Make Prioritizing a Priority

Too much to do? Not sure how you’re going to get everything done today that’s calling out for your attention? We probably all feel that way on most days, right? But here is a quick & simple little primer on how to prioritize your life.

Here is the first rule of priority setting:

MAKE A LIST.  So here is a good excuse to go out to the stationery store and buy yourself a pretty notebook on which to make lists. Yes, make a list in a pretty little notebook. It’s much more fun than writing on a post-it note. And get a cool pen while you’re there. Splurge a little. 🙂

• list all the things that you personally must accomplish today. Add to the list as things come to mind.

PUT STARS by those things that absolutely have to be accomplished today.

• If you also are a business woman, you may want to prioritize client work. I aim to take care of clients first, and everything else after that for the most part.
• You know what has to be done and what can wait. It helps so much to look at the list and SEE what your priorities are for the day. This takes all the guesswork out of “What should I do next?”

BE HONEST & FLEXIBLE

• Drop the perfectionista mantle. Seriously. Excellence should be the hallmark of our work, but I’m talking realistic excellence here, not perfection.

For example, I have to put some YouTube videos out, and this is not my favorite thing to do. I put it on my weekly list, and then I wait for an opportunity to get it done throughout the week. Sometimes Saturday comes, and I haven’t done it yet due to lack of opportunity. That means I have to crank it out TODAY. It is better to do it as well as I can in the time I have than to not do it at all. The excellence part is having met my goal while the video itself is the best I can do according to my abilities and standards, not according to Aaron Spelling’s standards.

• Do the thing. Get it done. Move on.

That’s it. That’s all there is to establishing priorities and getting stuff done. Often the hardest part of the job is THINKING ABOUT IT, right?

Oh! Don’t forget to cross things off that list, y’all! Isn’t that the most fun part? Looking at all you’ve managed to accomplish?

And if you have things on your list at the end of the day that did not get accomplished, so what? Make tomorrow’s list tonight, and add these items to it. Prioritize in the morning when your head is clear.

My final tip: Have a yearly, quarterly, and monthly goal list in a planner. Pencil in things . Plan.

And dream a little.

How simple is that?

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About the Author

Joanne Calderwood has been called America’s Homeschool Mom. She is an underwhelmed Mom of eight great kids, owner of URtheMOM.com, and an author and columnist. Her new book, The Self-Propelled Advantage: The Parent’s Guide to Raising Independent, Motivated Kids Who Learn with Excellence, enables parents to teach their kids to teach themselves with excellence.