Why the things that matter often get pushed to the bottom of your to-do list – and how to put them back on top.
We all have limited energy, and it’s important to be intentional about how we use it.
Melia started thinking about this when her husband, Darren, pointed out very gently (wise man) that at the end of the day, she sometimes comes home lacking energy for him and their kids. Melia puts 100% into everything she does, but if she’s not careful, she ends up depleted and giving the “dregs” of herself to her family.
Gill has a similar problem; she often gets caught up in work or tasks that need to happen but aren’t critical. And she’s susceptible to other people’s requests, so she’ll give her attention to whatever comes her way, instead of what actually matters to her.
We’re experimenting with a three-step process to better identify our priorities and focus on what’s most important first:
- Define your priorities by writing them down.
- When you’re presented with a choice about how to spend your time, consider if it moves one of those top priorities forward.
- On a regular basis, evaluate how your priorities are matching up with the way you’re actually spending your time.
We focus on Step 1 in this episode, and in our next episode, we’ll dig deeper into Steps 2 and 3.
Gill’s Top 3 Priorities:
- Making health and wellness part of her everyday life
- Building strong relationships with her family and friends
- Doing good work – both paid and creative
Melia’s Top 3 Priorities:
- Nurturing relationships with her family and friends
- Developing her creative projects like writing and music
- Being competent in her paid work
Get It Together / Got It Together
Melia’s Get It Together: Dealing with the never-ending mountain of laundry
Melia’s Got It Together: Enjoying the holidays without too much stress
Gill’s Get It Together: Switching gyms and then failing to go
Gill’s Got It Together: Spending quality time with visiting family and friends
Get in Touch
Try Step 1 yourself. What are your top three priorities? Send us an email at podcast[at]semitogether.com or comment on our Facebook page. And please subscribe, rate, and review this podcast wherever you listen.
Resources:
- Minimalist Parenting by Christine Koh and Asha Dornfest
- Multitasking is a myth. You’re not doing two things at once; you’re just switching from task to task (and losing productivity in the process). More info from the American Psychological Association and Inc.
- Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi (plus her excellent podcasts, Note to Self and ZigZag)
- Time-tracking software: Melia recommends Azendoo and Gill likes Toggl
- Dominican University’s study on writing down goals
- Strong relationships contribute to your health and happiness. A few of the many studies: an 80-year longitudinal study from Harvard and various sources from the Blue Zones.
- We talk about our “18 for 2018” priorities in Episode 2: Resolutions & Goals.
- Forking Fantastic! Put the Party Back in Dinner Party (a great book and the origin of the phrase “the Hour of Self-Loathing”)