0:02

How do I set priorities?

0:12

You

0:16

know, because I hear that so frequently, I assume

0:19

most people think they could and should be doing

0:21

it better. I have a

0:23

radical point of view. Learn

0:25

to listen to and trust

0:28

your heart, or your intuition,

0:30

or your gut, or seat

0:33

of the pants, or whatever part of your anatomy

0:35

is the source of that mysteriously

0:37

wonderful, still small

0:39

voice that somehow knows you better than you

0:41

do, and knows what's better for you better

0:44

than you do. There

0:46

have been popular formulas for setting priorities

0:48

over the years, such as applying A,

0:51

B, C, or high, medium,

0:53

or low, or listing the top

0:55

ten things to get done in order. If

0:58

someone actually applies one of

1:00

those models, it probably creates some

1:02

progress. But these,

1:04

nor any other simple methods I've

1:07

seen, really hit the mark. You'll

1:09

have a different priority set at 8pm

1:12

tonight than 10.30 this morning. And

1:14

sometimes the most strategic

1:17

thing for you to do will be to water your plants.

1:20

Like when you've been in six

1:23

meetings, felt beat up in five of them, and by 4.30

1:25

your brain is scrambled eggs and

1:27

you barely have the attention span of a gnat. That's

1:31

the time to water your plants and fill your stapler.

1:34

Why? Well, because you couldn't do

1:37

anything else very well, and

1:39

you're going to have to water your plants and fill

1:41

your stapler sometime anyway. On

1:44

a day-to-day basis, moment

1:46

to moment, there's no algorithm

1:49

or formula that will last very

1:51

long or is really worth trying

1:53

to nail down in some written or coded system

1:55

that you'll adhere to consistently.

1:58

Think about it.

1:59

and all the different things you're doing today are

2:02

the top priority for you in that moment,

2:05

for whatever reason, or you wouldn't

2:07

be doing them. Watcher

2:10

are listening to this right now, for instance. That

2:13

said, I've recognized four criteria

2:16

that we all will use to decide what to do.

2:19

And these are in order of their precedence. Number

2:22

one, context. What

2:25

can I do where I am? Number

2:28

two, time. When

2:30

do I have to do something else? Number

2:34

three, energy. How

2:36

wasted or fresh am I? Number

2:39

four, priority. What

2:42

is the highest payoff for me if I do

2:44

it? You know, the idea of payoff

2:47

to yourself is the intuitive one.

2:49

But let's not be frivolous. When was the

2:51

last time you and your professional colleagues as

2:54

a group took a sincere look into the future

2:56

and made the hard decisions about

3:00

what is still mission critical and what is not? When

3:03

did you last decide what the real nature

3:05

of your job really is or should be? When

3:08

was the last time you personally sat down and

3:10

thought through where you are in your

3:12

life on all fronts and where you're

3:14

going? What, you really want to be different

3:17

than the way it is right now? The

3:19

best you shoot for is a regular enough

3:21

revisit to the broader horizon looks like

3:24

that and reviews of your work and

3:26

life, letting it sink in

3:28

at all the levels, conscious and

3:30

otherwise, that it might affect. Then

3:34

get organized and current, realities

3:37

and commitments, so that you have a

3:39

clear enough deck from which to pay

3:41

attention to your internal directions and hunches

3:44

and to follow them without distractions. Do

3:47

I need to work on this article that I need to write?

3:50

Or call Aunt Jennifer now? Or

3:54

balance my checking account? Or plan

3:56

the next year's marketing strategy?

3:59

a beard hang out with my partner in the yard.

4:03

Who knows, some part of you does.

4:06

Be open to your own spirit and its directions.

4:09

You might even consider asking it. Then

4:13

take the risk to move on your best guess, pay

4:15

attention to the results, and

4:18

course correct, you know, as you keep moving

4:20

along. You know, I'm in my 70s

4:22

now and I'm still working on how

4:24

well I can do that. And

4:27

I've never found another way to do it.