Utilize Priorities as a Filter for Determining What To Do

Throughout the day, we are bombarded with items and people demanding our attention. Tasks come to us via email, calls, meeting notes and folks stopping by our offices in addition to the many, ongoing projects that need time to move towards completion. Amidst all the overwhelm, it's hard to know where to start, let alone how to get it all properly accomplished.

With all the attention on comic superheroes, it's easy to feel like Superman, Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel, but each of us is human and, therefore, can do only what's feasible within each day's constraints. Due to how many interruptions we face daily, it is realistic to plan 3 to 5 items that we intend on completing by the end of the day, leaving buffers for issues that arise.

To decide which of the many tasks on your running data dump of to-do items will make the cut for each day's must-do list, reflect on your top priorities. Which of the tasks on your list will fuel your success with your goals? Which tasks address what matters most for home, work, your community and taking care of yourself?

It's important to schedule your priorities rather than simply prioritizing whatever randomly falls onto your schedule. What you have established as your priorities should be what matters most, providing guidance for how you should best invest your limited resource of time. This allows you to proactively address the important things instead of reacting to others' priorities.

How many items are on your to-do list for today? If you're looking at a never-ending list right now, what steps can you take to focus on 3-5 items for this particular workday? What are your priorities, and how can you filter the never-ending list of what needs your attention through those to focus on what matters most?