5 ways to keep your priorities on track
Posted on March 04, 2022 by Neelima Chakara, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Tips to prioritize what matters to design the life you want
Do you find your plans hijacked often?
You have your professional responsibilities and your personal goals.
Some things come your way because either you believe only you can do them, or you do not want to say ‘no’.
You have commitments towards your family.
And there are random things like unplanned meetings, unexpected guests, etc.
Where do you find yourself compromising more than you would like to? If you are like most people, you shelve things that are most meaningful to you, e.g.,
- Upskilling
- Building your network
- Volunteering for a cause
- Time with family
- Exercise
These keep taking a back seat while you work on deadline-driven urgent activities, attend random meetings, deal with an ever-overflowing mailbox.
While these activities help you tick things off your ‘To Do’ list, they do not necessarily fulfill you or move you towards the life you want to live. A Mckinsey study of 1500 executives during the pandemic reports one third as actively dissatisfied about the way they spend their time.
So, what can you do?
Here are 5 suggestions to help you stay on track -
1. Set goals that take you closer to the identity you want to create for yourself
2. Support aspirational goals with action goals. Decide what you will accomplish in each quarter to achieve your aspirational goal.
3. Create a ‘not to-do’ list to optimize your time.
4. From your daily ‘To-do’ list, decide 1 important (not urgent) thing to action and finish it first in your day.
5. Do a quarterly self-review of your progress and evaluate your priorities in the light of new information available.
Keep in mind that –
- You are likely to need more time to do things than you think you do.
- There will be unplanned disruptions. Plan for them.
- Multi-tasking makes you less productive and prone to errors.
- Enhance your focus by managing distractions. Even if TED Talks or informational blogs are your addiction, consume only the content you need immediately to do your work during your workday.
- Self-care is important to be productive. Rest well, eat healthy, make time for exercise.
Remember, time is a fixed commodity. It cannot be replenished. Carefully, choose your commitments, protect your time and bring value to yourself and others.
PS – This was first published by me on LinkedIn
