Priority: 5 ways to do what needs to be done

Hello friends!

When we started studying productivity, we learned a lot of information about how to be more effective and more efficient. One of the most important ideas, in my opinion, in this area of ​​study is about priorities.

Etymologically, priority comes from the Latin Primus, which meant before or ahead. In Greek, the word Prin had the same meaning. The word “a priori”, then, has the same etymology as the word priority.

In fact, priority means what must come first, what must come first. Looking at our day-to-day life from a distance, we will see that it is very simple to understand what is most important and what must be done first. However, it is simple in theory and not in practice.

If we evaluate what we did in a week, we might be surprised by the meager results of so many efforts. Even if we know that this must come before that, we can postpone what is a priority to do something totally unimportant.

In this text, I will try to give you some simple but very effective tips that will help you maintain your priorities.

1) What is a priority for you?

Firstly, it is essential to establish what is a priority for each one. Depending on your age, main activity (study or work) and routine, you will soon be able to define what is a priority for you.

A common question is about having multiple priorities. If you don’t have trouble setting some priorities because you can already think of a multitude of them, then you end up falling at the opposite extreme. Having hundreds of priorities is having no priorities at all.

Try to define a single thing. A single thing that must be done to reach your goal.

If you prefer, you can think by areas. One thing to do today to:

– Job

– House

– Study

– Relationships

– Spirituality

– etc.

Perhaps that way it will be easier for you to visualize what is most important to be done in each of the main areas.

Also Read – Do you want to be successful? Discover your one thing

2) Forget what comes next

Having established the one thing to do in each area, the next step is to forget about the rest. Focusing on priority means focusing on what comes first and forgetting what comes after.

This second step helps us to let go of the “too much to do syndrome” and enter the state of flow. Doing one thing is just one thing, with attention and concentration, it speeds up the process as a whole and greatly increases productivity.

See also – Increase your productivity with Waren Buffet’s system – the 2nd richest man in the world

3) Set schedules

For a specific priority – whether it’s everyday or repetitive – you can set a time and be punctual. Every morning at 06:00, jog for half an hour, for example.

It’s the same principle as going to a religious community on Sundays. With fixed schedules, we’ll be doing what needs to be done, and forgetting all the other things at that time (which may even be important too).

Learn more about – The Power of Habit

4) Establish a location

Having a place also helps us to carry out our duties. I found that when I’m doing what’s a priority, I have to have a place of my own. In what sense? So that I can do it well and quickly, I have to have a place where I won’t be interrupted.

If I start to write this text and am interrupted, it will take me much longer to finish. However, being interrupted by other people is easy to observe. We have to take into account the possibility of being distracted by other stimuli such as messages on cell phones, email and social media notices, calls, etc.

So I recommend muting or even turning off whatever might be distracting.

5) Understand and always remember why

It is not difficult to observe the relationship between motive and motivation. A motivated person has a motive, a reason, a why to be motivated.

Thus, someone may find it very difficult to get up early to go to work or school. However, if you want to get up to go to the beach, you get up easily, without needing an alarm clock.

Motivation comes from a reason.

When we are establishing our priorities, we have to remind ourselves frequently of the reasons for having those priorities.

In some areas it is easy to see. For example, the priority might be to help a family member in the area of ​​relationships. It’s easy to understand why to do this (help) and not something else because of love.

For other areas, notably work and study, it is not always clear why. To overcome it, just think about the reason in the long term. What will I get in the long run if I keep doing this?

Veja – Self-motivation – Start with why

Conclusion

In English, there is an expression that I like a lot which is: First thing in the morning🇧🇷 First thing (to be done) in the morning.

That’s what priorities are. The first thing. It doesn’t have to be in the morning. It could be in the afternoon, at night or at dawn. But it’s the first thing to do. As they say, duty follows pleasure.

A habit, as we have already seen here, is built by a tip on how and when to start (time, space), the certainty of what must be done (priority) and a reward (something positive after the effort involved).

Doubts, suggestions, leave your comment below!

Related