Shifting Priorities Are The Norm

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed many clients had difficulty identifying their priorities. This isn't as true today as it was then. Unfortunately, now what I hear clients say is?'I can identify my priorities with no problem, but I can't get to them. At the end of the day I look up and realize I never got to the one thing I needed to do.' We are all busier today than ever before. A certain amount of chaos in our lives has become acceptable. But it has also cost us focus. Here are a few suggestions on identifying and working on getting to your priorities:

Create SMART goals and visit them regularly.
In order to know your priorities, you first need to know your goals-both personal and professional-because one flows from the other. Make sure your goals are SMART. Zig Ziglar says SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Relevant and Timelined. Now make sure you visit them daily. If your goals are SMART and visible, you are paving the road to then identifying your priorities.

Create focus time.
If you have identified your priorities but are not protecting time to work on them, you are setting yourself up for frustration and stress. Everyone deserves some amount of uninterrupted time to work on things they have identified as 'important'?and not necessarily 'urgent'. The Covey Time Matrix this represents Quadrant II activity and it is where about 75% of our time should be spent. If you think you don't have time to do this, consider the fact that you don't have time NOT to do this.

Minimize priority busters.
During my 'Clear your desk. Clear your mind. Organize it.' workshop, we identify and talk about how to handle the 3 top priority busters-interruptions, overcommitment and procrastination. Not only are we interrupted at least 8 times an hour, but it takes about 20 minutes to climb back into the project we were working on prior the interruption. If you are committed to your priorities, over-committing is more difficult. Each time you encourage or allow an interruption or over-commitment, you are letting others pull you into their priority at the expense of your own. The third and most obvious priority buster is?procrastination. Every time you delay a decision to work on something important, you become your own priority buster! Identify your procrastination roadblocks and move forward in overcoming them.

Begin practicing these basic time management principles and remember?time flies but YOU are the navigator.

Copyright 2002. Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.

Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.

Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement ? (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

elite cleaning services Mundelein ..
In The News:

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.
The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.
Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.
Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.
Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.
Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.
The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.
OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.
Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.
LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.
Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.
Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.
Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.
MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.
The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.
Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.
Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.
Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.
Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.
Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.
Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Sprint Through Your Workday, Even if Youre a Marathoner

Whenever you have projects that can't be done in one... Read More

How Would You Like to Capture Some Time?

Women's health issues often are focused on goals to reach:... Read More

10 Time Management Tips for Busy Professionals

If you feel like your life moves faster than a... Read More

Prioritize with Two Questions

"Because there will always be something more to do, we... Read More

When is the Best Time to Plan Your Day?

When is the best time to plan your day? Well,... Read More

How to Double Your Accomplishment Level

Here's a smart system for doubling or tripling your daily... Read More

Effective Use of Your Online Time

The Internet is increasingly becoming a major time killer for... Read More

Time Management Tips - How to Have a Filing System That Works

Recently I was working with a new client who had... Read More

Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More

Keeping YOUR Calendar Full

When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More

The Myth of What We Manage

Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More

Time Management Lessons from a 3 Year Old

Zak is my three-year old godson. He is the apple... Read More

Coping with the Time Crunch

"There is never enough time, unless you're serving it." -Malcolm... Read More

9 Proven Principles for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind

Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase... Read More

Desktop Management Boosts Productivity

Many of us spend long hours at our desk. To... Read More

How to Find More Time in Your Day-Balancing Career and Family

Goal Planning-Achieving balance in a person's life requires assessment of... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More

Time Management: 11 Tips

Work more efficiently and be more productive using these time-management... Read More

Giving Up the Cape

"I find it interesting that the very cape I tried... Read More

Mercury Retrograde and Time Management

The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last... Read More

Time is Money - Dont Waste It

"If you control your time, you control your life" -... Read More

Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More

Is the Goal to Reach the Goal?

In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task... Read More

How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

Airbnb cleaning service Mundelein ..