How to Prioritize your Life with a List.
Have you ever felt like you should be doing ALL THE THINGS, but you just don’t have enough time? Since you can’t possibly do it all, how do you choose what’s the most important? Keep reading to learn a simple trick to help you learn How to Prioritize your Life with a List.
I used to wrestle with decision-making. All the time. It was PAINFUL. I felt guilty telling people no (hello, people-pleasing!), and struggled to choose what was the MOST important. Even if I made a decision, I felt guilty that I didn’t make the “right” one.
My struggle to prioritize decisions poured over into every area of my life — it was like molasses that slowed me down. Stressful, Sticky, Indecisive Molasses. 😜 It kept me stuck in a poor mindset, people-pleasing, and overwhelm. (Just to name a few!)
Then, I began to learn how my mindset worked. I started journaling my way through some of the mindset issues I was struggling with. And I realized that a LOT of the overwhelm I was struggling with all came down to ONE thing: I struggled to prioritize, because I didn’t have parameters for my choices!
One day I was scrolling Pinterest and came across this quote (source unknown):
Mind. Blown. 🤯 I had never thought about it in that way, and my perspective around decisions began to shift. I realized that decision-making and prioritizing was actually NOT as hard as I thought it was. And it was about a LOT MORE than disappointing someone.
The good news: It’s NOT hard to learn how to prioritize your life! (In fact, it’s insanely easy. 😱) You can create some easy parameters around prioritizing and decisions! Here’s a simple trick to help you learn…
How Prioritize your Life.
You need to Decide what’s Important.
What are 3-5 things that are the MOST important to you? Think of these like big categories — things like your most important relationship(s), your work, or your health. Write them down (or add them to a note in your phone).
Now: Make sure they are ABSOLUTELY the most important things in your life. Check over your list — does it include everything that you want to prioritize? Is it clear and concise?
You need to decide what ISN’T important.
So… Friends aren’t on my most important list. And it’s not because my friends aren’t important! Hear me out on this: I have a habit of prioritizing fun (and therefore, friends) above EVERYTHING else. I don’t need to prioritize them because that’s my natural tendency.
Check over your list of 3-5 things… is there anything on there that you already prioritize? Something that comes naturally to you (that you might not need to have on there?) If there is, cross it off!
This simple, 3-5 point list can completely change your life. It might sound crazy, but if you wrestle with making decisions, this is a game-changer. Don’t stop reading here, though! The most important part of your Priorities List is being able to actually USE it, and actually apply it to your life.
Here’s a few questions you can ask to help you make decisions with your Priorities List:
Does this “Yes” line up with the things on my list?
Will saying “Yes” to this keep me from my top priorities?
Can I juggle this along with my priorities?
I know, it sounds too easy. But believe me when I say: Having a priorities list can take the guilt and stress out of your decisions. Because, once you know what matters, it’s easy to decide what you’re willing to spend time on.
Peek at my Priorities List in the left column!
