How to Prioritise: Tools, tricks and tips for busy professionals (Part 2)

Since posting part 1 of the “How to Prioritise” blog a couple of months ago, I have enjoyed hearing from people who took the time to tell me that they found the tips useful in reference to helping them balance their responsibilities / tasks. This series of posts is designed to help you feel more control, get past ‘overwhelm’ and ultimately - give you the tools to help you answer the question “what did I achieve this year” with your head held high.

You can check out “How to Prioritise: Tools, tricks and tips for busy professionals” (Part 1)  here… and check out a few more suggestions below:

Embrace Mind Maps – Part 1 of this blog mentions making a written task list, however it’s worth bearing in mind that sometimes thinking in a linear fashion doesn’t necessarily channel the information you need for that list you are looking to create. By (literally) spreading out your thinking through creating a mind map – your thoughts sometimes flow more freely. Once you’ve done this, you can then categorise or order the varying things on your list – to help you prioritise.

Set deadlines - In the same way that you had deadlines at school, set deadlines against the items on your to do list. This works on a variety of levels. On a straightforward level, it gives you the opportunity to think through the range of tasks in your life and means that you have clear dates to work towards. Do you have a big project deadline at work? Do you have a birthday or anniversary card to send? Are you applying for business funding? All of these things will have pre-set deadlines so you can stick to those dates or impose your own date in advance - allowing you to make these tasks as seamless as possible.

For anything else that may not be as clear cut - set deadlines anyway. If you stick to them as per the above that's the ideal situation but if you don't you can show some flexibility and provide a new deadline when necessary. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Sometimes there are things on your list that get moved and moved and moved. That's still helpful believe it or not... let me tell you why. Tasks which have endlessly moving deadlines generally eventually result in one of two responses:

1. You get so sick of seeing this same task pop on on your to do list that you either just do it as the fact that it's still there is really ******** you off [insert appropriate term of frustration here].

OR

2. You have a hard long think about this task and what it will really take to do it. At that stage, either you'll give it a much more realistic, considered deadline OR you will just take it off your list full stop. Maybe it just isn't that important to you anyway.

You now have 5 tools, tricks and tips for prioritisation between these two posts and I hope you'll take the time to give them a try if you would like to improve your ability to prioritise. Maximising productivity sounds good to me. You too?

I've also recently recorded video blogs with even more "How to Prioritise" content so sign up here to keep up to date about when you can access those (and other useful content).

***** 

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Gina Visram is a career coach, speaker, mentor and author who works with ambitious, multi-tasking women (and men!) who are ready to work hard at being successful in their careers and personal lives - on their own terms. She has recently published Happily Ever After for Grown Ups: A Post-Wedding, Blues-Busting Guide for Newlyweds" and is committed to helping people get over overwhelm and achieve the career success/life balance they seek. For more information and to sign up to her free newsletter visit www.limitlesscoaching.com. 

 

5 inspiration activators for you

I don’t know about you, but at the moment – I am happily accepting ‘inspiration’ from wherever it comes. It is mid-April (we’re in the second quarter of 2013 already!) and for those of us in the UK and Europe and even much of the US – it has been a long winter with sun and warmth being but a distant dream. The season of spring – the season that represents new beginnings is only now beginning to grace us with its presence. Not sure whether this is the case for you, but sunshine has always been a source of energy and inspiration for me and with so many conversations focused around meteorological matters at the moment, I thought you may appreciate a quick run-down of 5 things which may inspire you, rain or shine.

Inspiration for the purpose of this blog post is anything which makes you smile, energise you, motivate you, generate new ideas or confidence in yourself and more. Have a read, let me know what you think of these inspiration activators and please share some of your own.

#1: Connect with loved ones

Stepping away from social media for a while to have a face to face or even a phone connection with a loved one can be really energising. Don’t get me wrong – I am a HUGE fan of social media for forming and maintaining connections but it is the face to face time, phone conversations, Skype calls etc. that are at the heart of true connection. This week, take 10 minutes to make a phone call to someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with. You may find it leaves you with a spring in your step. 

#2: Take a break

Our daily and weekly routines can become overwhelming when working in the way we do, so pay attention to what your body and mind are telling you and have a break. R recently celebrated a birthday and we had an amazing break in Abu Dhabi (SUCH fun) – but it doesn’t need to be an overseas excursion to be inspirational. A day or two away from the daily grind can work wonders and you are likely to return inspired and ready to work towards your most pressing goals

#3 Listen to music you love

Music is so powerful! Whatever music moves you is what you should listen to (and if applicable, dance to) as often as you can. My personal taste ranges from Bon Jovi (mainly the stuff from the 90s) to soca music from the Caribbean – and when I hear music that I want to sing along to or jump and wave to – it’s a real inspiration. What track / type of music rejuvenates you? (Below is a track from Trinidad Carnival 2013 that puts a smile on my face and motivates me)...

 #4 Start your day doing something for you

In my experience, when you start your  day doing something for you (as opposed to your employer or anyone else) – you set yourself up for a more positive day, having had a flash of early morning inspiration. This ‘something for you’ can be doing some exercise, writing a blog, texting some friends and / or anything else that you will be proud to have done at the end of the day. Ticking something off your list at the beginning of the day, that you have been keen to get done can be energising. 

#5 Seek inspiration in others

Whether it’s your pre-school aged child who made yet another hilarious comment or your favourite author doing a TED talk (see an example below) – real people in their own moments can sometimes inspire you to keep on pushing those boundaries which enable you to do your very best, whatever the circumstances. 

The above are some of my inspiration activators. Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear whether these work for you and to know about some of yours. Don't be shy... use the comment box below.


Want to use this article on your blog or ezine? No problem... you just need to include the below:

Gina Visram is a career coach, speaker, mentor and author who works with ambitious, multi-tasking women (and men!) who are ready to work hard at being successful in their careers and personal lives - on their own terms. She has recently published Happily Ever After for Grown Ups: A Post-Wedding, Blues-Busting Guide for Newlyweds" and is committed to  helping people get over overwhelm and achieve the career success/life balance they seek. For more information and to sign up to her free newsletter visit www.limitlesscoaching.com.