Everyone and everything might look like a priority in life. But if you choose everything and everyone, you are not choosing anything and anyone at all. Hence, it’s imperative to choose what or who matters the most and drop less-important one without an iota of guilt or remorse. The reason is simple - Time is the most precious of all that we possess, and it's critical to invest time in on the right people. In short, determine what is important and make it a priority. This significant step might create tough situations where you must draw lines and let people and things leave from your life for good. Prioritization is the key to survive in today's fast-paced and competitive world.
If you live by the rule of taking each day as it comes, it's time to step back and re-evaluate yourself and your life. If priorities are not in the top of your mind, or you leave everything to chance, you fail to cut to the chase to accomplish meaningful things and build worthy relationships in life. Your priority list is your guiding light. It will keep you on the course and help make the best long-term decisions in life. If you have your priorities set straight, your actions and decisions will take you closer to the goals that you have set for yourself.
Here is how you can set your priorities straight without racking your brain:
Keep it simple - If you have a complicated and time-consuming plan to make time and set your priorities straight, flush it out from your mind right away and replace it with a simple one where you can set your priorities quickly with logical reasons.
Live for today but plan for tomorrow - Your priority list should stand the test of time and tide. Weigh in on the long-term consequences of each one of them before they find themselves seated on your list.
Learn to make the hard yet right choices, or, run the day and stay in charge– Each priority should add value to your life and journey towards achieving the ultimate goals and aims in life. Identify what adds value and matters most, because, if everything is a priority, then nothing is.
You can’t do it all at once and that’s ok – No matter how hard you work and how effectively you try to keep pace, you can’t do it all at once and that’s ok. Things or relationships, no priority or goal l is worth attaining if you are confused, worried, anxiety-ridden, and sleep-deprived. If you are conditioned to want to do it all, you can’t do it all at once, remind yourself that you can do it all, but you cannot do it all at once.
Give up on the less-important – The nerve say no to the less-important will help you choose relevant people and make impactful decisions in life. Prioritizing everything and everyone will only drag you to mediocrity and helplessness.
Learn to say No and keep a balance – If you are a “yes” person who swoops in and does everything you’ve been asked for, it’s time to learn how to say NO diplomatically, make prudent choices, and strike a balance. If this sounds, trust me, it’s far from easy, but undoubtedly possible and doable.
Let them put in their two cents – If your friends can help fine-tune your priority list, never hesitate to ask for their opinions without compromising on your goals, needs, and happiness.
Check-up and realignment - Analyse your priorities periodically and cart off the ones that are less important.
Appreciate yourself - Appreciate what you have done and achieved. It’s critical to fuel your efforts to check up and realign your priorities on time and without fail.
Don’t let trivial things distract, side-track, or overwhelm you, and never succumb to the urge to put your life on auto-pilot mode and wait for life to take its own course. Instead, set your priorities straight, pay attention to what you are doing, and never lose sight of your goals. As the adage goes, "No one is busy in this world, it is all about priorities."
