Setting Priorities 101

Learn this important but often overlooked skill

Learning how to set priorities is an essential life skill that many of us have a hard time implementing. There are many distractions that prevent us from focusing on our priorities and achieving our goals and dreams.

There is so much in today’s world that vies for our attention over what really matters that it’s no wonder we often feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything.

How you spend your time and the actions you take are your priorities. While it may seem like you have one set of priorities in your mind, when you examine how you spend your day, you may see that your actions may not be aligning with your perceived priorities. Setting and frequently reviewing your priorities is therefore important for maintaining focus.

Giving priority to the things in life that matter the most to you is the only way you’ll be able to make your dreams a reality. For this reason, it’s time to learn how to prioritize what matters and let go of the rest. Here are the four steps to setting priorities each day to help you lead the life you want and resist distractions that keep you from your goals.

Step 1. Define Your Roles.

You play many roles in your life. Consider each one and how important it is to your desired outcome. Roles relate to your work, your family, your personal life, your beliefs system, your hobbies, and much more. Define each role you play and prioritize how important each is in your life right now. Write these roles down to help you maintain focus.

Which of these are mandatory and which are optional or occasional? Are there any roles you currently play that hold little importance for you now? Are there any roles you are hoping to play in the future?

Step 2. Consider Time Sensitivity

Whether you are prioritizing for the short or long term, it’s important to know what is happening in your life that is urgent or important and what can wait. If you have deadlines approaching, how does this impact your priorities? If something is important to you, how are you making time for it in your priorities each day?

Step 3. Plan Your Day

Using what you’ve considered related to your roles and their priorities, as well as your upcoming deadlines, decide what you are going to focus on today. Acting strategically each day with a focus on each of the important roles you play in your life will help you accomplish your goals while using your time in the best ways possible. Be sure not to forget to outline personal roles as well as professional one to guarantee you get the balance you need in your life.

We commit to a lot each day, and without a reminder of which is important and necessary, it’s easy to let distractions get in the way. Planning your day allows you to develop routines that keep life’s unexpected events manageable without becoming overwhelmed.

You need to dedicate different amounts of time each day to different roles in your life, but once you see how you need to spend your time, you can decide if you need to reevaluate your various roles and their importance.

Step 4. Avoid Distractions

To avoid spending too much time on the things in your life that are not helping you reach your goals, you need to review your priorities daily. What’s important may shift from day to day or week to week.

Emergencies and unexpected events can force you to shift things, as well. Staying on top of your priorities helps keep you focused. Free time is still important, so be sure it’s a priority. Relaxation is essential to helping maintain your forward momentum.

By setting priorities and using them to plan your days, you can improve your focus, reduce your stress, achieve consistent progress toward your goals, and organize your life to combat the power of distractions. All these will help you lead the life you want while doing the work that matters most.

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If you liked this content, check out my article entitled, “Five Key Steps to Planning a Productive Day.”

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