Welcome to the Stop Sabotaging Your Success Podcast, episode seventy-six. I’m your host, Cindy Esliger. This is the podcast focusing on what we can do today to take control of our careers and overcome the inevitable barriers to success that we encounter along the way. 

It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of daily life and tell ourselves that we don’t have time for what truly matters to us. That’s why understanding your priorities is crucial. It helps you stay focused and dedicated to the things that are most important to you. It’s all about making conscious choices about how you spend your time. 

In this episode, we’ll explore how identifying your priorities can help you make better decisions by providing a framework for weighing your options. When you have a clear idea of what’s most important to you, you can use that as a guidepost when deciding how to allocate your time, energy, and attention. 

The one thing I hear more than anything else is “I don’t have time”. Maybe you truly don’t have enough time, and that’s okay. Give yourself a little grace at this stage of life. This too shall pass. But for most of us, it’s just an excuse.

It’s easy to get sidetracked by the countless distractions that compete for our attention each day, but when you have a clear sense of what’s most important, you can eliminate all those other distractions and stay focused on the things that matter most. This can help you be more productive and achieve your goals more efficiently. 

Understanding your priorities can help you create a more fulfilling career and life. By making choices that are aligned with your values and aspirations, you can live a life that feels purposeful and meaningful. Whether your priorities are related to your career, relationships, health, personal growth, or something else entirely. Knowing what matters most to you can help you create a clearer vision for your life and make decisions that move you closer to that vision. So, take the time to identify your priorities and make them an essential part of your decision-making process. You’ll be amazed at how much more fulfilled and focused you’ll feel. 

Alright, so here’s the deal, setting priorities can be a real pain. We want to do everything all at once, but let’s face it, that’s just not possible. Your time goes to what you deem as your priority. It’s time to shift the narrative you’re telling yourself. It’s not that you don’t have time. We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. It’s that this thing you don’t have time for is not a priority right now. Just admitting that can feel so freeing. 

There are several reasons why people struggle to identify their priorities, such as conflicting values, fear of missing out, overwhelming demands, and lack of clarity or direction. The reality is, it’s sometimes easier to just do the next thing on your list, even if that isn’t the best use of your time. But that’s taking the easy way out. It’s time to have a look at those tasks on your to-do list and decide whether they belong there. Maybe it’s time to give yourself permission to take things off your list because they just don’t align with what truly matters to you, in this moment. 

Conflicting values can make it tough to figure out which priorities to focus on. For example, if you value both spending time with family and advancing in your career, it can be hard to decide which one to prioritize. One way to overcome this is to reflect on your values and use those to help you determine what’s most important to you, right now. 

We all experience the fear of missing out, at times. It’s that feeling that you have to say yes to everything and be everything to everyone. It can be overwhelming, and it makes it hard to figure out what actually matters to you, so that you’re not just furthering someone else’s agenda. To tackle this, try setting boundaries and learning to say no to activities that do nothing to advance your own goals. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the demands of daily life, it can be tough to focus on what’s truly important. Allocating time to self-care activities like exercise, meditation, or time in nature can help you recharge and refocus. Lack of clarity can also make it challenging to identify priorities. You may feel lost or uncertain about your goals, which can make it tough to figure out what you want in life and how to get there. To overcome this, try journaling, meditating, or talking to a trusted friend or mentor to gain clarity about what you want for your future in order to clearly articulate your goals and determine the next step. 

It’s crucial to implement strategies to help you identify what’s most important to you in order to achieve your goals, both personally and professionally. Otherwise, you could be missing out on some of life’s greatest opportunities and experiences. Trust me, you don’t want to be that person who’s always feeling behind or completely overwhelmed. Take charge, set your priorities, and stay focused. 

Sometimes it can be easy to get lost in the day-to-day tasks of our job and lose sight of our long-term goals. When you start to feel like you’re not making any progress or you’re feeling unfulfilled, it’s a sign that what you’re currently doing isn’t working.

At this point, it’s important to step back and reassess how you’re spending your time. Maybe you’re noticing that how you’ve allocated your time doesn’t match with what you say is most important. If that’s the case, it’s time to take a hard look at how you’re spending your time and consider making some changes. 

Ask yourself, “What do I really want out of my career? What are my ultimate goals? What are the steps I need to take to get there?” Once you’ve identified your goals, identify the other things that you’re doing on a regular basis that are of lesser importance than this goal you’d like to achieve. It might be time to swap out the things so that you’re spending your time on what you’ve decided is most important.

Stop just reacting. Without a plan in place, your inbox becomes someone else’s priority list. Take a moment to decide if what you think you need to work on right now is actually the best use of your time, or if it even really needs to be done at all. Stop being so accommodating and push back a little to ensure that others are doing their own work, instead of dumping it on you because they know you’ll just do it.

It’s also important to pay attention to how you feel on a daily basis. Are you excited to go to work? Do you feel like you’re making a meaningful contribution? Are you learning and growing? If the answer to these questions is no, it may be time to reassess your priorities and consider whether your current job is actually aligned with your career goals. Maybe it’s a sign that you need to consider a move towards a new career path.

Identifying your priorities can help you make decisions that are more aligned with your values and aspirations. It can help you stay focused on the things that matter to you, which can lead to greater fulfillment and a sense of purpose in your career. So, if you’re feeling stuck or unfulfilled in your job, take some time to identify your priorities and consider how you can make some small changes to align what you’re doing with what you want to achieve.

So, how do you identify your priorities? Here are three tips: 

1. Reflecting
2. Seeking feedback
3. Experimenting

Take some time to reflect on what truly matters to you. Consider what brings you joy and creates that sense of fulfillment and what values are most important to you. Think about what you want to accomplish in your life and what legacy you want to leave behind.

Ask others for feedback on what they think matters most to you. This can help you gain new insights and perspectives that you may not have considered before. 

Try new things and experiment with different priorities. Sometimes, pushing something down your list makes you realize that it is, in fact, something that does matter to you. This is good information. Also, take the time to explore and experiment to help you discover new interests and passions that can help inform your decisions going forward.

If you’re tired of feeling like you’re drowning in a sea of tasks and never getting anything done, then it’s time to use your priorities you have identified as a filter to determine where you should be spending your time and energy. 

Don’t waste your energy on tasks that won’t have a significant impact on your goals and aren’t aligned with your values. Instead, make a list of all the things that you need to do and rank them in order of importance. Then, allocate your time accordingly. Trust me, your brain will thank you. 

Learn to say no to non-priorities. Maybe this means creating a not-to-do list for future reference. Don’t let other people’s agendas hijack your time and energy. When someone asks you to take on a task or attend an event, ask yourself whether it aligns with your priorities. If it doesn’t, politely decline, saying that you’re not the best person for that request. And, if you’re feeling particularly helpful, offer some alternatives for who might be better suited to help them out. This will help you feel empowered and in control of your own schedule. 

You don’t have to do everything yourself, especially tasks that aren’t aligned with your priorities. Identify tasks that can be delegated to others and provide clear instructions and guidance. Not only will it save you time in the long run, but you’ll also be helping others develop their skills. 

Create a time management system that works for you. And no, I don’t mean winging it and hoping for the best. That’s not really a system. Use a planner or calendar to plan ahead so that you can use your time effectively. Block out time for important tasks and don’t schedule non-priorities during that time.

Regularly reevaluate how you are spending your time and adjust things, as needed. Make sure they still align with your values and aspirations. Don’t be afraid to change things up if something isn’t working. Set aside time each month, or each quarter, to reflect on your priorities and adjust your schedule accordingly. Remember, priorities can change as circumstances change, so stay flexible. 

Let’s face it, with so many things competing for our attention, staying committed to our priorities can be a real challenge. Here are four strategies for staying focused and committed to your priorities: 

1. Track your progress. This way you can keep yourself motivated and on track. Use a planner, journal or app to monitor your progress. And celebrate your achievements along the way. 
2. Surround yourself with supportive people who are on board with your priorities and goals. Enlist a colleague, friend, or family member to help you hold yourself accountable or, better yet, work with a mentor or career coach who can offer guidance and support. 
3. Visualize yourself achieving your goals and living your priorities. Use visualization techniques to imagine yourself achieving your goals and envision the positive impact it will have on your life. It’s a positive motivator and it can help you stay focused on the prize. 
4. Anticipate obstacles that may arise and develop strategies for overcoming them. Identify potential roadblocks such as procrastination, self-doubt, or lack of resources, and then come up with strategies to overcome them. This could mean breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable steps that will provoke less resistance from your brain or asking for help when needed.

Remember, it’s not just about time management, but also about managing your energy and aligning your values and goals with your daily actions. This can be challenging because it requires self-reflection and making difficult choices, but it ultimately leads to greater fulfillment and success in all areas of your life. 

Most importantly, reflect on your values when identifying your priorities. Your values are the principles and beliefs that guide your decision-making and help you determine what is most important to you. By taking the time to identify your values, you gain clarity on what matters most. And use this knowledge to prioritize your actions, to achieve the results you desire. 

Assess your goals and responsibilities by taking stock of your current commitments and evaluating whether they are getting you closer to your goals. By doing so, you can identify areas where you may need to make changes or reallocate your time and resources.

Finally, it’s important to take time for reflection and planning. This means carving out dedicated time to think about your priorities, set goals, and create action plans. By doing so, you can ensure that your daily actions and decisions are aligned with what’s most important to you, and that you are making progress towards your most important goals, not someone else’s agenda.

Remember that identifying your priorities can be challenging, but it is an important step towards living a fulfilling and meaningful life. If you aren’t currently setting your own priorities, someone else will. Take back control by making intentional choices about how you spend your time and energy. 

And that’s it for this episode of Stop Sabotaging Your Success. Remember to download your Guide to Prioritizing at cindyesliger.com/podcast, episode seventy-six.

Thank you to our producer, Alex Hochhausen and everyone at Astronomic Audio. Get in touch, I’m on Instagram @cindyesliger and my email address is info@cindyesliger.com.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, you have to come check out The Confidence Collective. It’s my monthly coaching program where we dig a little deeper into what’s holding you back in your career, and we find the workarounds. We help you overcome the barriers and create the career you want. Join me over at cindyesliger.com/join. I’d love to have you join me in The Confidence Collective. 

Until next week, I’m Cindy Esliger. Thanks for listening.