Did You Get to That Priority Today? “Be firm on the principles but flexible on the method.” Zig Ziglar
Productivity Partners, Inc.
913-649-0878
888-482-2688
Years ago when I started my business, it seemed many clients had difficulty identifying their priorities. This isn’t as true today as it was then. Unfortunately, now what I hear is ‘I can identify my priorities with no problem, but I can’t get to them. At the end of the day I look up and realize I never got to the one thing I needed to do.’ You are busier today than ever before With more things to do than you could possibly finish. A certain amount of chaos in your life has become acceptable. But it has also cost you in your ability to focus. Here are a few suggestions to help actually work on your priorities: • Own your goals and visit them regularly In order to routinely focus on your priorities, you first need to know and own your goals because one flows from the other. You need to have some type of emotional connection to your goal—it makes it easier to stay focused on what’s important. • Create focus time If you’ve identified your priorities, but retained old habits, you’re setting yourself up for more stress and frustration. Everyone deserves some amount of uninterrupted time to work on what’s important to them. According to Covey, you should be spending 75% of your time on priorities. If you think you don’t have the time to do this, consider the options. It’s about what’s important and not what’s urgent. • Minimize priority potholes During my workshops, I identify and talk about how to handle the top 3 priority potholes—interruptions, over-commitment and procrastination. Learning to manage these 3 areas is as much a life skill as it is a work skill. Interruptions are up to 20/hour and learning to manage them is key. Over-commitment means you’re willing to say ‘no’ in order to honor your own priorities. And procrastination is all about doing…not delaying. Begin taking the actions to overcome these priority potholes. Because if you don’t, no one else will.
© 2002 Cynthia Kyriazis
Productivity Partners, Inc.
913-649-0878
888-482-2688
Productivity Partners, Inc. specializes in helping employees overcome the 24/7 time management and organizing challenges they face in order to improve performance, increase productivity and reduce stress. PPI assists individuals, teams, and entire companies in gaining confidence and control when it comes to paper, information, time, space and choice management. Offerings include: Onsite workshops Online workshops or webinars Assessments Coaching Consulting Presentations Products
Cynthia Kyriazis started her business in 1992 after 25 years experience in multi-unit operations management. She is an organizing and time management coach, consultant, trainer, speaker and author. Cynthia is past Secretary of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), 2008 President of the International Society for Performance Improvement-Kansas City chapter (KCISPI), a national speaker, and consultant to the American Coaching Association. Cynthia can be reached at Cynthia@ProPartnersInc.com www.ProPartnersInc.com www.Moveyourmindset.wordpress.com Linkedin.com/in/propartnersinc Twitter.com/ProductiveYou GoogleMe Productivity Partners, Inc.
913-649-0878
888-482-2688