How many priorities do you have in your life this very second?
I asked myself this question and quickly came up with 20 or so things that are really important to me right now. However the more I thought about it, the longer my list got. If you consider that anything you spend more than a few hours a month as a ‘priority’ then there are hundreds of items on my list!
This thought exercise came from reading the article How Many Priorities Can You Have? Uhhhh … definitely not more than 100 by Auren Hoffman. Auren suggests that you shouldn’t have more than 100 priorities and in order to be productive we need to say ‘NO’ to anything that isn’t on that list.
Time is our most valuable asset and when we spend time on something it takes time away from something else.
Limiting your priorities to a maximum of 100 means you can focus your time on things you actually want to be doing. Being aware and noticing how you spend your time is the first step to assessing and deciding what your top 100 should be.
Your time does not lie.
Auren notes that anything you spend more than a few hours a month on is a priority.
Each person you love in your life is a priority.
Your community is a priority - this includes social media communities.
Your hobbies are a priority - this includes binge watching telly.
Your health is a priority - exercise, cooking healthy meals.
Your work has multiple priorities - this includes commuting when we used to do it!
Cleaning up after my messy kids is a priority.
Sleep - shit, good sleep is my biggest priority!
You only have time for maximum 100 priorities.
Once you have 100 then you have to start substituting if you want to add something new to the list. It makes sense but it is so easy to keep adding priorities without making space for them. This is why almost everyone I know always feels so exhausted all the time. Spreading out your time by saying ‘yes’ to everything.
Right now in Victoria we have lost the ability to spend time on some of our most treasured priorities.
Not being able to hang out with our friends and family is really getting me down. Even though a ‘sunday lunch’ is only a few hours in the week, spending that time with buddies over a few wines is often what makes the rest of the week tolerable.
Having thought about my priorities this week I’ve decided to make a few subs…
For example, instead of cooking dinner on Thursday nights we have ‘if it's’ (if it's edible, eat it - so toastie pies/ leftovers/ cereal - whatever as long as it's quick). This frees up an hour or so that I now use to ring someone I really miss.
I forgot how great talking on the phone is. It is so easy to send a text or email, for some reason it feels more considerate - you're somehow going to interrupt the receiver less. Perhaps in ‘normal times’ that might be true but right now we are in a global pandemic and stuck in the most strict lock-down laws to date. Everyone is at home and everyone is missing each other. In Victoria at least!
Sub in a ‘phone a friend’ this week. You won’t regret it and you’ll make someone's day!
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