The Power of Setting Priorities
Setting priorities made clear, simple and accessible to each one.
We must use time creatively — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Time is the rarest and most precious resource we get in our lifetime. We all get 24h a day, once used, we’ll never get them back. So the question is how can one use and make the most out of the given 24h a day we each receive as a gift?
I am no expert in time management. But I am learning few insights from life experiences that I gladly share with the rest of the world: #growtogether :)
Each one has their own way of understanding this: that’s the beauty of diversity, isn’t it? (I encourage you, dear reader, to share your thoughts and perspectives on this topic in the comment section: a pleasure to interact and share diverse ideas).
So yes, time is precious. And in my sense there’re four key areas in one’s life that are central in defining the quality of our lives:
- How do we spend/enjoy our time?
- How healthy are we? (this one does not always depend on us when it comes to disabilities, genetic diseases, and chronic illness)..
- How healthy are our relationships?
- How do we contribute, give back?
Setting priorities allows one to manage the time accordingly to the above key areas (these could be adjustable to each one’s values and life’s phase).
Health (mental, spiritual and physical) is my number one priority currently, it hasn’t always been so but it is getting at the top with the time that goes. Therefore during the 24h a day I ask myself: which ratio of my time will I attribute to health? With the rest of the other daily obligations that are fixed, how can I include even 1h a day where the focus is only on my health? It could be taking the time to make tasty and healthy food. It could be making room to do 30min walk a day, it could be making time for daily meditation and journaling. See the idea? It goes in harmony with what I have defined as important to me.
That leads me to defining what’s important? Hmmm, this took me some years — soon 30 to be exact; and it’s evolutive. Your values and beliefs could be useful tools here in order to define what truly matters to you. The wisdom gained through life experiences also helps at some level. Because it is through experience that we learn best. Priorities also evolve in time, so it is constantly in adjustment if one’s committed to growth. As Tony Robbins said: we all aspire to grow because once we stop growing, we start dying”.
Once you found what’s important, you can rate each area with a ratio. If I take the example above for me:
- Health
- Time
- Relationships
- Contribution
In each area I’ll attribute a ratio on how important each one is compared to the others. Rough example:
- Health – 5/5
- Time – 5/5
- Contribution – 4/5
- Relationships — 3/5
From this evaluation, you gain clairvoyance on how much of your time you will attribute to each area.
At the end of the day, once you have followed through your priorities, you feel that you spent well your given 24h gift of the day. You feel content on how the day went and you look forward to starting a new day. Let’s keep it realistic: some days you will do it fully freestyle and will also have to be responsive to unplanned events or things that come up. That’s the beauty and unpredictability of life in itself. The skill of adaptability is a treasure to nurture daily because no one knows what tomorrow holds…Only God knows.
How about you? Do you have any insights on how setting priorities enhanced your daily life?
Until next time, take good care of you, be you, do you, speak your truth.
One love 💜
