Do you often have a question in your head: “What do I want?” “Sooner or later, this question is asked by every person. Trying to realize our dreams and satisfy desires, we choose our life path.
How to realize your goals in a certain period of life
Desires can be endless. And how then to determine the tasks of paramount importance and arrange the remaining aspirations in the right order? After all, everyone wants to be rich, healthy, drive an expensive car, learn several languages and gain immortality. Ambition is very good, but it should not exceed the scope of reality.
The main thing that you need to learn how to do is prioritize. To get started, take a pen and a blank sheet of paper. In a column write down all your desires. Write a list in the present tense. For example: '' I look at my bank account. The balance is 500 thousand rubles. I feel the happiness and satisfaction of being rewarded for my work. '' The main condition is that what you write looks plausible. That is, if you write that you are having lunch with the president, but subconsciously understand that this is impossible, or perhaps, but not in the near future, then you should not write this.
Work with a wish list
After your desires have found writing, begin to take turns reading them aloud, pausing before each subsequent recording. After reading one wish, close your eyes and concentrate on your feelings. What do you feel? This may be satisfaction, a sense of superiority over others, indifference, pleasant awe, or a feeling of real happiness and flight.
The feeling of happiness is the true desire of every person. Perhaps he does not even realize this, but subconsciously, each of us strives for happiness. Guided only by your inner feelings, you will understand what you really want from life and learn to set priorities.
Analysis of the three main points
Cross out everything that does not meet your priorities, and leave three points. Why only three? Everything is simple, practice and research show that a person cannot effectively work on more than three tasks.
Think about what you are doing right now, which lesson takes you most of the time. The main question to ask yourself is whether this type of activity brings me closer to my goal. If the answer is no, then it’s time to change something.
The road to happiness is difficult, but properly set priorities will greatly simplify and speed up this process.
Other people's interests
Sacrifice and life for the sake of others, close people, makes sense only if it is a conscious choice of a person, the implementation of which brings him joy and happiness. Of course, caring for loved ones is a normal behavioral reaction, but when a sense of duty cancels one’s own aspirations and dreams, driving a person into depression, this is no longer the norm. There are many examples when healthy egoism played into the hands of not only a person, but also members of his family.
A vivid example is when young people, striving for a bright future, leave their father’s home and leave to study or work in other cities or countries where, in their opinion, young people expect many opportunities and tremendous success. Youthful maximalism often helps people and leads them in the right direction. While parents, wise by experience, prefer to keep their child with them, having the opportunity to help him if necessary.
Each person has his own goals, and no one, including close relatives, should interfere with achieving his goals. You should not be allowed to manipulate yourself, indulging others will not make you happy - rather, even vice versa.
Change of priorities
The above lists will develop your ability to prioritize. And upon reaching all the points, it makes sense to acquire a new list.
It is perfectly normal when priorities change with age. Stages of growing up involve a change of mind. Changing priorities should be evolutionary in nature, but not vice versa.
Not the best option when a person rushes through life and cannot find his place. In this case, it is important to analyze your actions, and understand from what place everything went wrong as intended. If there are problems with the analysis of their actions, or help is needed, it is worthwhile to visit a psychologist who can help set priorities correctly.
Etymology of the word `` priority ''
An interesting fact is that the word `` priority '' in the plural was not used until the beginning of the 20th century. Prior to this, this concept was used only in the singular.
The word `` priority '' has the Latin prefix "prio", which means `` before ''. Setting priorities - means identifying tasks that advance the realization of your goals.
There is an effective principle for working with priorities, namely the Eisenhower method. It helps to set all the tasks using only two criteria - important and urgent.
Differences between important and urgent matters
The well-known Pareto principle tells us that 20 percent of all our tasks will be classified as important. Interestingly, some of them will also be considered urgent. What is the difference?
The implementation of important matters brings you closer to your goal. At the same time, the execution of urgent matters distracts your attention, but does not significantly affect the achievement of the chosen goal.
It is no secret that most people start with secondary tasks. The thing is that they are lighter and do not require serious expenses. And the brain, like the body, does not like to strain, if they are not accustomed to this. And the implementation of not important matters creates the appearance of work, but the truth is that you should pay attention to those tasks, the solution of which will contribute to your success. This will help you know how to prioritize in life.
Eisenhower Priority Categories
Priority A - these are the things that need to be done today, as they are both urgent and important.
Priority B - this is the case, the implementation of which on a particular day is optional, but for which you need to find a short period of time daily. Their stable implementation will bring the implementation of the goal closer.
A very common mistake is to postpone cases from the second group to later. No need to do this, because the developed habit of solving problems constantly in a small amount will qualitatively affect your future achievements.
Examples of tasks from priority B:
- Writing a diploma or an important report to work. Suppose you have a month to have time to calmly prepare the necessary report. But you put off work in a black box. As a result, moral and physical strain in the last hours before the report is submitted can lead to a crisis and undesirable consequences.
- In personal life, a timely example of a doctor's examination will be a clear example of the tasks from list B in order to identify diseases at an early stage, in order to subsequently avoid a long period of disability.
How to work with third and fourth order priorities
Priority C. This includes skills that are urgent but not important to you. For example, learning to say no when such a need arises. These tasks will find the necessary time for you to solve priority tasks.
Priority D. These are tasks that are not important and urgent. They can be safely put off until later, or delegated to other people. It is strongly recommended that you periodically refuse to perform tasks from list D. Due to this, you can get a good rest on the most stressful days.
How to prioritize according to Eisenhower’s method
To be able to set priorities is a simple task, the only thing that is required is to devote a little time to writing work. But later, following his own instructions, it will be much easier to act.
- Classify your daily activities according to the four points above. So immediately it becomes clear what is important and urgent, and what is useless.
- Do not confuse the important and the urgent. Important things can be done gradually, giving them a little attention every day. They are an integral component of your success. Urgent affairs require your attention and prompt decision. But your goal may not apply.
- Pay attention to the hierarchical construction of the list. Important matters are above urgent. Do not focus on doing urgent tasks, as they have the ability to take a lot of time and attention, distracting from important tasks. If you can avoid urgent matters - use it.
- Complete all points from Priority A. Even the last task from the first category is more important than the first item from the remaining groups. If during the day it was not possible to cope with all the important matters, continue to work with them the next day. Do not go to other categories until you have completed all the items from category A.
- Try daily to fulfill the longest tasks from Priority B. But in everyday tasks, do not forget about your main goals and work towards their implementation.
No matter how much you want to cover the maximum number of cases, there’s not enough time for everything. And this must be understood. The most important thing is to correctly prioritize, and then success will not take long.
Spend your time wisely, spending it on truly important things that will help you achieve your goals and fulfill your most significant desires. The ability to highlight important aspects of one’s activities and to avoid secondary ones is an important and useful skill. Eisenhower's method helps to understand how to properly prioritize in life.