Gaining focus and getting things done can be difficult in this fast-paced and immediate world. Learn how to prioritize yourself. Yes, you can accomplish what you want and need to get done, and you will approach matters differently if you are serious.
It is one thing to talk about it, but another to make a change and get it done. This requires you to exit your comfort zone and lean into real change for real results.
Exiting the Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone, if left unchecked, can easily transform into a labyrinth of stagnation. Recognize it as a sanctuary for rejuvenation, a place to consolidate your energies and recharge your spirit, but not a habitat for extended stay. Employing effective time management and task prioritization strategies can significantly improve your planning, helping you structure your workday, establish objectives, and prioritize responsibilities to enhance productivity and guarantee success in your role.
Consider the Learning Zone as a catalyst for expanding your capabilities, fostering both personal and professional development.
The Uncomfortable Zone is just that: un-footed ground designed to put us on our toes and keep us uncomfortable. As it is deliberately designed to unsettle us, this zone keeps us agile and vigilant. Embracing the Uncomfortable Zone can enrich your life's experiences immeasurably. This is a great place to live your life.
Very few brave souls opt to venture into the Panic Zone, an area where the equilibrium is often disturbed. Yet, those audacious enough to traverse its uncertain terrain are usually rewarded with the beauty of growth, where monumental achievements are made and magic truly begins.
Regrettably, the Uncomfortable and Panic Zones have led many outstanding individuals astray, resigning them to a life of mediocrity. I hope this is not you. Instead, I hope that you dare to journey through these challenging zones, embracing the fear and uncertainty, to ultimately reach your personal and professional pinnacle.
How to prioritize yourself? Are you a bullseye? Or do you live on the fringes?
Learning to Prioritize
I hope you are intentional and primed for growth out here on the edges with those willing to do what it takes—those willing to do the work and get things done with priority. But, you cannot do everything. So, what should you be doing?
"Just because you could be doing it does not mean you should be doing it."
-Jeff Rogers, CPMBC
At the heart of any successful endeavor, the crucial ingredient is a clear understanding of your purpose and desired outcomes. Without this clarity, any attempts at implementation can end up as aimless as darts tossed in the dark.
Start there. I am talking about performance and a path for best results here. A key building block in this process is time, and more importantly, the effective utilization of it. We often squander our most precious resource, time, and it's high time we put an end to this.
You will establish priority when you commit to this strategic use of your time with accountability and discipline. You will dramatically increase your personal and team performance.
Learning to Say "No"
This will require you to shift your personal responsibility set. You must learn to say "NO" to the things that don't matter and "YES" to the ones that do. How will you know which is which, you ask? Does the matter or task at-hand get you closer to your desired goal, or does it stray you from it? It is that simple. This is a YES or NO question. From there, you will develop your priority choice management protocols.
How we choose to focus and establish priority here at the intersections of each group is critical. What is the priority? What is the desired outcome? What is the investment of time? What is the investment of other financial resources? Why are we doing this? What do we want from our investment?
The result is far less stress if we get this identified and written down properly with the help of time management and prioritization training. This way we can delegate, expand, and build organizational capacity. We will get all the team in the game to win. A true force multiplier effect and a one-degree separation develop with an empowered team focused on priority, not just stuff. With the help of time management and prioritization training, employees will be able to effectively plan and organize their workday, set goals, and prioritize tasks in order to increase productivity and achieve success in their roles. This will enable the team to work collaboratively and achieve common goals with less stress.
The right people doing the right things at the right times to earn the right results. Yes, this is a stress-reducing activity as well. These organizational benefits cannot exist without sound choice management at all levels.
Making the Necessary Changes
We all get caught up in time and resource-wasting behaviors that create more unnecessary stress for ourselves and the others we serve. We can better eliminate these time and effectiveness stealers with discipline, priority, and more focus.
How can you get there without a true course to follow, a strategic plan, and Mission, Vision, and Values statements? Well, you cannot get there effectively, that's for sure... yet many try. Maybe even you? I confess, I too once navigated without a map, until I wised up to and learned how to chart a clearer course for myself.
Download the full document to learn more about twenty-minute jam work blocks. This has changed how people get stuff done, and it might work for you too. There we have a few reminders of the basics.
