Time is one of the most critical nonrenewable resources when it comes to your life.  However, many of us find that time is our greatest enemy because we're continually trying to get more and more done and feel like we’re running out of time.  But are we actually running out of time, or are we just struggling with prioritizing?

The importance of prioritization

Making priorities and sticking with them will be crucial when it comes to avoiding unnecessary stressors such as procrastination, continually feeling like there isn’t enough time.  However, setting priorities is not as easy as it looks, especially if you’re always used to being on the go yet never seeming to get anything done.  Sound familiar?  It’s time to take charge.  When you do, you’ll enjoy:

●     Lower stress levels: When you don’t feel like you’re always behind the ball and running from thing to thing, perpetually unprepared, it does wonders for your mental clarity and stress levels.  You’ll be able to have a much more orderly life with lower stress levels overall.

●     Better time management skills: Once you get used to understanding time in segments, you’ll also learn about how to manage your time better.  You’ll get a feel for how long something may take as opposed to something else and how to squeeze the absolute most that you can out of every single day -- in a good way.  This is one of those enviable skills that can help you enjoy intentional living, too.

●     More time: It seems strange, right?  But, it’s true.  When you have everything organized and your list of priorities set, you’ll be able to find that you have more time in the run of the day because organization takes chaos out of the mix!

How to set effective priorities

Whether you’re looking at this for school, work, life in general, or something even within these niches, setting priorities will always take on the same form and design, just customized to the task at hand.  The things to focus on include:

●     What is your most significant task?: The first thing to do is to make sure that you have your list of tasks.  Big or small, these tasks should all be written down so that you can see them all laid out in front of you.

●     What is going to take the most effort?: When you have your list of tasks, you‘ll want to order them based on what will take the most effort.  For example, preparing your tax documents will take more effort than planning your meals and grocery list for the week, right?  What you’ll want to do is order the most intense and effort-focused tasks first because they’ll take the longest and go backward to the smallest and simplest things.

You’ll also want to factor in what tasks matter most to you versus the unimportant ones.  This is a crucial detail to start making priorities in your life, and this is something moderated by your gut! 

●     Make a plan for action: From there, you can segment those large tasks that matter the most into so long/so much a day and plan your week or day for action based on those.  Simple tasks can be sprinkled around, but you’ll want to start with the most pressing and most implant tasks first to get them taken care of.

●     Make each moment intentional: There should be no downtime during your day when it comes to the action plan.  For example, don’t waste your planned shower time talking on the phone.  And, don’t skip grocery shopping in the morning to sleep in an extra half hour.  When every moment is intentional, you’ll get more done.

The other thing is to make sure that you are honest with yourself on spending your time intentionally.  For example, if you know you work better in the morning but are useless at night, work with that.  Or vice versa,  If you know that Thursdays have no time at all to do anything other than work and sleep, but Mondays are open, work with that.  You have to know where your power times are and what you can slot in to take full advantage of them!

●     Avoid the urge to procrastinate: We all have those days where we just want to put off that annoying task and just relax instead.  The pull will be strong, especially at first.  But, you’ll want to make sure that you put that to the side and just focus on your schedule and getting this done as planned.  Once you see that it wasn’t as bad as you thought, and the results are well worth it, it’ll help you to push it aside easier next time and trust the system.

One of the most essential details that you’ll find when you are in action and moving from hardest/most intense to smallest and most straightforward, you’ll find that it will make you feel a lot more positive.  Not only can you see the progress you’re driving in real-time, motivating you to keep on your schedule in the future, you’ll also find that your mental energy will be refreshing.  By going with the hardest and scariest tasks first, you’re going to be able to enjoy the rest of your day a whole lot more. 

When you make use of your time the right way -- which is a little bit different for everyone, with every niche -- it’s simply going to feel good.  You’ll feel in charge of your life, refreshed and replenished, and feeling as though everything is getting done better and easier.  Which it is. Setting priorities gives you clarity, control, comfort, and a whole lot more joy than most people imagine.

If you are looking for a way to have an intentional life, priority setting and organizing your time and effort will be a key element to that.  While it may look different to everyone, it’ll feel the same.  And, spoiler alert, it’s going to be so worthwhile!

SOURCES

https://blog.rescuetime.com/how-to-prioritize/

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/back-to-basics-setting-priorities.html

https://zapier.com/blog/prioritize-task-list-methods/

https://mindyourmind.ca/wellness/time-management-and-setting-priorities

https://www.minimalismmadesimple.com/home/priorities-in-life/