Putting What Matters First

One of the keys to a life well-lived is determining what your biggest priorities are and then making sure those things happen.

I recently went through a week of evaluating the previous year, asking myself searching questions, and then making my goals for 2016. All of this evaluating, questioning, and planning highlighted my biggest priorities.

I have some great goals in place for 2016. But if I’m not careful, I can let each day slip by without actually putting my most important priorities—what really matters to me—first. This would be tragic!

When I look back on a day and see that I just took care of the “urgent” and didn’t make time for my highest priorities, I always tend to feel like that day was a failure.

One thing that really works to redeem a day that didn’t quite start off on the right foot, is to pick a few (2-3) things that are my top priorities, write those on my to-do list, and then at least try to accomplish those. That way, even if everything on the list doesn’t happen (and it likely won’t!), at least the most important things were done, and that’s what really matters.

If you’re having difficulty figuring out what your highest priorities are, it’s helpful to ask yourself these two questions:

  1. “If I did NOTHING else today except ______, my day would be a success.”
  2. “What’s the most important thing I must accomplish today?”
Both of those questions come from the Make Over Your Mornings course, which is so encouraging and so very doable even for busy moms. It only takes a few minutes a day to complete!

What Matters Most
Playing in the snow with my children~definitely a top priority!

For me, my highest priorities tend to center around relationships. Spending time with my husband and children, and doing things that contribute to those relationships. As an introvert, those are often the most difficult things for me to make happen, since it’s always easier just to retreat into my little introverted world in some way. But I can’t let that happen if I want to look back and know that I loved my family well. And if I want to be remembered in a positive way by my husband and children, nurturing those relationships is key. It’s one of the things that matters most to me.

I’ve been gleaning so much inspiration from the Make Over Your Mornings course—get it for just $9 here (sale ends tomorrow)!

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