In March 2020, very motivated people set intentions for the newfound time they would be spending at home. We were all forced to slow down and discover what aspects of life we were missing when we had access to the whole outside world. Now we’ve spent the majority of our non-career oriented time, almost a whole year, at home. We may have lost some of those priorities that we discovered last spring.
In Volume 47 of this guest series, psychotherapist Dr. Francis L. Battisti and nutritionist Dr. Helen Battisti encourage us to continue finding the meaning of our todays and tomorrows by creating a living priority list that changes as restrictions and our lives evolve into the new normal.
For over 10 years, they have worked closely with us on aging concerns and have presented many webinars and in-person workshops. Their newsletter, The Zone, is a weekly mental health and nutrition tip sheet during times of change.
Last week, in Volume XLVI, we discussed the importance of articulating what our purpose is for our tomorrows. In deciding to take the next step, in furthering our understanding of what we want to accomplish, it can be helpful to set priorities.
The process of priority setting can be especially helpful when we are trying to accomplish many tasks at the same time. It can also assist us with not becoming overwhelmed. Each of us has a finite amount of time we can spend in pursing our tasks. Priority setting allows us to assess what is most important to us at a given time. Without priorities we may spend our precious time trying to do too much and not accomplishing anything.
Some helpful hints in establishing priorities are the following:
- Make a list of tasks that you want to accomplish.
- Keep your list manageable.
- Know the difference between urgent and important and accomplish the important first. If we spend much of our time responding to what appears to be urgent, we can loose focus of our overall purpose.
- Establish a timeline to be able to assess your progress.
- Share with trusted family and friends.
- Clearly define your end point.
The priority list is a living document in that it continually changes. However, as it changes, we need to continually assess how it remains true to our purpose.
- Priority setting is a reflective process that takes time.
- Priority setting can keep us on track with fulfilling our purpose in life.
- Be alert to becoming over or under whelmed.
- Breathe.
- Continually assess your spiritual-physical-psychological health.
- Put first things, first.
- Doing too many tasks at the same time.
- Giving in to urgency.
- Being mesmerized by accomplishments.
In summary, while priority setting may seem limiting, it opens us up to accomplish what is significant to us, namely, our purpose in living.
Quote of the Week
“A simple life is not how little we can get by with-that’s poverty-but how efficiently we can put first things first … When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar..”
-Victoria Moran
