Shifting Priorities Are The Norm

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed many clients had difficulty identifying their priorities. This isn't as true today as it was then. Unfortunately, now what I hear clients say is?'I can identify my priorities with no problem, but I can't get to them. At the end of the day I look up and realize I never got to the one thing I needed to do.' We are all busier today than ever before. A certain amount of chaos in our lives has become acceptable. But it has also cost us focus. Here are a few suggestions on identifying and working on getting to your priorities:

Create SMART goals and visit them regularly.
In order to know your priorities, you first need to know your goals-both personal and professional-because one flows from the other. Make sure your goals are SMART. Zig Ziglar says SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Relevant and Timelined. Now make sure you visit them daily. If your goals are SMART and visible, you are paving the road to then identifying your priorities.

Create focus time.
If you have identified your priorities but are not protecting time to work on them, you are setting yourself up for frustration and stress. Everyone deserves some amount of uninterrupted time to work on things they have identified as 'important'?and not necessarily 'urgent'. The Covey Time Matrix this represents Quadrant II activity and it is where about 75% of our time should be spent. If you think you don't have time to do this, consider the fact that you don't have time NOT to do this.

Minimize priority busters.
During my 'Clear your desk. Clear your mind. Organize it.' workshop, we identify and talk about how to handle the 3 top priority busters-interruptions, overcommitment and procrastination. Not only are we interrupted at least 8 times an hour, but it takes about 20 minutes to climb back into the project we were working on prior the interruption. If you are committed to your priorities, over-committing is more difficult. Each time you encourage or allow an interruption or over-commitment, you are letting others pull you into their priority at the expense of your own. The third and most obvious priority buster is?procrastination. Every time you delay a decision to work on something important, you become your own priority buster! Identify your procrastination roadblocks and move forward in overcoming them.

Begin practicing these basic time management principles and remember?time flies but YOU are the navigator.

Copyright 2002. Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.

Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.

Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement ? (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

---

How Do You Start Your Day

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow... Read More

Keeping YOUR Calendar Full

When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More

Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life

Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life... Read More

Procrastination: Why We Do It and How to Change

PROCRASTINATION: You've known about it since high school or college,... Read More

Looking At Time With A Capital T

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More

Time Management

Isn't it amazing that some people can produce huge results... Read More

Time Management: Setting up your Schedule for Success

Would you describe yourself as extremely busy? Do you often... Read More

10 Time Management Tips for Busy Professionals

If you feel like your life moves faster than a... Read More

Save Your Time - Delegate!

Frustration is when an obstacle blocks your ability to achieve... Read More

The WIT to WIN

What are the most important things you should accomplish today?... Read More

Because Its Been Years Since Youve Seen a Blank Calendar

If you have ever missed an appointment, forgotten to pick... Read More

Reading -- 10 Ways to Find The Time

Why Read?It's been said that there are three kinds of... Read More

The Myth of What We Manage

Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More

Do You Put a Value on Your Time?

As a small business owner, does the following paragraph sound... Read More

Get More Done at Your Office: Focus on These Eight Areas for Increased Productivity

Your productivity depends on good tools and effective environments, and... Read More

Isn?t It Time For You?

Does it seem like there is never enough time in... Read More

Time Management Wasters

I am an ordinary man - A middle class high... Read More

Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More

Setting Time Aside For Studying And Homework

When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More

More Time Wanted? Deal with Your Time-wasters Now!

Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More

Simple Strategies for Home Based Business Owners to Reduce Stress and be More Satisfied

Handle small emergencies fast: When a small emergency does pop... Read More

How to Conquer the Five Major Time Wasters?

* spreading yourself too thinTaking on too many things at... Read More

Increasing Your ROI

All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are... Read More

Put Yourself First

Are you too busy to put yourself first? If a... Read More

Time Managements

There are the golden rules that apply to time. If... Read More

10 Ways to Take Back Your Time

I've divided my tips into two sections - 5 ways... Read More

It?s Not The Same Old Routine

We are constantly inundated with routine (often boring!) tasks around... Read More

Time Management Doesnt Exist! So What Can You Do?

There is no such thing as time management. You cannot... Read More

Productivity at Home

Increased productivity, the ability to get more value for our... Read More

5 Time Savers You (Probably) Havent Tried Yet

1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More

Time Is Everything

Time is wealth;Time is health; Time is power; Time is... Read More

Priorities: Dont Dry Your Dishes

Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More

Six Foundational Reasons for Managing Your Time

Most of us know how to manage our time. It... Read More