What's Most Important to You?

What is really important to you in life? Why are you in business in the first place? What are your top five priorities, those things that mean the most to you?

Don't know for sure? You're not alone. Most people, when asked, aren't able to easily answer these questions.

Why is it important to know what your priorities are? Because once you know what you really want in your work and your life, you'll be able to make sure you're setting up your life based on your priorities, based on what you say is most important to you.

Take some quiet time to write down your top five priorities; your priorities may include taking care of your health, time with your family, self-care, spiritual connections, community activities, to name a few.

These items, when they truly represent what is most important to you, will make you smile, even as you read your list. Imagine how your life would be if you had plenty of time and energy for these things.

Now let's see how your priorities, those things you said were the most important in your life, actually appear in a typical week.

In your average work week, how much time and energy do you spend on your top five priorities? If you wrote ‘time with my family' as your #1 item, how many hours do you actually spend with your family in a typical week?

If you're a little sad at what you discover, once again you're not alone.

The responsibility of running a business, along with the constant demands of everyday life, having a family, taking care of your health and well-being -- how can you fit everything in?

Quite simply, you make a plan to include what's most important in your life. You make choices. You deliberately set up your work day.

You re-evaluate how you're using your time and energy. You stop doing some of the things you're currently doing that aren't adding value to your work or your life.

You delegate more.

You take on less.

You make time for what really matters to you.

1. If you haven't done so already, write down your top five priorities, those things you want to make sure are an important part of your life.
2. For each item, write down how much time you spend weekly on that item.
3. For each item, write down how much time you'd like to spend weekly on that item.
4. What is one action you can take this week to include your priorities?
5. Write that action on your calendar...in pen...and you've started to honor what's most important to you.

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