A Simple Way To Setting and Living Your Priorities
I'm sure you know the feeling of having so much to do that you don't know where to start. We attack our daily to-do lists, react to everything that comes up at the moment's notice, and at the end of the day, still have important things unfinished. We juggle so many things in our lives and careers. Often, we live our lives without consciously setting priorities, other times, everything feels like priority and it's hard to determine what to concentrate on. That's when the “I don't have time” seems like the best excuse.
The thing is, priorities are not what you say they are. Priorities are what you actually do! And while setting your priorities might not be that difficult, it's living by them that gives us trouble.
A simple way to setting your priorities and living them every day is a game of juggling. This concept is from a Georgia Tech commencement speech given by Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, on Sept. 6, 1991*:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them — work, family, health, friends and spirit — and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls ~ family. health, friends and spirit — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked. nicked. damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life...”
It's a simple game that requires you to keep juggling balls in the air. If you drop one bouncy ball, it may bounce back but it would still disrupt the rhythm of the game. Drop two balls and it's even more difficult to balance it. Drop the glass ball, and the game will be inevitably altered...
Set your priorities.
For my priority setting, I like to expand on this concept and assign a different level of fragility to each of my life's ball. It helps to set true importance to each one of them when I need to make daily choices or decisions.
Here is an example of my life's juggling balls:
Career. I agree with Dyson's representation of the “work ball”. Career is important to me- it gives me confidence, purpose and a sense of direction to my life. Even if I drop this rubber ball, I am confident it will bounce back for me to continue my game.
Family and Friends. My family/friends ball would be made of Styrofoam. This ball is strong, hard, but rather brittle. If dropped it could be scuffed and damaged. Repairing relationships is not always easy, and sometimes, they can be ruined forever. With some effort, I might be able to repair or restore this ball, and put back into play. I strive, however, to take a good care of as much as I can.
Health. My ball that's made of glass would be the one of my health. If I drop my “health ball”, the consequences would be much more dire. For someone who has a lifelong health condition, my first priority is to take care of my health. If I shatter this fragile ball, I won't be able to juggle any of the other balls.
Money. Another one of my juggling balls. Juggling bills, budgets, expenses, and investments is part of our everyday lives. Like most of us, I only notice it when I don't have enough money, which is quite often, of course. I then try really hard to arrange things in a way that put me back into comfort zone. Therefore, I would say that this ball would be made of steel. If I drop it, it doesn't shatter but it does take a bit of an effort to bring it back into play.
Spirit. My “spirit ball” contains my daily emotions, feelings, principals and values, as well as time for leisure, relaxation and personal growth. This juggling ball is made of paper, and it gets dropped, crumbled, and even lost quite often. Fortunately, I can easily straighten it out, refold it, readjust it, and put it back into my juggling game. And I am getting better at keeping track of it so it wouldn't fall apart at the seams.
Live your priorities.
As we play the game of life, we juggle our priorities by making choices. It's easy to be busy and get lost in your daily to-do list, but it's a bit more difficult to choose to live your daily life by your priorities. You need to focus on the most important priorities – your most fragile juggling balls. If I choose a yoga class after work instead of a networking opportunity – I am prioritizing my health over the career. If I choose to go to my kids soccer practice over “happy hour” with coworkers - that's where my priority is for that day. Tomorrow it may be different. It's a daily practice.
So next time you find yourself saying “I don't have time”, switch it to “It is not my priority” and see how it feels. “I don't have time to finish this report” to “This report, or this job, is not my priority”. “I don't have time to play with my kids” to “Playing with my kids is not my priority”. “I don't have time to go to the gym” to “Going to the gym, therefore, taking care of my health, is not my priority”. Putting our choices into the perspective of priority carries much more weight than blaming time. Our attitudes shift and we start living more by our priorities and values, and less by time, coincidence and re-activeness.
What priorities are you juggling? Which ones are most important to you?