Three Strategies to Prioritize Your Daily Activities

Everyday you have the opportunity to do the things you want to, however for one reason or another you run into the proverbial fork in the road. One path leads to the things you want to do the other path leads to what you must do. You are not unique in this dilemma and everyone comes to grips with balancing the MUST DO’s versus the WANT TO’s.

There is time in everyone’s day to do the things they want to do; it all comes down to how they prioritize activities.

 

Three Strategies to Prioritize Activities

1)    Set aside your daily time, it's easy to push the snooze button and sleep in 30 more minutes. The problem is that you have less time for yourself before you scurry off to do work for someone else. Pushing snooze might give you more time to finish your last dream or push off the inevitable for a few more minutes, but when you do this the person who loses is you. It is important to set aside a time when you can be alone to think about your priorities.

Setting aside time is like making an investment in yourself - if you don't invest you'll never get a good return. Defend your personal time as if your life depended on it.

2)    Tactical versus strategic, it's easy to get caught up in the tactical activities of the day, these activities can be rewarding in an odd sort of way, kind of like sitting in a classroom as a child, the problem with the tactical activities is that you won't get anywhere if you solely focus on them. Think about time spent cleaning your house versus getting an advanced degree, both activities take time, but one will greatly improve your life.

Learn to recognize when you are doing activities that pass time versus those that are strategic. Activities like watching TV, surfing the web, shopping are NOT strategic, focus on the ones that are.

3)    Write down what you’re working on, there is information overload in this modern world we live in, your senses are putting in overtime trying to process everything. One activity I use to help focus my thoughts is to write them down - writing requires you to think first, write second. Thinking is a parallel activity you can switch context quickly, great for learning to react. Writing on the other hand is a serial activity - the act of writing trains your brain to think then execute - plus writing is some if the cheapest therapy you'll find, the paper is held captive to all your ideas, ramblings and rants - a perfect way to develop your ideas.

Write down and prioritize your activities.

Every once in a while it is nice to do things for others, but when you find you are spending the majority of your time helping others accomplish their goals it's easy to feel trapped, like your world and your existence is for others - all your activities go to benefit those around you. I know the feeling, but the person accountable for changing this is you.