The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey, Author and Speaker
We have all been in situation where our schedule is so full that all we can do is take it heads on and work our way through. For some of us that is in fact the daily normality, and it feels like there is no end to it. Day in and day out. A fully loaded schedule and all we can do is chop away, one task after the other.
The challenge is that our schedule starts to determine our focus, especially when others influence the tasks on our schedule. How can we take back control over our schedule, and with that the control over our focus and priorities? The higher you are in the chain of command, the easier it will be to determine your own schedule and set your priorities. When you do not have the luxury setting your own pace and schedule, you must learn to schedule your priorities around all the tasks and obligations on your plate.
Start with one. One priority task that truly matters to you and navigate through your schedule. You will quickly learn that scheduling your priorities in many cases means downgrading priorities set by others, and that the biggest challenge is finding the balance between all the stakeholders, including yourself. And that is the most important lesson to learn from scheduling your priorities: YOU are your own stakeholder!
Dr. ir Johannes Drooghaag – CEO Spearhead Management