Dealing With Multiple Priority Disorder

Technically, you can’t have more than one priority.

To do less, but better, you need to identify your priorities. And the more pedantic among you have already spotted my mistake. Priority should technically be singular. Priority means “most important.” So you can have a most important thing, and a second most important thing. But you can’t have two things that are both the most important thing. At least not at the same time.

We can get around it, of course, by saying my top priority at work is X, but when I’m at home with my family my top priority is Y. But somewhere, deep down, you probably know what your real priority is, and if you don’t, your actions probably reveal it.

Priorities shift over time, of course. It’s likely that your priority has, in turns, been your education, your work, your relationship, or your children. Putting pedantry aside, you probably do have a few priorities. A few things that matter to you more than anything else. And hidden among those, you probably do have a ‘true’ priority, the thing that matters most.

That’s a good thing. By having a true priority, you can commit to being absolutely world class at whatever that is. Make your kids a priority and you’ll be an awesome parent. Make work a priority and you’ll be excellent at your job. Make creativity a priority and you’ll create something amazing. Having multiple priorities means you can get spread too thin, and end up doing everything badly. But putting all your energy into one thing can also lead to a lack of balance, to say the least.

So is it sometimes OK to have multiple priorities?

In life, yes. In life, you want balance. You want variety. You want to spend time with friends, and family and on activities you love, as well as work. In his book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, Gary Keller addresses how balance is great in life, but potentially bad in work. Prioritizing one thing over everything else may be the path to high level success at a profession or sport, but it won’t necessarily leave you with a happy, balanced life.

When it comes to work, though, especially creative work, balance isn’t that great. Sometimes you need to dedicate yourself to one thing and become obsessive over it, at least until you get it done. Then you can step back and regain some balance.

It’s hard to build several websites at once, write several books at the same time, or create multiple digital courses or info products, for example. It’s easier if you can just throw yourself in and do nothing but the one big creative project that’s your current priority.

Short periods of being obsessed with one project (and therefore quite unbalanced) are more effective when it comes to creative work, than trying to do a little bit of everything every day. This is easy to arrange if you work for yourself. Harder if you work for someone else. But generally, if you can focus on getting one big work project completed at a time, it will often be an easier process, and lead to a higher quality result, than trying to juggle multiple projects.

So, yes, when it comes to work, prioritize. Get your biggest, most important projects done, one by one. Get the books written, the websites launched, or the new products designed. Become a master of your trade or craft. Work on your most important tasks. Don’t waste time on the stuff that doesn’t matter. Pick a priority and stick with it until it’s done. Then pick a new priority.

If you possibly can, though, don’t let your whole life get off-balance while you’re doing it. In life, it’s vitally important to maintain some balance, while still focusing on the few things that are important and not allowing things that don’t matter to get in your head and take up your time.

One last thing about priorities. They really do change. Take some time, regularly, to assess what’s important to you right now. Don’t continue to put all your time and energy into something that no longer matters to you, whether that’s a job, a relationship, or a community.