Get Your Priorities Straight

“Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe is important”.

I just read this quote in The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma.  This is so true.  The first thing

I do every month is put my semi-private training sessions in the family calendar.  Everyone knows that on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am I will be at the gym.  We have church on our schedule every Sunday at 10AM and Wednesday at 5:30pm.  We have family movie night written down for Fridays at 6pm.  The important stuff is written down.

If you want to make your health a priority get workouts and bedtimes into your calendar.  I know, you’re too busy.  Well, where are you spending your time?  Have you been sucked into social media and the boob tube?  But you have no time for food prep or to take a walk around the block?  Schedule it in.  Make Sunday 2-4pm your food prep time for the week.  Schedule a family walk after dinner at 6:30pm. Figure out when you’re going to go to the gym or go for a run.  Be specific and put it in your calendar!  If you know you need 8 hours of sleep and need to be up at 6AM, schedule bedtime for 10pm and stick to it.

Maybe your focus needs to be spending more time with your family.  How can you schedule family time instead of just giving them your “leftovers”?  Schedule date night, game night, movie night.  Be specific with days and times.  Again, write it down!  Schedule playtime with the kids, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day and let them choose the activity.  Weekdays 5:15-5:30.  Schedule it.  It will be time well spent and maybe the best part of your kids’ day.

Perhaps you’re in school or working on a big project and that is your priority at the moment.  Put meeting times, classes and deadlines in your calendar.  Schedule your homework for a certain time every day and stick to it.

Our priorities will change in different seasons of life, and that’s ok.  Our schedule needs to reflect what is really important and what needs to be done, or else it is not really a priority.  Don’t tell me your health is a priority and not have your training sessions on your calendar, because it will be just as easy to go home after work and take a nap if it’s not written down.

I love the quote, “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything”.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day.  Prioritize your time.  Actually write the important stuff in your schedule.  Try to say “no” to the things you really don’t need to do so that you can start saying “yes” to the things that matter.  Start making better choices so that you can start seeing better results.