There’s a good chance that you, have experienced task saturation in daily life. Remember: task saturation happens when there’s a lot going on and too little time to address it all. Manage your time more effectively by prioritizing what matters most. Start with The “do what matters most” method consists of developing three habits: writing down a personal vision, setting annual goals for both your professional and personal lives, and planning the next week in advance. This is a small insight of the workshop Boris Helleman and Mariëtta Robbé Groskamp developed: Buddies, Balls & Boobs – The 5 Golden Rules.
Get familiar with your priorities by forming a vision for each of your roles in life.
Let’s say you want to build your dream house. Before you put together a budget or even an architectural drawing, you have to fire up your imagination. You need to picture where the house will stand, how big it’ll be, and even how many bedrooms it’ll have. In the same way, when it comes to becoming the best version of yourself, you need to imagine the new you first – only then can you decide how to achieve it all. This sense of direction is known as your personal vision – a vivid image of where you want to end up. Get familiar with your priorities by forming a vision for each of your roles in life.
We for example have a vision to be on stage, to inspire lots of people, like you.. What’s one of your visions/ dreams?
The process of forming your personal vision will help you identify what matters most to you. Here’s how you get started. Put some time aside and grab something to write with – whether it’s pen and paper, or a spreadsheet on your computer.
- The first step is to reflect on the following questions: Twenty years from now, what are some things you want to have accomplished? What would you like to improve about your life or your community? What qualities do you admire most in others?
- Now that you’ve got this list in front of you, think about the different roles you have in life. We all wear different hats each day. We can be parent, partner, manager, employee – and we can also be self-focused, trying to keep our bodies healthy and alive. Write out between five and seven of these roles. Under each one, jot down your specific vision for it. Use the present tense to make the mental reality even more vivid. You could write something like, I am an outstanding manager who inspires my team to do their best under work, or I choose to live a healthy lifestyle under self, or even I help to uplift or inspire my friends under friendships.
- You will know you’ve got the vision right if it evokes a range of emotions in you. You should feel excitement, but also a small degree of discomfort. This is because your vision is meant to help you grow. Its job is to direct you towards what really matters.
Now it’s time to create a plan for turning your vision into a reality.
The tool you’ll use is called goal-setting. Set your goals for between now and the end of the year. To begin, write down your roles in a row just as you did when forming your vision. Only this time, set annual goals for each role. A useful way to test if your goals are effective is to use the SMART acronym. It describes goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
- For example, let’s say one of your personal goals is to become physically fitter. To translate this into a SMART goal, you could write: Achieve a resting heart rate of 66 BPM by August 31st.
Once you have your vision and goals set, place them somewhere in sight – perhaps on your desk or by your bathroom mirror. This way, you’ll always refer to them – consciously or even subconsciously.
The last step: If you develop the habit of planning each week in advance, you’ll be well set to transform your personal vision into reality. Maybe you already have a daily to-do list or sticky notes that remind you of just what needs to be done. But pre-week planning will take all of that to the next level. Each week, it will force you to reflect on your priorities and schedule what matters most. Look at your calendar and block off 20 to 45 minutes each week for this exercise. Most people choose to do their pre-week planning at the end of the previous week, for example, on Friday afternoon or over the weekend. Whatever you do, don’t leave it until Monday morning. After all, the whole point is to plan your week before it starts. That gives you enough distance to see the big picture. What matters is to schedule everything you want to do for a specific time and date. This way, you’ll turn vague ideas into clear action items.
Review your priorities every morning.
Pre-week planning is a great tool, but there’s something else you can do to improve your productivity: develop a morning routine. Before you even roll out of bed, take a few minutes to review the action items you have scheduled for the day and identify the top two or three priorities. Starting the day on the right foot will make you more motivated and better focused. And don’t forget to prime every morning, combine it with some stretching, yoga and or quick workout. Thank me later 🙂
