If you’ve been following along this month, you’ve seen the 7-step process I developed to help you set your priorities and then realign how you spend your time to match those priorities. When I take my clients through this process, one of the things that I get the most pushback over is my suggestion that you have no more than 3 HIGH priority items in your life.
This week I want to talk about why I recommend that and I want to take the challenge one step further. I want to ask you to pick one of your 3 HIGH priority items to be your TOP priority.
Why am I trying to limit you? Aren’t I always saying that you can do anything?
I like to think of the amount of energy I have to give each day as a powerful laser beam. When I focus that energy directly on something, it vaporizes it. That focused energy can annihilate my to-do list. It can take a task from idea to finished product in a shockingly quick time. When focused, that laser is unstoppable.
Our brains, however, love to throw a filter over our laser. This filter spreads out the energy of the beam and makes it much less powerful when it impacts things.
This filter takes the form of our brains distracting our focus by constantly reminding us of all the other things we should be doing. Have you ever been walking through your house to finish one project and felt like there’s a little gremlin on your shoulder pointing out all the other projects you need to get to as well? It can be maddening and, ultimately, it can distract us from the things we want to do the most.
The secret to getting your priorities straight is to remove that filter from your laser and to focus your energy on the thing that is most important. You do that by intentionally deciding what that priority is and by repeatedly giving your brain permission to focus.
During this process you also give yourself permission to let go of the other things that want to compete for your energy. If your TOP priority is to lose weight, then, when you have an hour to exercise, but your brain is telling you that you should be spending that hour at a work meeting or cleaning the house, you have permission to tell your brain that it’s wrong.
This is especially powerful if you have decided that your TOP priority is something that you typically put on the back burner. I see this with clients who make the decision to make their TOP priority spending quality time with their family or spending time working on a hobby for fun. Our brains love to pressure us to do all the other “more productive” things we could be doing with that time. Setting your priorities ahead of time gives you permission to tell your brain to shut up so you can enjoy yourself.
This process can sound easy on paper, but it turns out our brains can be very convincing. This process can be more difficult to implement than we might think. If you’d like help with this, then coaching is exactly what you’re looking for. Check out my free course How To Feel Better On Your Next Shift. Download my printable guide 7 Steps To Getting Your Priorities Straight. Then email me at hello@unicorndoctor.com to learn more about how coaching can help you create the life you’ve always wanted.
