It Comes Down to Our Priorities
Last week we talked about how prioritizing is a big part of scheduling. It’s clear that this is a struggle for many of us. I’ve had several conversations this week about how hard it can be to keep up with everything on the list. And this is something I’ve struggled with as well.
As I was thinking about this week’s post, the topic kept surfacing. I realized it’s not new, so I looked back at previous posts and found one that still speaks to this issue well. Here’s that post, updated a bit:
The key to scheduling is being clear on your priorities. Scheduling is something most of us struggle with. We plan our days perfectly and then life happens. By the end of the day, we beat ourselves up because we didn’t get everything done.
Why do we think we can do more than time allows?
Being too busy is a self-inflected problem. We all have a fixed amount of time, but we try to pack in more than is realistically possible.
I’ve found that I’m more productive when I intentionally overschedule my day. It creates a sense of urgency, and I get more done than when I don’t. The trick is giving yourself grace at the end of the day for what didn’t get done.
Another scheduling challenge is the unexpected.
Even in an overscheduled day, “fires” pop-up that are urgent, unplanned things that demand attention. Life happens, and there’s no way to avoid these unexpected fires.
Fighting the hottest fire first isn’t a very good scheduling system.
That is reactive scheduling. Proactive scheduling works much better.
The important thing to remember is, we always have a choice. Even in the most pressured situations, you have the power to choose your next action. So, choose wisely. You can decide what to do, when to do it, and what takes precedence.
Granted some scheduled events are out of your control. But you can choose if you’re going to do it or not. You can pick one thing over another. You can decide!
This power of choice is the key to scheduling.
The real challenge is that too many people aren’t clear on their priorities. Identifying the “big rocks” in your life and business is critical. You need to know your mission and align your schedule around it.
Finding your life’s mission isn’t always easy. It takes time, reflection, and sometimes even a life changing jolt, like getting hit upside the head with a board.
What makes one thing a priority over another? Priorities are difficult because what matters most to one person might not matter at all to someone else. My priorities aren’t yours.
The important thing is to work on clarifying your own priorities and never stop refining them. With a clear vision, a defined mission, and priorities in place, you can be flexibly rigid with your schedule.
Clarity makes scheduling much less stressful.
If you want help cutting through the fog of self-employed construction scheduling, you can book a free 30-minute meeting. Or, if you’re interested in business BUILDing tools, check out the toolbox.
