Here’s to the start of a new year. It has to be better than the last one right?!

As I was thinking about New Year resolutions, I started to wonder if it even made sense to make any. We seem to have so little control over our lives right now, what is forcing myself to workout harder or eat less going to do for me except pile on more stress?

That got me thinking in a new direction.

PRIORITIES.

What are mine? How do I feel about them? How do I decide on them?

Frankly, I thought those questions would be a lot easier to answer. But they weren’t.

So, as I often do, I put the question out on my Facebook page to see how other people set their priorities and I got some interesting insight.

First. Most people went directly to answering about their business or professional priorities.

In my humble opinion, I think these are the easy ones.

This is what I was taught:

Always do the things that “HAVE” to be done that day/month/year first. Putting the things that bring in revenue or build your business at the front of the line.
Next, do the things that “SHOULD” be done that day/month/year. Get as many of these things done as possible.
Finally, do the things that “WOULD BE GREAT” to get done whenever you have extra time.

Priorities in business are usually based on specific goals. That being said, professional priorities can be more easily defined and stay “accountable to”.

But what about our PERSONAL priorities?

Last year we all had a collective one: TO STAY HEALTHY.

That seems so simple doesn’t it? But that one priority led me down a rabbit hole:

What happens if something happens to my parents? Do I stay here or go home to see them (just in case)?
Do I go to this clients house because I need to work?
Do I visit my friend because she’s alone and depressed?
The stress that these decisions added to my daily life is incredible. I can’t imagine having children and making more of those types of decisions for them.
So, how do you decide on your priorities?