6 Strategies That Will Help You Set The Right Priorities in Life

How to boost your prioritization skills

Priorities are the foundation of informed decisions.

No matter if the decision concerns fashion purchases, professional commitments, or relationships, our priorities play a cardinal role.

You buy that new smartphone because you prioritize electronics over books. Your new government job provides lots of free time — catering to your family priorities. And your new partner is honest, faithful, and kind — adhering to your primary ideals in terms of relationships.

Whether you know it or not, you value certain things over others, and these valuations form a list of priorities.

However, many people struggle with prioritization.

They wonder whether fun should undermine long-term financial freedom. That new love interest may not have the right character, but her aura is infectious.

And finally, many people have difficulties gauging the potential benefits of a particular decision against its drawbacks.

That’s where prioritization techniques come to fruition.

By using clear-cut principles, you’ll make better decisions. You’ll stop acting according to external cues and start walking your own path.

On this basis, here are six strategies that will help you set the right priorities in life.

1. Create a list of values

First and foremost, prioritization requires a catalog of values.

Before you can think about setting priorities, you need a framework for those priorities. And personal values are the best way to build that prioritization framework.

As an example, if freedom and adventure are part of your primary values, you will set your professional priorities accordingly. You won’t take a job that provides only two weeks of holidays, and you’ll ponder entrepreneurship.

In that same vein, if your values include helping people in developing countries, you might prioritize volunteering over a drunken backpacking adventure.

Values underpin priorities. And these value-driven priorities will ultimately control your decisions.

That’s why you should first define your values, then set priorities, and eventually make decisions in consonance with those priorities.

2. Be mindful in everyday life

Mindfulness is critical for those who want to set better priorities.

By connecting to the present, you focus your thoughts on the current instant. And this focus will boost your calmness, mental clarity, and productivity.

How does mindfulness help with prioritization?

In simple terms, being aware of the present helps us understand what we truly want.

By separating your thoughts from past and future endeavors, you learn how to understand today’s challenges. And this new understanding will play a crucial role in finding priorities that function in the present.

There are many ways to become more mindful in everyday life.

Meditate in the morning. Take yoga classes. Use your transit hours as “thinking time.” And most importantly, be mindful during mundane activities.

As such, mindfulness will help you savor the present moment and thereby identify the right priorities for your current lifestyle.

3. Discern the “trivial many” from the “vital few”

In his 2014 bestseller Essentialism, Greg McKeown explains how “going big” on a few vital projects instead of committing to lots of trivial undertakings will improve your life.

In this context, he writes:

“The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many.”

In the context of setting the right priorities in your life, this “essentialist” approach can work magic.

In your professional life, find out which clients, assignments, or business deals are part of the “vital few.” It could be the clients that account for 80% of your business’ sales or assignments that are essential to your responsibilities.

If you’re thinking about prioritizing, these vital few could be your starting point.

In other words, use the Pareto principle to identify the elements that yield the most results, both on a personal and professional level. Once defined, these elements can become the basis for your prioritization efforts.

4. Disregard the “any-benefit” strategy

Many people set the wrong priorities because they see some kind of benefit in those priorities.

Georgetown computer science professor Cal Newport calls this system the “any-benefit approach.”

In this context, he writes in his 2016 book Deep Work:

“The problem with this approach, of course, is that it ignores all the negatives that come along with the tools in question.”

Newport uses this approach to explain people’s excessive use of social media. They spend endless hours on Facebook because the site entertains them — one benefit next to a multitude of disadvantages like the loss of time and concentration.

The same applies to priorities.

We set a certain priority because we find one advantage. That advantage conceals all the negatives, blinding us from the priority’s real consequences.

As an example, a friend of mine lives in Germany. Those who have been to Germany will know that vast stretches of the German highway network — the Autobahn — have no speed limits. To still his thirst for speed, he bought a Porsche.

For my next automotive purchase, speed will be the top priority. His justification was clear.

After a few weeks, he realized that the car was uneconomical and impractical. He should have known in advance, you might say, but he prioritized speed over everything.

As such, high-speed Autobahn driving was his Porsche’s only benefit. He had ignored all the negative aspects and now regrets his 80,000 Euro decision.

Consequently, if you want to set better priorities, don’t make a decision based on one advantage. Complete a holistic assessment.

5. Make the hardest decisions first

When embarking on your prioritization journey, start with tough decisions.

Tackling hard choices first is a powerful way to prioritize as it will allow you to identify other, smaller priorities along the way.

If you want to set new financial priorities, for instance, begin with your largest expenses. If your apartment costs 2,000 dollars in rent, moving to a smaller place will be a tough decision, but it will also provide an excellent base for other prioritization efforts.

Your priority will be spending less on rent. This primary goal, however, can help you prioritize organizational skills, clutter-free living, and sustainability in the process.

6. Know when to make compromises

Finally, compromises are an invaluable skill when it comes to prioritization.

In the words of LifeHack’s Allison Renner,

“It’s important to know when to stand your ground, but also to know which battles are worth fighting.”

Consequently, when thinking about setting new priorities, ask yourself whether it should be my way or the highway or whether these new priorities aren’t a battle worth fighting.

As an example, if you’re an employee and want more responsibilities, but your boss disagrees, ask yourself if prioritizing responsibility undermines the potential damages to your boss-employee relationship. Your boss wants you to continue in your current role, and he or she might offer a favor in return.

That’s when you need to analyze the benefits of compromising in comparison to prioritization.

In short, there are times when compromises outweigh personal priorities. And in those moments, the best prioritization strategy includes dialogue, negotiation, and concession.

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