Thinking Priorities

Does it seem to you that when you desperately want to find time to think, organize and do things to destress and bring more peace into your life that suddenly you have less time in your day and even MORE things to do than even the usual busy days? It does for me! I guess part of it is the season but I really think that when I get the creative juices in my head going and want to sit down and plan out goals and a way to make it all happen, LIFE HAPPENS all the more. And it’s not so much that any specific problem arises, and certainly not a catastrophe of any sort – just that the ‘things I must do’ list gets bigger and they are not necessarily things I can just ignore. But I don’t want to let those little things get in the way of the bigger things.

What I’m referring to is what I wrote about and planned to do after last Saturday’s post (see it here if you missed it). To summarize, in case you haven’t’ and don’t have time to go back and read it, I’ve realized I’ve gone too long without a concise set of goals- both long term goals and short term goals and all that in between stuff. I’ve gone back to past sources and posts I’ve written over the years (about goals) to see what worked and what didn’t. I spent the last few days (amongst all that LIFE HAPPENS stuff) reestablishing what my biggest top ten list of priorities are that I want to make certain I spend my time on in the upcoming year. So yes, this is sort of like New Year’s resolutions if you will, but yet different. I’m facing them with real goal setting strategies, not just an insane list of lofty resolutions that can’t really be kept and I’m not shoving them in a drawer when I’m done. I need to put them somewhere where I’ll see them on a regular basis. Maybe weekly.

Having the list present helps my mindset. It keeps me focused on what my priorities are. When I’m having an off day, I can look at the list to get back on track or as an act of reminding myself what the bigger picture really is.

So I’m sharing now, the top ten priority list. They are basically the same as I wrote back in 2015 as I don’t think there’s any I want to change.

1. Faith
2. Marriage
3. My Children
4. Other Relationships (family and friends)
5. Homeschooling
6. Writing
7. Health
8. Home
9. Financial Security
10. Fun & Relaxation

This list will serve me in making sure the things I do through the year are for the most part in line with my priorities. It my also help me to find gratitude in reminding me that some of those little mundane tasks need to be done to accomplish something bigger. The list isn’t necessarily in order, other than perhaps the fist four.

From this list I plan to write my long term goal for each category. By that I mean the ultimate end result that I’m working for. I’ll then break each long term goal into smaller more attainable steps or goals. And then some or all of the m will need broken down into smaller steps. Breaking them down makes the ultimate goal more attainable and not quite so overwhelming.

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I challenge you to work on your own priority list. Will yours look the same as mine? Will some of them be different? See you in a few days after I work on my ultimate goal for each category.