HOW TO PRIORITIZE THE PRESENT
I consider myself to be a “grass is always greener on the other side…” type of gal.
When I was a child I was a total packrat. I had to have ALL the options on hand.
Just in case.
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As I grew older I developed other tendencies:
Like, scouring the internet in my down time for the perfect side job or cool internship openings. Pinterest for instance, became my holy grail of what “ifs” for testing out my cooking skills or compiling bucket lists for little trips. (I still have a large collection of cookie recipes on there I will probably never make.) And I’m forever jotting down random new ideas in my phone.
Basically, I like the idea of possibilities.
Is this productive?
Surely it is productive to be consistently keeping your eye out for new opportunities and pushing for more!
Does it take away time in the present, if I’m always actively looking at the future?
Or, does that help shape the steps I need to take right now to achieve the things I want?
If I don’t look forward, I will always be right where I am now and become unaware of how to push past that.
The biggest flaw I have found with my fixation on productivity is that I take on a lot, without finishing each commitment to the best of my abilities…
I accidentally overwhelm instead of prioritize, afraid that the something might be lost if I don’t do as much as I possibly can. When I overwhelm, my time becomes cheap. If I don’t get enough sleep before work, I’m cranky and bitter about the job itself. If I pass up on rejuvenating my dancing body properly, I do poorly in the class I rush to get to and pay for. If I forget to schedule in some peaceful moments, like little coffee dates with friends, I spend too much of my day in my own head. To digress, an important area of my life ends up taking the brunt in some way. As a result, the vision I initially saw for the future when I accepted that job, that social standing, that opportunity, is never fully realized. In other words…
The potential of the thing never has the ability to come to fruition.
I become unsatisfied with my progress.
I become less productive.
I find myself less happy as well.
You may not be a born “possibility hunter’ like myself, but I’m sure we can all relate to reviewing and evaluating present priorities.
Identifying the most important building blocks in your present life can help reduce that tendency to always want to jump to the next and instead, invest in what is here in the “now”.
Ask yourself…
“What are the most important areas in my life, to prioritize right now?”
If you keep an active list of your greatest priorities in the present, you can refer back to the list for each major or minor decision.
You can use it as a guide.
Refer back to it to align your life decisions with your most important values.
Let’s make it happen…
Step 1: Build your Categories
I chose a few meaningful categories which I consider to alter the balance of both my happiness and productivity on the daily.
Then I decided to list the most important aspects of each.
These aspects make me feel fulfilled.
Here is my example:
SOCIAL
Enjoying the company of the people I don’t necessarily choose to surround myself with
I need to remember how important it is for me to get out and experience connection on a daily basis.
Keeping in touch with friends and family far away
Using mostly FaceTime and phone calls.
Finding time to enjoy the company of another person
This would be higher on the list but it is often the hardest to maintain with conflicting schedules.
WORK/CAREER
Keeping my passion and love for dance vibrantly alive.
If this means taking a pause from dancing for a while, so be it.
If it means readjusting my schedule to fit my needs better for my career trajectory, so be it.
Flexibility in schedule and space in schedule.
If I have an audition or a sudden commitment or if I’m feeling beaten down...I need to be able to rearrange with ease.
Having the ability to continue working on performance projects or creative endeavors, is necessary as well.
Being able to save and still live out my life.
It’s especially important that my “side work” or the work I actually get paid for (haha) are jobs I enjoy going to and feel comfortable at.
I love when my paying work helps me afford everyday while also not consuming the energy of my body or mind.
I can put more energy in areas that I actually want to be pursuing.
FITNESS
Building and maintaining strength and mobility.
One of the things my recent injury taught me was that I should be taking better constant care of my body and pay attention to weaker areas.
It has also encouraged me add extra weight lifting in my usual workout and focus on ankle strength.
Keeping workouts interesting!
Dance is my first choice of exercise (obviously), but class can be expensive and gyms are open at more unconventional hours.
I added swimming back to my routine when I hurt my foot and I love how my body responds to the variety.
It’s hard for me to always want to exercise, so I am open to trying new things.
Balancing fitness with my busy life.
Trying not to neglect or over schedule. Being smart about what I can say yes to.
SELF CARE/HEALTH
Taking as many opportunities as I can to nourish my body.
This doesn’t mean just eating kale on a plate.
This means listening to what my body wants and giving it the nutrients it craves.
I am a big proponent of unconventional meals.
Sometimes my body intensely wants one thing in particular and if this desire seems like it is coming from an honest place of nourishment…
I indulge in that one food item or meal.
Pausing.
Taking time and using my breath to avoid going into an overwhelmed state.
Measuring out the importance of my “to-do’s” and seeing where I can cut back.
Being kind.
We only get one body after all.
FUN
Feeling alive
This refers to anything that breaks up the often, mundane human experience.
This could include, using my body to dance or stumbling upon some vibrant live performance.
It can also include simpler things like watching the lake shift and brush upon the shore and feeling the breeze.
Beginning new creative projects.
Nothing beats the energy at the start of a new project.
Meeting new faces, seeing new places.
You can also add categories like
Finances
Romance
Intellectual Growth
Spiritual Growth
Investment
Environment
Community
Contribution/Volunteerism
Emotional Maintenance
Step 2: Compare.
Look at the top three priorities you’ve narrowed down in each category and compare those values to your life right now.
See what matches or what aids those areas, see what doesn’t.
Consider your weekly schedule. (It may help to make a rough hourly list of all the things you do every day for the course of a few days.)
Where can you tighten up loose areas?
What areas make you cringe?
That one shift you always volunteer to take and then regret? Say no.
That block of time you have in the morning before work...how does it feel? Improve it!
That exercise routine you dread? Switch it up.
And If that still isn’t specific enough, also, note:
When am I the LEAST present in my day to day obligations?
AKA which obligations in your life are you fulfilling the least or feeling the least fulfilled by?
I hope this will help you narrow down why you are not present in certain obligations.
If they don’t align with your favorite priorities, that probably has something to do with it.
I also think it may help you rethink your time at work, in leisure, in transit, while out, etc.