On priorities. Beyond to-do lists
I wrote about prioritising a lot when tackling time management. But there's more to setting priorities. This post is on choosing what's important beyond daily tasks on to-do.
I'd like to think I've a busy life. I often become a victim of having too much on my plate and not really knowing where to go. I love picking up my camera to take some pictures, but I also love adding up miles on Strava while running along the Thames. I also have a job that I like and want to be at the top of my game. Not forgetting about the labour of love --this blog, which I strive to keep relevant and regularly share my musings. On top of that, I've something that resembles social life.
But I'm not an exception. So many of my peers struggle with pace of their lives.
Finding WHY
What's so crucial for having so much on is prioritisation. It's all about awareness and the right judgement. If I'm training for an upcoming race, I won't go for a photowalk around the town, but will make sure to run go for my running club's session.
What's more, it's important to find the WHY. Simon Sinek describes it as "the purpose, cause, or belief."
As a starting point of looking for my WHY, I often consider the final results. I want all my projects to be worthwhile. I want those around me to benefit from them. If it's blogging, I always want to share what might be helpful for others. I also want to make sure I'm actually enjoying the process. I'd not been running so much if I hated it or found it boring. Finally, I'm always seeking knowledge and new experiences.
Figuring it out as you go along
This WHY is undeniably also bound together with purpose. I'm a huge fan of the quote from David Sawyer's new book RESET. David writes that purpose "reveals itself as you go along". I might be simplifying it, but for me, this means that prioritising things in life gets easier as we just do things that matter to us the most.
Today's world gives us so many possibilities. Opportunities to learn, discover, explore are everywhere. However, there's only so much we can fit in to our schedules. Having said that, I always believed that as long as we keep ourselves busy, it's not the end of the world to learn new skill, meet interesting people, or run forty hilly miles in Portugal.
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Photo courtesy of Matt Buck of Running Adventures.
If you have any suggestions, would like to guest post or give me a feedback, feel free to email me at kl.marcel [at] gmail.com, tweet me @marcelkl or connect with me on LinkedIn. Thanks for stopping by, have a splendid day!