Putting the first thing first

It is no news that we need to set our priorities. Amidst many activities and tasks, we need to know what to focus on. In fact, many smart people maintain a list of priorities – things they believe deserve their attention first. If you and I do not set our priorities, we may keep busy without doing what is really important. Meanwhile, having a list of wonderful things we call priority is not enough. Prioritizing is not the same as maintaining a list of important things there are to do. There is a difference between a to-do list and a priority. The challenge with most of us is that our lists mostly contain important things; because they are important, we assume they are priorities. However, the fact that something is important does not mean it should be prioritized.

The truth is that each one of us has very limited time to do what we must do. That means that even the list of important things needs to be scrutinized and rearranged in an order of priority. Let me tell you two things I do in setting my priorities. Firstly, I usually ask myself which of the important things carry the most weight. It is like following the 80/20 rule. You will find that about 20% of your list of important items impact 80% of your success in whatever you are doing. In that case, you should focus on the 20%. The remaining 80% of your list produces only 20% of your success, therefore they should be of less priority. Secondly, I ask myself if there are low-hanging fruits – those things that take very little amount of time to achieve and produce immediate results of great value. They are called quick wins.

Prioritizing is about putting the first thing first. It is about refusing to major in the minor or vice versa. Sometimes it can be disappointing to us or to someone who needs items that rank low on our list of important things should we never get to them. However, we must be true to ourselves. The results we produce in our lives depend on how we expend our resources and, especially, our time. Those who put the first thing first have lots to show for their effort. It is a form of discipline we must all learn.

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Actions for the week

1. Do you have a list of important things to do? If not, why not? Go ahead and create a list.
2. Now, which of the items on your list have the greatest impact on your life and success. Then, move those higher up your list. They are your priorities.
3. Determine to habituality schedule your priority as advised by Stephen Covey.

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A quote to remember
The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen R. Covey

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Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
​Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books