prioritize one task and avoid any work, emails, messages, or preparation related to the other.
6. Consider effort: It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the work that needs doing—a feeling that reduces productivity and leads to procrastination. A strategy to help avoid the overwhelm is to prioritize those tasks that require minimal time and effort and move through them quickly. This clearing of tasks will give you some breathing space and generate a sense of accomplishment to propel you throughout the day.
7. Review constantly and be realistic: One of the steps in the five-step “Get Things Done” (GTD) methodology from productivity consultant David Allen involves critical reflection. Frequently reviewing your task list and priorities is key in regaining control and focus.
Set your priorities with intention. The aim is to complete work that signifies true progress, and let all the rest—all the “busyness”—fall to the wayside.
Today’s Challenge: Do a one-minute experiment in prioritizing
From Gay Hendricks, A Year of Living Consciously
Jot down the top-five things you want to accomplish today.
Put a 1 by the one you most dread doing, a 2 by the one you dread a little less, and so on.
Do the one you most dead first.
Work on the rest one step at a time.
The remainder of your day may feel like vacation.
"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."
-Stephen Covey
What are you willing to do?
Don’t miss your opportunity! Be intentional, encourage others to do the same and watch what happens.
You got this!
Coach Tavia
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References:
Hendricks, Gay; A year of Living Consciously: 365 Daily Inspirations for Creating a Life of Passion and Purpose. Harper One, New York, NY 1998.
How to prioritize work when everything’s important
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