Le contentement est la pierre philosophale qui
transforme en bien tout ce qu’elle touche.
(C. WAGNER)
classify your business by the
level of importance
In 1970, sociologist Dr. Edward Benfield of Harvard University wrote a book
entitled The Unheavenly City. He described one of the most profound
studies on
success and priority setting ever conducted.
Banfield’s goal was to find out how and why some people became financially
independent during the course of their working lifetimes. He started off
convinced
that the answer to this question would be found in factors such as family
background, education, intelligence, influential contacts, or some other
concrete
factor. What he finally discovered was that the major reason for success in
life was a
particular attitude of mind.
Banfield called this attitude “long time perspective.” He said that men and
women
who were the most successful in life and the most likely to move up
economically
were those who took the future into consideration with every decision they made
in
the present. He found that the longer the period of time a person took into
consideration while planning and acting, the more likely it was that he would
achieve
greatly during his career.
For example, one of the reasons your family doctor is among the most respected
people in America is because he or she invested many years of hard work and
study
to finally earn the right to practice medicine. After university courses,
internship,
residency and practical training, a doctor may be more than 30 years old before
he
or she is capable of earning a good living. But from that point onward, these
men
and women are some of the most respected and most
successful professional people
in the United States. They had long time perspectives.
The essential key to success in setting priorities is having a long time
perspective.
You can tell how important something is today by measuring its potential future
impact on your life.
For example, if you come home from work at night and choose to play with your
children or spend time with your spouse, rather than watch TV or read the
paper,
you have a long time perspective. You know that investing time in the health
and
happiness of your children and your spouse is a very valuable, high-priority
use of
time.
If you take additional courses in the evening to upgrade your skills and make
yourself more valuable to your employer, you’re acting with a long time
perspective.
Learning something practical and useful can have a long-term effect on your
career.
The key word, then, to keep in mind when you’re setting priorities is sacrifice.
Setting priorities usually requires sacrificing present enjoyment for future
enjoyment.
It requires giving up a short-term pleasure in the present in order to enjoy a
far
greater and more substantial pleasure in the future.
Economists say that the inability to delay gratification—that is, the natural
tendency of individuals to spend everything they earn plus a little bit more,
and the
mind-set of doing what is fun, easy and enjoyable—is the primary cause of
economic
and personal failure in life. On the other hand, disciplining yourself to do
what you
know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride,
self-esteem
and personal satisfaction.
So setting priorities begins with your deciding what you want most in life and
then
organizing your time and activities so that everything you do is the most
valuable
use of your time in achieving those objectives.
With your larger, long-term priorities in order, you can much more easily
decide
upon your short-term priorities.
You can say that the process of setting short-term priorities begins with a pad
of
paper and a pen. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by too many things to do and too
little time in which to do them, sit down, take a deep breath, and list all
those tasks
you need to accomplish. Although there is never enough time to do everything,
there
is always enough time to do the most important things, and to stay with them
until
they are done right.
Peter Drucker once said, “Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness
is doing
the right things.” And this requires thought.
Once you have listed your tasks, ask yourself this question: “If I were to be
called
out of town for a month, and I could finish only one thing on this list, which
one
thing would it be?” Think it through, and circle that one item on your list.
Then ask
yourself: “If I could do only one more thing before I was called out of town
for a
month, what would it be?” This then becomes the second thing you circle on your
list.
Perform this exercise five or six times until you
have sorted out the highest
priorities on your list. Then number each according to its importance. With
these
priorities, you are now ready to begin working effectively toward the
achievement of
your major goals.
Another popular method for setting priorities on your list, once you have
determined your major goals or objectives, is the A-B-C-D-E method. You place
one of those letters in the margin before each of the tasks on your list.
“A” stands for “very important; must do; severe negative consequences if not
completed.”
“B” stands for “important; should do; but not as important as my ‘A’ tasks, and
only minor negative consequences if not completed.”
“C” stands for “nice to do; but not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ and no negative
consequences for not completing.”
“D” stands for “delegate, or assign to someone else who can do the task in my
place.”
“E” stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.”
When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can very easily sort out what is
important and unimportant. This then will focus your time and attention on
those
items on your list that are most essential for you to do.
Once you can clearly see the one or two things that you should be doing, above
all
others, just say no to all diversions and distractions and focus
single-mindedly on
accomplishing those priorities.
Much stress that people experience in their work lives comes from working on
lowpriority tasks. The amazing thing is that as soon as you start working on
your
highest-value activity, all your stress disappears. You begin to feel a
continuous
stream of energy and enthusiasm. As you work toward the completion of something
that is really important, you feel an increased sense of personal value and
inner
satisfaction. You experience a sensation of self-mastery and self-control. You
feel
calm, confident and capable.
Here are six ideas that you can use, every day, to help you set priorities and
to
keep you working at your best:
1. Take the time to be clear about your goals and objectives so that the
priorities you
set are moving you in the direction of something that is of value to you.
Remember
that many people scramble frantically to climb the ladder of success, only to
find that
it is leaning against the wrong building.
2. Develop a long time perspective and work on those things in the present that
can
have the greatest positive impact on your future. Maintain your balance in life
by
setting priorities in the areas of your health, your personal relationships and
your
financial goals.
3. Make the commitment to improve those aspects of
your life that are most
important to you. If you’re in sales, learn how to be an excellent salesperson.
If you’re
a parent, learn how to be an outstanding mother or father. The power is always
on the
side of the person with the best practical knowledge.
4. Be sure to take the time to do your work right the first time. The fewer
mistakes
you make, the less time you will waste going back and doing it over.
5. Remember that what counts is not the amount of time that you put in overall;
rather, it’s the amount of time that you spend working on high-priority tasks.
You will
always be paid for the results that you obtain, not merely the hours that you
spend on
the job.
6. Understand that the most important factor in setting priorities is your
ability to
make wise choices. You are always free to choose to engage in one activity or
another.
You may choose a higher-value activity or a lower-value activity, but once you
have
chosen, you must accept the consequences of your choice.
Resolve today to set clear priorities in every area of your life, and always
choose
the activities that will assure you the greatest health, happiness and
prosperity in the
long term. The long term comes soon enough, and every sacrifice that you make
today will be rewarded with compound interest in the great future that lies
ahead for
you.
