Working with a priority scale is an advantage. What elements should we consider to get it?
Last update: June 19, 2022
Defining a scale of priorities is essential to achieving the objectives. How come? Only if we know how to distinguish what is important from what is superfluous can we concentrate and channel all our efforts in the same direction. Otherwise, we could invest a lot of energy in vain.
Today's world is marked by dispersion. Requests, requirements and notifications in all directions. The line that separates the professional from the personal is also more fragile, as is the one that divides the public from the private. Under these conditions, it is more difficult to define one's priorities.
Nobody enjoys sufficient vitality to take care of everything and always. Sometimes we pretend we are and that's when we try to be everywhere and end up being nowhere.
Rather, it would be better to redefine the scale of priorities by taking into consideration the five aspects that we present below.
"To change your life, you have to change your priorities."
-Marco Gemello-
Define the priority scale
1. Don't be superficial in determining what is a priority
Sometimes we confuse priorities with what catches our attention. It is possible at any given moment to experience an irresistible attraction for a beautiful car seen in a dealership. We could consider it a priority, but is it really?
The automobile example applies to countless situations. Sometimes we are like capricious children who get carried away by impulses and confuse what is important with what is attractive.
A first step in defining the priority scale is to perform a calm analysis and not suddenly and without thinking about it.
2. Reduce the list, a way to define the priority scale
It is common for everything to seem important to us at any given moment. The idea is also widespread that with a little organization, a thousand goals can be achieved at once. The truth is that this is not the case. When everything matters, nothing matters.
Prioritizing means think carefully about big goals fixed. Starting from this, a criterion can be established that allows us to separate the essential from the superfluous. This hierarchical exercise is key to staying focused on the goal.
3. Specify the priority, not the task
Another common mistake is to confuse priorities with activities. For example, it is believed that the priority is to follow a refresher course in the workplace.
At the end of the course, the priority objective is considered achieved. However, in this example, the priority is not the course, but being competent in the work at hand.
By continuing with the example, you can take the course and continue to be incompetent about what your role requires.
A priority is not an activity, but a guiding principle associated with a central goal in life. Take this into account when defining the priority scale.
4. Scale of priorities: not only define the what, but also the how
Prioritizing doesn't just involve establishing the what, but also the how. First of all, you need to be clear about what you want. Once identified, a program must be defined to achieve or maintain it.
If we do not specify how the achievement of what we believe to be important will materialize, it will most likely never materialize. It will remain an ideal that awaits the right moment to be realized. With a timetable, it will be much easier to move forward.
5. Identify gradual dates and goals
Once we know "what" and "how", what follows is break down the "how" into specific actions that we call "objectives". In other words, objective and verifiable progress.
If the priority is to have more free time and it is believed that the best way to achieve it is to better manage the work, the ideal is to take this path gradually and check progress.
It is equally appropriate to set specific dates for achieving these goals. Otherwise, there will be no reasonable parameters that allow us to identify the actual achievement. This helps organize progress better.
Conclusions
Define the priority is the key to investing efforts more intelligently. It also offers greater mental order and facilitates many decisions.
Remember: whoever does not know where he is going or how to go, will probably end up somewhere else. We need organization.
