MY TWO CENTS:
Have you ever felt like there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it? Or, do you feel like there are competing priorities pulling you every which way?
One of the topics that was suggested by our readers for an edition of MTC is how to find balance and be effective juggling everyday demands. I’d like to tackle that a bit in this edition, and hope that some of these ideas are actionable for you.
First things first. Seriously!
When was the last time that you stopped and asked yourself, “What is my highest priority right now [this minute, hour, day, week, month, year]?” Notice I didn’t ask when you last considered your boss’ highest priority, your clients’ highest priorities, your spouse’s highest priority, your kids’ highest priorities, or your friends’ highest priorities right now.
Often, our highest priorities will serve the priorities of others, but we can’t do that effective in our service if we don’t know our priorities first! Since this isn’t an edition on identifying and establishing priorities, we’ll not dig any deeper except to encourage you to consider what excites you, gives you energy, and feeds your soul!
After you’ve spent a minute or two considering what really matters to you, maybe the following list or sequence will help you create some balance and effectivity in juggling demands.
- Where does this activity fit on my list of priorities?
- How does attention to this activity dilute or distract from investing in a higher priority on my list?
- Can this activity be denied, delegated, or dropped?
- If not, how quickly can I add it to my priority list IN PROPER SEQUENCE?
- How do I communicate this sequencing to those with whom I interact so they understand the attention I’m able to effectively give this activity?
The final idea that comes to my mind regarding effective balance and demand juggling is the idea of healthy boundaries.
- Acknowledging the difference between offering support and enabling apathy.
- Accepting our own tendencies to say “Yes!” to everything when we should be saying “No.” to some things.
- Releasing our fear of not being valued or having purpose if we don’t have too much to do.
- Offering opportunities for others to develop their skills (and CONFIDENCE) through delegation rather than owning the entire process ourselves.
I’m not sure if you’re catching the tone or not, but much of these ideas are speaking to me directly! Part of the beauty of this exercise for me is the opportunity to wrestle with some areas in which I’m trying to improve. So, if you have other ideas or thoughts to share to find balance and juggle everyday demands, please pass them along so we can share with everyone.
Make it a great week!
Scott Cousino, CFP®
President